Into the Valley of the Moon King

Album Review

It isn't uncommon to hear someone who has only a casual interest in progressive rock saying something along these lines: "I'm not a huge prog fan, but I'm really into Yes, Pink Floyd, and Queen. Those bands have great hooks in a way that so many of the others don't." Indeed, there are certain hooky, accessible prog rockers who have a way of winning over listeners who find a lot of prog rock to be overly intellectual or excessively abstract. And another band that has that "prog rock for people who aren't really into prog rock" appeal is Magnum, whose Into the Valley of the Moon King boasts hooks galore. Some prog enthusiasts will question whether or not this 2009 release should even be called prog rock; they'll argue that the material is really hard rock and arena rock with prog overtones. Regardless, this is a very easy album to get into, especially if one is heavily into classic rock. On Into the Valley of the Moon King, Magnum remain stylistically oblivious to post-'80s developments in rock; the album's overall sound is Queen meets the Beatles meets Tommy-era the Who, and Magnum offer no acknowledgement of rock in a post-Nevermind world. The Magnum of 2009 sound a lot like the Magnum of the late '70s and '80s, and that is probably just as well because they have plenty of die-hard fans who don't want them to change (especially in the U.K., where Magnum are much better known than they are in the United States). Into the Valley of the Moon King doesn't break any new ground for Magnum, but longtime followers will be glad to know that they can still deliver the hooks after all these years.