Torture Tunes
Magick Touch
Electrick Sorcery
Norway is known for cold weather, beautiful landscapes, and music so magical it takes you to faraway places and sometimes into dark pits of despair. Out of that comes Magick Touch, a band that lifts spirits and grinds the rock n’ roll gears with energy and a whole lotta’ fun.
This hard rock trio is sure to please the classic rock purist and give a punch in the face to this generation. Their sound is that of many influences; I hear The Cult, Scorpions (circa mid 70’s), Kansas, a touch of The Rolling Stones, and a little Def Leppard (1980-81). Forged from the circus and fused by the spirit of rock n’ roll, these three will shock and amaze you. Christer Ottesen lays down the bottom end and belts the vocals, HK Rein does the shredding, and Bård “Heavy” Nordvik brings the thunder.
The curtain is pulled back and “Love Rocket” makes a grand entry with its chunky, funky rhythm stirring your desire to air guitar. The vocals are pure, but the backing vocals are what push the song for me. “Underwater Prison” has that Cult feel with vocals that roll in the chorus and keep a steady, yet rocking pace. “Trouble and Luck” along with “Joker vs Ace” are fierce with heavy rock attitude, unrelenting in rhythm and powerhouse vocals. “Wildfire” brings the tempo down midway in this melodic tune. The vocals are raw, the rhythm section is tight, and the solo is pretty tasty. “Reprise” is the “outro” to the latter, and I with the acoustic piece continued another minute; however, it’s effective in its short 40 seconds.
Magick Touch
Electrick Sorcery
(Imports)
Written by: Tim Duran
10 out of 10
Christer shows his soloing chops using a thicker tone in “Dead Man in Chicago” which picks up the beat and gives a classic Stones vibe. “Out Of Reality” gives a bit of sleaze sound, and “Swansong” lays down a stink-face, hard rock, funk underneath melodic vocals. The show completes with “Loose Cannon”. Not as harsh as some of the other songs, but it’s got flash and spark.
This record is nothing but the sheer power of raw music, unpolished and pure. Nothing is overproduced, the vocals have little to no reverb, and all the instruments act as one well oiled rock n’ roll machine. The only downside is “Reprise”; I would have loved to hear more of what HK can do on acoustic. Upside is the energetic power of three rockers writing and slamming down songs, and dropping tons of rock n’roll on the heads of the listener. Highlights are “Underwater Prison”, “Dead Man in Chicago”, and “Swansong”. I’d give each one a 10, so I guess Magick Touch gets 30 out of 10 from me.
Tim Duran, HMS
Back to Torture Tunes menu