''Lost on the Road to Eternity'' is the 20th studio album from the rock group Magnum. The album was released on 19 January 2018. It is the group's first album to feature Lee Morris on drums and Rick Benton on keyboards. It is also the longest studio album the band has released to date (not counting bonus tracks). The album features

Tobias Sammet Tobias Sammet (born 21 November 1977) is a German musician, singer, songwriter, music producer and radio host best known for being the singer and primary songwriter of the power metal band Edguy, and the founder of the metal opera project Avant ...

on the title track, an artistic thank you by the

Avantasia Avantasia is a German supergroup metal opera project created by Tobias Sammet, vocalist of the band Edguy. It has been characterized as a rock opera, as it features the contributions of various vocalists and musicians and it consists of concept ...

frontman for

Bob Catley Robert Adrian Catley is an English singer and musician, best known by his stage name as Bob Catley. He is the lead singer of the British rock band Magnum. He is also a solo artist. Biography Early years (1947–1972) Born in Aldershot on ...

's numerous guest appearances on his albums. It was the last studio album by Magnum to feature bassist

Al Barrow Al Barrow (born 1968, in Wolverhampton, England) is an English bassist best known as the former member of the hard rock band Magnum. Barrow joined Magnum in 2001 after he was a member of Hard Rain, a group formed by Magnum members, Bob Catl ...

, as he retired from the band a year and a half after the album's release. The cover was painted by

Rodney Matthews Rodney Matthews (born 6 July 1945) is a British illustrator and conceptual designer of fantasy and science-fiction. Career Trained at the West of England College of Art, Matthews worked in advertising for Plastic Dog Graphics before turning ...

, and features almost every character from '' The Wizard of Oz'' and

Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (; 27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet and mathematician. His most notable works are ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865) and its sequel ...

’s ''

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland), Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a ...

''. Commercially, ''Lost on the Road to Eternity'' became one of the most successful Magnum albums to date, and it was well-received by critics across Europe.30. Lost On The Road To Eternity - with famous support
Magnum biography, Martin Vielhaber. It became the first Magnum album to reach the Top 10 in the German charts and the second to do so in the Swiss charts, peaking at 8 in both. It also charted 15 in the United Kingdom, the band's highest position there since 1990. * Below top 100: The album entered charts in France and the United States, a first in the band's history.

Song themes

"Peaches and Cream" is about life not being as easy as people say; one has to work hard to earn success.You Spin Me Round: The Album Review Show - Edition 10, Part 2: 15th Jan 2018, MetalTalk.net, Jan 15, 2018. Accessed Jun 30, 2018. "Show Me Your Hands" is about Magnum's loyal fan base. Tony Clarkin was inspired to write the song after performing in front of a very enthusiastic audience on a tour in Germany. "Storm Baby" is a love song. "Welcome to the Cosmic Cabaret" was inspired by the city of

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

, which Clarkin describes as a "magical city" due to all the history that unfolded there, stretching back to the time of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...

. "Lost on the Road to Eternity" is about people being lost and needing guidance in life, "the road to eternity" being an analogy for life. The theme on the album cover is taken from this track. "Without Love" is about children in

Third World The term "Third World" arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either NATO or the Warsaw Pact. The United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Western European nations and their allies represented the " First ...

countries who grow up without their parents, hence "without love". The song was partly inspired by pictures taken by Clarkin's son-in-law while travelling in Vietnam; the cover of the single is from this collection, featuring a child who had just asked him for chocolate. "Tell Me What You've Got to Say" is about people who talk badly about others in public, instead of speaking with them directly. Clarkin described it as a song about "people who cause you problems". "Ya Wanna Be Someone" is about being conceited and narcissistic. "Forbidden Masquerade" is about drinking problems, which Clarkin himself used to have, and about how much better life gets once one overcomes them. "Glory to Ashes" is an anti-war song. "King of the World" is about founding figures of the great religions and how people worship them. The song is not a critique of religion, but rather an expression of fascination with those individuals. Although the song makes several references that clearly point to

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

( scarlet robe, the

kiss of Judas The kiss of Judas, also known as the Betrayal of Christ, is the act with which Judas identified Jesus to the multitude with swords and clubs who had come from the chief priests and elders of the people to arrest him, according to the Synoptic ...

), Clarkin stated that the message could apply to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

and other religions alike.

Track listing

Personnel

Tony Clarkin Tony Clarkin (born Anthony Michael Clarkin, 24 November 1946) is an English musician and record producer, best known as the guitarist of the rock band Magnum. He has been the sole songwriter throughout Magnum's history, writing all of the mat ...

– guitar *

– vocals *

– bass guitar *Rick Benton – keyboards * Lee Morris – drums *

– guest vocals

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2018 albums Magnum (band) albums SPV GmbH albums Albums with cover art by Rodney Matthews