''The Magnificent Seventh!'' is the seventh

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by English

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

band

Thunder Thunder is the sound caused by lightning. Depending upon the distance from and nature of the lightning, it can range from a long, low rumble to a sudden, loud crack. The sudden increase in temperature and hence pressure caused by the lightning pr ...

. Recorded from June to August 2004, it was produced the band's lead guitarist

Luke Morley Luke Morley (born 19 June 1960 in Camberwell, London, England) is the guitarist, chief songwriter and producer for the hard rock band Thunder from 1989 to present (with a break from 1999–2002, and 2009–2011). Previous to that he wa ...

and engineered and mixed by Rupert Coulson. The album was released in the UK by the band's own label STC Recordings on 21 February 2005, in Europe by

Frontiers Records Frontiers Music – formerly Frontiers Records – is an Italian record label, predominantly producing hard rock. It was founded in 1996 by Serafino Perugino and is based in Naples. History In 1996, Serafino Perugino started working in the m ...

the following day, in Japan by

Victor Entertainment , also known as in Japan, is a subsidiary of JVCKenwood that produces and distributes music, movies and other entertainment products such as anime and television shows in Japan. It is known as JVC Entertainment in countries where Sony Music Ent ...

on 28 March and worldwide on

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on 13 April. Following the release and promotion of '' Shooting at the Sun'' in 2003, their first album since reforming the previous year, Thunder took a brief hiatus as vocalist

Danny Bowes Daniel John ‘Danny’ Bowes (born 14 April 1960, West Ham, Essex, England) is a British hard rock singer. Education Bowes was educated at Haberdashers' Aske's Hatcham College. Life and career Bowes is the lead singer with the rock act, Thund ...

and guitarist Luke Morley released their second collaboration album ''Mo's Barbeque'', and bassist Chris Childs and drummer Gary "Harry" James released their first album with Shadowman, ''Land of the Living''. The group returned in early 2004 to begin recording their seventh studio album. ''The Magnificent Seventh!'' debuted at number 70 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

and number 5 on the

UK Rock & Metal Albums Chart The UK Rock & Metal Singles Chart and UK Rock & Metal Albums Chart are record charts compiled in the United Kingdom by the Official Charts Company (OCC) to determine the 40 most popular singles and albums in the rock and heavy metal genres. The ...

. "I Love You More Than Rock 'n' Roll" was released as the only

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

from the album on 22 November 2004, reaching number 27 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

and topping the

UK Rock & Metal Singles Chart The UK Rock & Metal Singles Chart and UK Rock & Metal Albums Chart are record charts compiled in the United Kingdom by the Official Charts Company (OCC) to determine the 40 most popular singles and albums in the rock and heavy metal genres. The ...

. The album was promoted on a

concert tour A concert tour (or simply tour) is a series of concerts by an artist or group of artists in different cities, countries or locations. Often concert tours are named to differentiate different tours by the same artist and to associate a specific to ...

between March 2005 and February 2006, featuring shows in the UK, Europe and Japan.

Background

Recording took place for ''The Magnificent Seventh!'' between June and August 2004, during which time the band took a break to play a number of festivals in Europe alongside bands such as

Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock music, but their musical style has changed over the course of its existence. Ori ...

and

Status Quo is a Latin phrase meaning the existing state of affairs, particularly with regard to social, political, religious or military issues. In the sociological sense, the ''status quo'' refers to the current state of social structure and/or values. W ...

, as well as two headline appearances in the UK. Production took place at Chapel Studios in

South Thoresby South Thoresby is a village and civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated north-east from Horncastle, Lincolnshire, Horncastle and south-east from Louth, Lincolnshire, Louth. Its population was 128 in ...

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...

and the band's own Chez Bez Studios in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, with the group's lead guitarist

producing and Rupert Coulson engineering alongside second guitarist and keyboardist Ben Matthews. In November, the band supported Deep Purple on a nine-date tour of the UK. "I Love You More Than Rock 'n' Roll" was released as the only

from the album on 22 November 2004. It debuted at number 27 on the

– the band's first UK top 30 since 1997 – and topped the

. ''The Magnificent Seventh!'' was released in the UK by STC Recordings on 21 February 2005, in Europe by

the following day, in Japan by

on 28 March and worldwide on

on 13 April. It debuted at number 70 on the

, number 5 on the

, and number 76 on the

Scottish Albums Chart The Scottish Albums Chart is a chart compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC) which is based on how physical and digital sales towards the UK Albums Chart fare in Scotland. The official singles chart for Scotland, the Scottish Singles Chart, ...

Critical reception

Reviewing the album for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

, Greg Prato claimed that on ''The Magnificent Seventh!'', "Unlike some other acts from the hair metal era who decided to update their sound upon returning to the scene in the early 21st century, Thunder continue on in the melodic rock direction they've followed all along, as evidenced by such tracks as "I Love You More Than Rock n' Roll" and "Monkey See, Monkey Do."

musicOMH MusicOMH (stylized as musicOMH) is a London-based online music magazine which publishes independent reviews, features and interviews from across all genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B. History MusicOMH was founded and launched by ...

writer Neil Daniels hailed the album as "a terrific return to form" for Thunder, describing it as "a hard-hitting giant but with fists of steel and cast iron balls" and "an exciting, sweat drenched journey".

Track listing

Personnel

–

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

–

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

* Ben Matthews – guitar,

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

* Chris Childs – bass * Gary "Harry" James –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

*Rupert Coulson – engineering, mixing *Hugh Gilmour –

artwork A work of art, artwork, art piece, piece of art or art object is an artistic creation of aesthetic value. Except for "work of art", which may be used of any work regarded as art in its widest sense, including works from literature ...

design A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb ''to design'' ...

Chart positions

References

Bibliography

External links

''The Magnificent Seventh!''
on the band's official website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Magnificent Seventh 2005 albums Thunder (band) albums Frontiers Records albums Victor Entertainment albums