The SINS OF MAGNUS originated as MAGNUS in 2009 and then wisely added "sins of" to their moniker when they noticed the plethora of "magnus" bands on the planet. The trio hails from Yardley, Pennsylvania, in the U.S. They have one EP and three full-length albums under their belt, including "The Circus" which was released on February 16, 2021. Several sources list them as a Stoner/Doom Metal band and a few others toss in the Viking tag. Without getting too hung up on subgenre classifications, all I'll say is definitely not Viking. Okay, I'll say a bit more . . . more Punk than Stoner, so Doom Punk. Weird combo, I know, but here's the thing: This band is a better Punk band than Stoner or Doom. More to come on this.

"The Circus" comes fully loaded with 12 tracks and no intro, interlude, or outro fillers. There is one cover, "Clockpunchers," originally recorded in 2011 by GHOSTS IN THE VALLEY, an East Bay Punk band. (Guest vocals on this track, btw, are by Scotty Why.) This is one of the best tracks on the album, followed by "Hammer," which reminded me of cross between THE WACO BROTHERS and THE PIXIES; and then "Say Goodbye to Your Generation," which reminded me of the EAST BAY CHASERS, particularly "Your Generation." All three of these songs are stand-on-the-table, pump-your-fists, dive-into-the-mosh-face-first Punk tracks.

You could take this album, extract track seven, "We Gonna," and break off the last three tracks (listed above as my favs) and then put those four tracks together and make one very good Punk EP. If you needed to round it out, you could add "N.F.C." and it would hold up fine. In fact, on a scale of 1 - 10, that Punk EP would be a solid 7 if not more. The rest of the tracks would comprise a not-so-great Doom album.

Here's my take: The album's title, "The Circus," is oddly apt because it comes across like a big tent carnival filled with multiple acts. A lot of them are kind of washed up and freakish, and not in a good way. But in the mix of that maladjusted gaggle is an exceptional Punk band that needs to runaway from the circus that it might have runaway to. Kudos to this band for sticking together for 11 years and four albums. Personally, I think they missed their calling as a Punk outfit, although maybe it's not "missed" so much as "just discovered."