dtguitarfan First off, I'd like to thank Frontiers for giving me the honor of being the first reviewer of this fine album by allowing me to listen to this album before the release date.

Five years. That's how long I have anticipated this album. I'll get this out of the way and give the readers the disclaimer that I am a fan of this band - having seen them live twice has convinced me that they are a stellar band and no one can convince me otherwise. HOWEVER, and PLEASE continue reading...five years of anticipation did not prepare me for what was to come. As I eagerly began the album in my car, I was completely blown away as I turned my stereo DOWN...something that rarely happens in my car. I thought "wow...I didn't know my speakers were capable of this...what IS that sound?" Let me just summarize here by telling you that the production on this album is stellar - Circus Maximus has obviously earned enough respect that Frontiers Records is putting more money into mixing and such than Sensory records were willing/able to spend on them. And it shows, because the album sound is top notch. So back to my story - I had just turned my stereo down and I'm thinking "what IS that sound?" I immediately realized something, and it is a conclusion that did not change throughout the album - 5 years between albums showed. If you have picked up one or both of Circus Maximus' other albums and thought they were ok, but weren't crazy about them, you might want to think about picking this album up anyways, because it is a totally different experience. This isn't to say that CM fans will be disappointed - no, the sound is still recognizable. But they sound all grown up. They aren't trying to prove anything anymore - they're comfortable with the fact that they've already proven themselves. Yes, you will still hear impressive riffs and instrumental wizardry. But they hang back at times and build suspense, so that when they come crashing in with their thunderous heavy metal chords, it sounds all the more heavy. And let me tell you, because of the production I mentioned before, the pounding bass and drums, the otherworldly keyboard sounds, and the crashing electric guitar are going to reach out of your speakers and slap you right in the face. But the really exciting thing to me is how much they've changed since the last album - don't get me wrong, I LOVED both of their earlier works. But this album, while being fully recognizable as Circus Maximus, has sections that I am sure I could play for a CM fan without telling them who it was, and as long as they didn't hear the familiar tone of Michael Eriksen's singing, I'm willing to bet they would not recognize the band. With this album, Circus Maximus builds off of the foundation they've built in the first two albums and explores new territory, and it is a very exciting thing to hear. So I'm going to do something I have not done before in a review and go through this album track by track:

Forging - this is a 76 second instrumental intro, so there is not much to say about it, although it serves it's purpose by building suspense with some dark keyboards, like walking through a heavy fog.

Architect of Fortune - well, they definitely start things off with a bang on this 10 minute plus epic. The piece starts off with a sound that will leave CM fans thinking "did I put the right CD in my player? Is this Circus Maximus?" An eerie whine, like a far off siren warning of danger, is backed by unbelievably thunderous bass and drums, and then the guitar comes crashing in and you know "yes, this is Circus Maximus." But what makes this epic so special is the fact that musically speaking, it is all over the place while still feeling seamless. It is unmistakeably one piece, and yet so very diverse in tone, tempo, and volume. It's like being taken for a ride, and not realizing how far you've come until the end when you look back and see just how far away the starting point is. This song will leave you shaking your head in disbelief after the journey is over.

Namaste - ok, now that we've told you a nice long thrilling musical tale, let's pound your face for a while - hear us roar! That's what I imagine them saying at a concert if they played this song immediately after the previous. This song demands respect from their heavy metal fans. And yet they still manage to throw in some musical curveballs, while keeping it somewhat subtle.

Game of Life - ah, now here's that melodic metal sound CM fans are used to. This is where CM show how they can throw hooks like anybody, and yet still have the chops to shred your face off. Michael Eriksen is going to show his amazing range, while never hanging out in the stratosphere for too long (as is an unfortunately all too common habit of too many metal acts, in my opinion) but just enough for you to know he can hit those notes like nobody's business. And Mats Haugen is going to build a guitar solo that will show you he can shred your face off with the best of them.

Reach Within - this song has the very interesting quality of feeling heavy and soft at the same time. While Michael Eriksen gently sings the verse, the bass line pounds beneath, and creates an interesting contrast. This song has a "single", radio-friendly feel to it, and yet there are subtle progressive undertones. Once again, Mats Haugen throws in a souring guitar solo, though this one I find reminiscent of Joe Satriani.

I Am - The opening of the song tricks you into thinking this is going to be a pop-oriented, single-worthy type of song, but then they throw in time-signature changes and stop/start rhythms. There are some very nice keyboard parts to this song that give it a lot of character. And of course, they throw in a nice guitar solo with some guitar and keyboard unison soli. All in all a joyful/triumphant prog romp.

Used - This track is a nice change of pace, as they show off their headbanger side. This is a rough and tumble heavy metal romp. But don't be fooled by the opening 4/4 time signature - they're going to throw off your headbanging with their masterful quick time signature changes. It's so easy to think you know exactly where this band is going with a tune, and then to be completely thrown off guard and I love it!

The One - The opening to this song tricks you into thinking it's an "I'm sorry" type of song, but it abbruptly changes to a more stern/angry tone that will have you banging your head in agreement. Again, Lasse Finbraten's keyboards add some great atmosphere to the song that is the difference between good and excellent.

Burn After Reading - So, at this point, you might be thinking "hey, out of all the songs on this album I've heard so far, only one is more than five minutes long - where are all the epics?" Never fear, for CM has saved two very, very special treats for you at the end of the album. I think this may be my favorite track, though it's hard to decide. The piece starts off with some very nice acoustic guitar parts, that have an upbeat tempo that tells you something bigger is coming - you just know it. But CM masterfully builds the suspense in this piece - just as you think things are going to get loud, they pull back again, teasing their listeners. I found the vocals in some of the quieter parts to be very interesting as they reminded me of Muse, or Freddy Mercury - once again I found myself asking (in a good way) "who IS this band?!" In a rare turn of events, I found myself paying a lot of attention to the lyrics of this one - they are a lament over the mistakes made over the course of life resulting in lost relationships, and the chorus is a real tearjerker: Every shimmering rock I've collected Kept weighing me down Pulling me to the ground All that I have left of us is a memory A picture of you and me

The song builds up to an instrumental section that is just the kind of monstrous prog hurricane you would expect from this band, the trading off and unison section between Mats Haugen on guitars and Lasse Finbraten on keyboards, and the twisting and turning changing key signatures are astounding. And then they throw the listener for a loop when this instrumental section stops instantly, leaving you stunned as Michael once again sings oh so softly, gently, in a section that once again reminds me of Muse. But they don't stay here, but crank it up before fading away in the end. Brilliant epic piece by the Circus.

Last Goodbye - Another brilliant epic. The song starts off with some keyboard sounds that are a very, very unusual sound for this band - I can only describe it as a spacey-80's sound. Of course they don't stay there, but build up from there. As the song's title suggests, this song is a last goodbye to an old friend. But it is a real tear jerker for me as, instead of coming off as mournful, it is more of a joyful celebration of the times shared together - at times coming off as...triumphant. This makes the gentle sadness over the departure all the more emotional, and it is a wonderful finish to the album, leaving me thrilled and spent after the roller coaster of this album.

dtguitarfan I want to take a moment to encourage anyone who listened to Circus Maximus' first album, The 1st Chapter (how appropriately titled, eh?), and found it good but not good enough to keep listening to try this album out. They've really developed their own individuality in this album, the album has a more polished feel, more professional sound mixing, and I feel overall they've shown that their potential is being realized. I want to point out and focus on the real prog gems of the album, but the album over all is a masterpiece, having a "something for everyone" type of setup where each song is showcasing different elements of the band. This band has a way of writing, dare I say, "radio-friendly" prog songs that have a deceptively simple feel to them, but underneath are subtle time-signature changes, and they will often surprise you with a very cool proggy instrumental at the end of such a song. But like I said, I want to point out a couple of the songs that really stick out to me as Progressive monsters. For example, the instrumental "Sane No More" shines, competing with Dream Theater's "Dance of Eternity" in the "Best Instrumental Progressive Rock Song" and "Most Time Signature Changes In a Song" categories, and I nominate "Mouth of Madness" in the "Best Progressive Metal Epic of the Year" category. But I point these out only to try to focus attention on these as some of the more complex and, to me, interesting pieces of the album. All throughout the album are strewn good progressive elements, but what makes this band extraordinary are their ability to hold back at times and be more subtle, in order to appeal to a broader audience. For example, "Arrival of Love" has a feel that reminds me of Def Leppard, with a more classic rock feel to it, but then they start to drop in some nice time signature changes Matts Haugen's guitar work is showcased very well. And "From Childhood's Hour" starts out with a very dark, heavy feel but abbruptly changes to a quieter, more poppy feel. But then in the chorus you can allmost hear them saying "Ha! Fooled you! We're a Progressive Metal band baby!" as they throw in some time changes and heavy rhythm guitar. And at the end of the song there is a very cool instrumental section that starts out with some mysterious sliding guitar sounds, and then abruptly shifts to a much heavier Prog Metal sound. This band has created a lot of buzz in Prog Metal circles, and I am going to say it is well deserved.

Stephen "Isolate" is Circus Maximus' second album and a follow-up to the highly praised debut, "The 1st Chapter". Released by Frontiers in 2007, Circus Maximus is one of the few progressive-based bands that was handled by the label which is famous for its hard rock and AOR releases. Their musical style is a combination of melodic heavy metal and progressive, making them much easier to listen for non-prog fans, and another interesting fact to underline is that most songs here are quite short compared to the regular prog tracks which is stretched to a minimum of 7 or 8 minutes. The production level is also very good.

On this album, only two lengthy tracks were included which is "Mouth of Madness", started with a gloomy semi-ballad approach, but turned out to be a decent 12-minutes composition, while the other one is better, "Ultimate Sacrifice", a pure melodic metal with a bit prog flavor. The first three tracks are among the strongest here: "A Darkened Mind", a thumping rhythm with a furious beat and melodic chorus, is my first fave. "Abyss" with its chugging riffs and slower tempo, still offer a delicious chorus. "Wither", a well-crafted Verse and Chorus and another favorite. "From Childhood's Hour" is a more laid-back melodic hard rock and less-prog track. "Arrival of Love", in my opinion, is their masterpiece, they smartly blend a balance amount of commercial element, hard rock, progressive metal, and guitar exploration into one fantastic song.

To sum up, "Isolate" lacks of ultra experimentation of a usual progressive metal band but also not a dull effort by a young band. Instead, the songwriting skill and band’s delivery are admirable. With a less-complex structure, this is definitely accessible to casual melodic metal lovers or hard rock fans, and probably won't feed a hungry hardcore progmetal fans, but judging from a string of powerful songs, "Isolate" is an essential album to have.

Conor Fynes 'Isolate' - Circus Maximus (8/10)

Circus Maximus' 2005 debut 'The 1st Chapter' blew away the progressive metal world and suprised everyone that a band of musicians so young and relatively inexperienced could make such technical, complex music while maintaining a very strong sense of melody and direction. Heavily influenced by the likes of Symphony X, Circus Maximus certainly made a strong impression in the world of progressive music. Obviously, their sophomore release would be anticipated with very high expectations. The band's 2007 release 'Isolate' was what they came up with.

Is it as good as 'The 1st Chapter?' It's quite possible. So how good is it then? Damned good.

'Isolate' represents a darker, more weathered side of Circus Maximus. There isn't so much of a happy light feeling anymore; instead it is replaced by a more introspective and sad sound that really helps to mature the band's tone and sound. While I can't say that it has the album cohesion that a masterpiece like it's predecessor would, 'Isolate' is a dose of some amazing progressive metal, with some really stellar material.

'Isolate' is certainly less consistent then the first album. There are songs that leave me speechless, but there are also songs that while good, don't have the epic quality about them that was found much more consistently in 'The 1st Chapter.' The song 'Abyss' is a fantastic song, and combines frantic progression with strong vocals (the singer for this band is absolutely amazing, by the way) and a powerful sense of melody to make a song that could be considered the 'quintessential' CM track. It shows what the band is really made of, and got me into the band in the first place.

The epic of the album, 'Mouth Of Madness' is probably my favourite Circus Maximus track yet. While the epics of the last album have garnered much more critical acclaim, I find this song to be much more focused, directed, and well, 'epic.' The song begins slow but gets very intense towards the middle, and climaxs with all guitars firing, and a gregorian choir chanting to exacerbate the dramatic effect. It's simply stunning, I love it.

While as an overall product, it wasn't as stunning and consistent as the first, it's definately not dissapointing, and Circus Maximus proves that they have a very bright future if they continue their musical career.

Conor Fynes 'The 1st Chapter' - Circus Maximus (7/10)

This was quite a shock. Few bands release actual masterpieces that rank up there were the other essentials of the genre. Circus Maximus has somehow managed to do this on their first time up to bat, and 'The 1st Chapter' is certainly a record that vies for that title.

What more could one want from a progressive metal record? There are strange time signatures, virtuosic performances, fast songs, short songs, and of course; an epic to top it off. Keeping in mind that the members of this band were all in their early-mid twenties at the time of making this album, you have to wonder, 'how the hell did they manage this?'

Mike Eriksen (the vocalist) was a singer who's voice I loved from the second I heard it, and is the heart and soul of the band. He's a vocalist I honestly find sharper and more elegant than even alot of the prog metal greats, such as Russell Allen (Symphony X) or even James LaBrie (Dream Theater.)

Circus Maximus, while obviously not being completely ground breaking in terms of style (they bear striking similarities to Symphony X in terms of musical style and content) but they inject something into the music that seems to have been long forgotten in the progressive metal world; melody. The centre of their songs is always in the melody, and that really helps to enrich their music in a genre that runs the risk of becoming dry.

A young classic. I can only say I am excited to see what they release in the future.