Time Signature Don't get me wrong...

Shannon is a French hard rock band who embrace a bend of American hard rock and 80s styled melodic metal. I have never heard them before, so I have no frame of reference when it comes to evaluating their third album 'Circus of Lost Souls' in comparison with their previous two releases.

'Ride to Live' is am extremely catchy tune featuring some nice guitar work and an appealing 80d AOR feel, while 'Forever Now' is more of a traditional metal song - albeit one that inherits the upbeat nature of melodic hard rock. In the heavier department, we find 'Halfway to Heaven', which treats the listener to crunchy riffs and catchy hooklines. While the three first tracks are pretty strong, the album loses some of its momentum with the sappy power ballad 'Can't Stop the Rain'. The uptempo metal-rocker 'Don't Get Me Wrong' injects some energy back into the album, but we never reach the same level as before the power ballad, and 'Dust to Dust' suffers a bit from this. Although it features some nice crunchy riffage and a catchy chorus, it comes across a bit limping. Another heavy track, which is more successful in breaking out to the listener is 'Death on the Run'. The quality and the energy level of the rest of the album s varying, with tracks like 'Let's Make Rock' and 'I Don't Need You Anymore' being energetic and uplifting, while tracks like 'Kick it Down' and 'In Your Eyes' sadly come across rather bland and uninspired. I like the idea of a hard rock band doing a cover version of 'Smalltown Boy', but it also has to be executed well, and I am not quite sure that Shannon get away with it - I am thinking about the vocals in the first verse in particular which are just, well, linda weird.

The production is perhaps a bit too fuzzy for this genre, which calls for a more pristine and well defined production and mix. As it is now, a number of details are simply drowned out in the mix, such as the keyboards, which are barely audible, and whenever Jean-Marc Anzil uses the bell ride technique. The rhythm guitars are also too weak in the mix, which means that some of the crunch of the otherwise pretty awesome riffage is siphoned out into nowhere. I think this is a bit of a shame because the music itself is considerably solid, and, if all its layers were brought more to the front, it would be easier to appreciate.

Fans of melodic 80s metal who do not mind a bit of a rough production should definitely check out this album. However, it is among those albums where you should probably just listen to your favorite tracks and sip through the weaker ones in order for the energy level to stay at high enough level.

Kev Rowland It has been six years since their last album, but French band Shannon are back with their third. There have been a few line-up changes since the last one, but the band have not only replaced those who have left but have also added some guests in Harry Hess (Harem Scarem), Tony Mills (Shy, TNT), Paul Sabu, Praying Mantis & Sideburn members who assist with backing vocals etc. They describe their sound as “the perfect alchemy between classic US melodic hard rock and typical European influenced NWOBHM sound, delivering a music as powerful as it is melodic.” Whenever I see comments like that I just have to take it with a huge pinch of salt, and that is definitely the case here as while this is okay, t certainly isn’t brilliant. Singer Olivier Del Valle has an annoying habit of being fractionally off key here and there, which after a while I no longer found endearing but rather annoying. The songs themselves are okay, but easily the finest part of their music are the guitar solos with some fine runs.

This is one of those albums where the more I played it the less I enjoyed it, and whoever thought that they could get away with a melodic rock version of the Communards’ “Smalltown Boy” needs to be taken out and shot. Luckily it is the very last song on the album, but it shouldn’t be there at all as there is nothing positive that can be said about it whatsoever!