Review

Band: Circus Maximus

Album: Nine

Reviewer: Mason

Several bands are releasing an album this year for the first time since 2007. In the cases of Rush and Threshold, the time away from the studio could easily be explained by touring, and in the case of the latter, line-up changes. A lot of people wondered why a young, up and coming band with a fervent fan base would take so long to record a follow up album, and could the time away have an adverse effect on their sound.

Circus Maximus made a name for themselves by playing progressive metal in the vein of classic Dream Theater, but with a more modern sound and without sounding like a DT clone. And that's certainly true of their new album "Nine" as well. The melodies are beautiful, the instrumental sections are artful and the solos are not too wanky, and the vocals and lyrics are probably the best the band has written. To top it all off, the album has a very clean production that has everything sounding crisp. I've seen some people describe the new album as having a more pop sound, but I think that is an oversimplification for what is actually a brighter tone. No one should mistake this for pop, it has way too much proggy goodness.

This album took hold of my interest from the first listen, and passed my "force me to pay attention" test with flying colors. That test is simple, I listen to this album while doing something that requires my full attention. If the music is catching my attention and distracting me from my task at hand, it is usually a great indication that I'm going to enjoy a dedicated listen. And listen I have done, having listened to this album on average more than three times a day in the ten days before deciding I was going to review this album. Throughout all the listens, I'm still finding an enjoyable experience with a different song taking center stage each time, which is a testament to the quality of all nine real songs, ignoring the short introductory track.

On the initial listens, the more traditional progressive metal tracks "Architect of Fortune", "I Am", and "Burn After Reading" stood out, with their complex musical ideas, great solos, and attention grabbing leads. Then, the two tracks that would be the closest things to ballads, "Reach Within" and "Last Goodbye" caught my attention with their melody and feeling. One constant throughout the album is the exceptional vocals of Michael Eriksen. His power, range, and feel are evident throughout the album, and show why he was recruited to replace Roy Khan on the last Kamelot tour.

"Nine" is really a must-have album for any progressive metal fan. This album will almost certainly be in the running for album of the year when the time comes. While there is little to complain about, and it is a very solid album with no "filler" material, the album has songs that range from excellent to very good, but it lacks a signature track or tracks to distinguish it as an all time great album. Maybe the album name comes from the rating they want, 9 out of 10. Now, please, DON'T MAKE ME WAIT ANOTHER 5 YEARS IF YOU ARE GOING TO RELEASE MATERIAL THIS GOOD.

Mason’s Grade: A-