The German happy power metal meisters are back with a new album which although still retains the huge sing along chorus driven melodic power metal that they've become known for, also contains lots of variety and a significant deviation from the speedier styles of their previous albums. Their last album, Eternity was a melodic power metal masterpiece as far as I'm concerned and although I wouldn't go as far as Danny did in heralding it as Keeper Of The Seven Keys III, it still was a prime example of what could be accomplished with just the right blend of heaviness, speed and soaring melodies. With Eternity, the band showed a bit of a departure from the speediness that was so prominent on their first two albums and concentrated on more of a melodic edge; using more keyboards and choirs to soar their vocal melodies to new heights. The trend away from an all out speedy assault continues with their latest release The Circle Of Life. Freedom Call has even added a permanent keyboard player to the ranks showing how committed they are in redefining the band's sound so as to not get caught up in the apparent stagnation that exists in the genre and avoid being unfairly dismissed as just one of many playing the same sort of happy melodic power/speed metal.

With a big chunky and heavy riff, Mother Earth leads off the album and it has to be the first time that the band has not opted for a killer speedy and melodic track as an album opener. With a mix of pounding heavy riffing mixed with lighter melodic and piano flavored segments (a la Angra) for some of the verses, the big melodic chorus is about the only thing that's familiar about this as a Freedom Call track. The title track, The Rhythm Of Life carries on in a similar fashion with a slower and heavier edge with more prominent riffs but yet still holding firm to the Freedom Call tradition of another huge and soaring melodic chorus. The slower and heavy march-like beat of Hero Nation is another example of the departures in sound found with this album. The heavy sections are mixed with quieter interludes for the verse sections and Yes like vocal melodies swirl all around the chorus section to this track.

The speediness that's been such a trademark of the Freedom Call sound makes lots of appearances on the album but are more tastefully used and not overdone this time around. The barrage of speed that some bands use for an entire album (Freedom Call being guilty of that with earlier albums) takes away the impact that those sections can impart on a song if used properly. Dynamics are all so important in a great band and with a an album full of speedy happy tracks, it's hard to really tell a great track from a mediocre one. Carry On, with it's huge Gamma Ray style chorus will surely satisfy fans of the speedy aspects of Freedom Call as will tracks like Kings And Queens and High Enough. Along with the speedy aspects, High Enough also uses great chunky and pounding riffs for the vocal refrain sections and the huge chorus (of course!!) is topped of with some solid harmony lead guitar. More mid-tempo power metal can be found with tracks like Hunting High And Low (no it's not the Stratovarius track of the same name), Starlight, with it's ultra sugary sweet chorus section and Starchild which uses trumpeting keyboard sounds that permeated much of the Eternity album. What Freedom Call album would be complete without the one big inspirational and almost church-hymn like track that's found on just about every one of their albums? In this case, The Eternal Flame uses choirs of voices and a lighter mid tempo sound that uses wonderfully melodic guitar leads over the big sing along chorus. I like this sort of track if it's done properly and Freedom Call are the masters. The album ends with the title track, The Circle Of Life, which is essentially a power ballad that has a nice melodic chorus but it's a track that falls a bit short as far as quality compared to the rest of the album. As an album closer, it's a bit of a disappointment.

The first couple of listens to this album left me to think that this album was not up to par with the rest of their releases but with repeated listens, the attention to detail with the song arrangements really came to light. A lot of effort has gone into this album and it's clear that the band wants to distance themselves from the competition by becoming a more diverse metal band but not sacrifice any of the staples of the Freedom Call sound. There are even several instances within this album where the band uses more of an 80's melodic hard rock style. Sure there's lots of bands that sound similar but Freedom Call have mastered the balance between heaviness and soaring melodies like few others have. An overall very solid album, this one falls a bit short of others namely Eternity and their second album The Crystal Empire. However, fans of the band can be rest assured that they've released another fine effort. The only real shortcomings are with some of the songwriting. Every track has a great melodic chorus but a few just don't measure up as far as the rest of the song (verse/riffs etc.). For fans of the melodic and speedy Helloween/Gamma Ray style of metal and enjoy soaring sweet melodies from one of the better singers in the genre today in Chris Bay, Freedom Call may not be the most original sounding band but they're masters of their craft and are sure to be exactly what you're looking for in a melodic power metal band.