Metal Reviews

Circus Maximus is an excellent band. Which album have you heard, Thomas? Or have you heard them both?

Both.. Isolate currently my favourite, there are some songs there that are just fantastic. Incredible song-writers.

Indeed. I've only heard Isolate. How is it compared to their first album?

The First Chapter is way better, trust me. The sound is the same, but they got a malenky bit mellow on Isolate. To both of you, if you're into this PowerProg, listen to Dreamscape - End of Silence (2004), and Lost in Thought - Opus Arise (2011). Awesome stuff, even more than CM in my not so humble opinion.

That's what I've heard from other people too, that The First Chapter is better. I have heard of Dreamscape but not the other band your talking about. I will check them out. Cheers.

Will check both out, thanks Alex. Not particularly into powerprog, but will give them a shot.

And Isolate is much better than The 1st Chapter IMO. Mainly due to the production actually for me.

Yeah... as long as it doesn't have cheesy vocals and flamboyant melodies I can stomach it

I have CM and Dreamscape wishlisted. I believe I have heard at least part of the Dreamscape album and love it before the great MP3 scourge. The other band must be new.

You won't like what I end up releasing. At least I came up with a good name. According to EM, no metal band has been named "Bel Canto" the semi-vague term used to describe 17th century Italian Opera or more generally over-exaggerating dramatic and flamboyant qualities of later periods. I think that is exactly what Italian PM is doing. I'm gonna run with it.

Oh I'm sure I'll find something to like about it

Yes, Lost in Thought is a new band, the album was released only a month ago. Debut of the year so far...

The vocal style is similar in CM, Dreamscape and LiT. The guy from LiT sounds a lot like Hansen (the Anubis Gate one) with a bit of Tobias Althammer (ex-Lanfear). He's quite good actually.

Alright. I'll wishlist it. Thanks for the tip man. I'm the worst about not trying new bands since I can't go to the record store to listen to promos. I had to play a few years worth of catchup a few weeks back.

Top 5 favorite bands ever
1. The Tea Party
2. Dark Tranquillity
3. Porcupine Tree
4. Katatonia
5. Kamelot

Checking both Dreamscape and Lost In Thought right now, and I must say they are quite good. Nothing spectacular but pleasing progressive music, nonetheless. I like both of the vocal patterns too which is a surprise considering they are power metal vocals. Thanks for the recommendations. As for musicianship, I would say they are in the same level; with CM being a little more flashy which I do not find very interesting at all. I also like Lost in Thought's vocals more than CM or Dreamscape.

Give them time to unfold, repeated listens are required. Dreamscape musicians are the best of the three, especially in the guitar department, the solos are so well constructed, so melodic, without falling in cheesiness. You're more into Black Metal as I am, and the fact that you enjoyed them is a prove that they are good. And old time friend was only into Death Metal for years, not liking even Maiden or the Priest, but when he heard Lost Horizon he was humbled to his knees. He had to admit that was the shit. Still, that's the only nonDeath band he likes :p

Yes... Being a little more on the flashy side (CM) I would say the guitar work of Dreamscape would be more humble and by that I mean no cheese included; they might be more subtle one could say. I actually like all different sorts of music but lately I have been on the more extreme kick. I guess I need more time to be able to analyze the music much more in depth to form a rather fair conclusion about Dreamscape and LiT. Comparing music can be foolishly easy but it is a hard task to be done fairly and squarely.

This is always difficult, but...

Devin Townsend
Blind Guardian
Virgin Steele
Sigur Ros
GY!BE
Dream Theater
Rush
Coheed and Cambria
Windir
Anathema
Porcupine Tree
Gamma Ray
Iron Maiden
Opeth

I can't remember the number of times such a thread was created, but I still enjoy it. Here's a list of my favourite bands in no specific order.

Iron Maiden
Carcass
God Dethroned
Immolation
Sinister

Yeah... we need a thread like this at least every two years.