Faith Circus - Faith Circus
Kivel Records
80's Rock
11 songs ()
Release year: 2008
Reviewed by Thomas

First release from what has to be Norway’s softest band since Stage Dolls. Even though Faith Circus are ironically enough based in THE black metal area of the country, these guys stick to songs about love for women and heartbreaks and the likes. This is actually a good sign as they tend to come off as a little, er, in lack of a better term, silly. In all seriousness though, and even though I always have to blast Cannibal Corpse on full power after spinning these guys, if you like catchy, guitar-driven music and dominant vocals, this might be right up your anu.. eh alley. Sounding like a combo consisting of Stage Dolls various glam-bands and even some Def Leppard, Meat Loaf and Whitesnake thrown in the mix, Faith Circus is undoubtedly extremely catchy, but not easy to take seriously. The songs are more or less varied in strength, with cool, not very distorted guitars, hooks, and good vocals. If I were to compare the vocals to anything metal, Jorn Lande is the first one that comes to mind. This guy’s voice is more or less Coverdale/Bon Jovi-worship, and it works out surprisingly well as it fits the music pretty nicely.

OH GOD THIS IS SO CHEESY! There, just had to get that out of the system.

Even though this is pretty good overall, there are quite a few forgettable moments as the songwriting is pretty weak as the dynamics are pretty much absent. Let’s remember however, that this is only the first release from these Norwegian kittens though and there is definitely room for improvement. Unless you’re buried inside your own pitch black mind, you cannot deny that this is catchy in the good way often enough. Song like the anthemic Don’t Turn Your Back on Love and the almost musical-like Meat Loaf-inspired Temporary High is impossible to not nod along to as they have a nice drive to them, and you can’t deny Marius Mørch’s charismatic and warm guitar-tone when his blazing some pretty impressive leads, has a very nice feel to it even though it makes you all cuddly inside.

This is definitely nothing for the Slayer-fans among us. It is pretty cool for what it is, nothing more than a flowery, catchy and poppy 80s-rock album that’ll either put a smile on your face or make you incredibly sick to your stomach. Its inconsistency tends to ruin the good moments for them, but they are definitely here. Sadly, there are lots of weak ones as well, which leaves me a little empty when I’m finished spinning this. If you’re into the whole 80s/glam/pop-rock/synth-rock thing, then this should be something you might enjoy. However, if you’re after something you can bang your head to, air-guitar and air-drum to, then you have to look past this and take a look at my Cauldron-review.

MySpace
Killing Songs :
Temporary High
Thomas quoted 68 / 100
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