SAVAGE CIRCUS - OF DOOM AND DEATH

German Savage Circus is the band formed by former Blind Guardian drummer Thomen Stauch, who wanted to revive the good old sound he enjoyed playing. And he did it: The first Savage Circus album “Dreamland Manor” is like listening to Blind Guardian during the Somewhere far beyond time. Well now he also abandoned his second band for personal reasons (Health? Fatigue? Only he knows)
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\r\nOf doom and death is the name of the second Savage Circus album who moved on without their creator Thomen Stauch. It is epic power metal plain and simple. It may go unnoticed if you listen to it once but given a couple more chances you’ll find that it is decent work.
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\r\nTHE SOUND
\r\nI can’t tell much regarding the sound. It haven’t changed at all since the first album –It’s like no one touched the consoles after completing Dreamland Manor. To be honest there was no point in changing anything since they have found a pretty good sound and each instrument was balanced to produce a neat harmony. For one they have managed to change the way they play so that A) They no longer sound like Blind Guardian and B) Make a combination of old school power with modern sound.
\r\nSong composition is particularly interesting. Epic riffs galloping over fast drum rhythms while Jen Carlsson sings with a powerful voice. (Is it me or sometimes Jen’s voice seems awfully similar to Hansi Kursch’s from Blind Guardian?)
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\r\nTHE SONGS
\r\nCompositions aside (which like I said have something fresh), there’s not much new in the lyrical themes either –Fantasy literature, fantasy movies and fantasy fantasy. At least even with a fast listening you can memorize some songs which means that they put decent amount of inspiration into it and it’s not a nine-tracks-one-song album.
\r\nFrom what I red from the lyrics of the first track “Of doom and death”, I suspect it is about Stephen King’s novels “The Dark Tower” (Another sigh for Somewhere far beyond)
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\r\nCONCLUSION
\r\nWell… If you’re into power metal knock yourselves out, if not move on. The album is indeed worthy of notice in every aspect but it’s just that: Power metal. There’s no experimentation or alchemy with other genres. It’s all about epic speed.
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\r\nNote: I liked the fact that the previous album was just like old Blind Guardian. Don’t you miss their early pre-1995 works?
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\r\nManos “M for Metal” Alimpertis\r\n