Customer Reviews

Dreamland Manor

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

So...you Blind Guardian/metal fans want to know about this CD: an offering from a band called Savage Circus which is comprised, in part, of a significant piece of Blind Guardian's much revered past.

I read all of the reviews here and elsewhere on the Internet about this sounding extremely like Blind Guardian's classic albums: Tales from the Twilight World (1990), Somewhere Far Beyond (1992), and Imaginations from the Other Side (1995). I bought this CD for that reason. I was blown away and somewhat amused by it, actually.

You should know by now that the drummer of Savage Cirus is none other than Thomen "The Omen" Stauch, original member of Blind Guardian and their drummer for 20 years. What you may not know is that the guitarist (and presumed main songwriter) of Savage Circus is Piet Sielck...a sound engineer/producer and also guitarist. Mr. Sielck hooked up with Kai Hansen (Helloween/Gamma Ray) back in the early 80's and actually was involved in an early iteration of Helloween before quitting to focus on producing. Mr. Sielck also provided backing vocals/effects and was a sound engineer on the early Blind Guardian offerings and was a big influence on them back in the day.

These 2 elements (along with excellent Hansi Kursch-like vocals from Jens Carlsson) come together to create a celebration of melodic speed metal in its most classic and pure form. Some rock critics will scoff at the fact that S.C. are doing nothing new and are reliving glory from days past. Well..that's the point. This is a glowing tribute to the form of metal we all love. That classic era of Blind Guardian that some of us still long for. Thomen Stauch deserved to make an album like this and should be thanked for it. Same with Piet Sielck. They've earned this album.

The production is phenomenal, the guitars are in-your-face. The distortion is high but still allows you to hear the intense melodies in the riffs. The songs sort of flow together, but standouts are "Evil Eyes", with its very catchy chorus, "Between the Devil and the Seas", and "When Hell Awakes." This is essentially Tales from the Twilight World Part 2...with modern production qualities. That is not a knock on S.C. I think you'd agree this is a compliment.

So, in closing, as a long-time (and current) Blind Guardian and power metal fan in general, I HIGHLY recommend this CD. Thomen Stauch and Piet Sielck deserve a lot of credit for making an album of this high quality. It is an instant classic. Their experience and attention to detail shine through. Another plus is that a good young vocalist emerges here in Jens Carlsson. This would be money well spent. I haven't taken it out of my CD player in 3 days...you won't be able to either.

WELL DONE.

What can I say?! Among the best metal releases in the past several years. Founded by former Blind Guardian drummer, Thomen Stauch, Savage Circus brings back the power driven melodies of Guardian's yester-year. For fans of classic albums such as Somewhere Far Beyond and Imaginations From the Other Side, Dreamland Manor is a must!

Fast, heavy, highly technical, orchestral when appropriate, killer vocals (from Persuader's Jens Carlsson), and just plain BEAUTIFUL music... I have nothing bad to say about any song on this album. From the first few beats of Evil Eyes, true metal fans will be mesmerized. The opening anthem will have you singing along by the 2nd chorus, and inadvertantly raising your hands triumphantly more than once.

Between the Devil and The Seas offers more of the same melodic power as Evil Eyes, and Waltz of the Demon has even more of a sing-along quality. Track 4, Tomorrowland, is by far my favorite song on the album. Smart and inspirational lyrics excite the imagination. IT - The Gathering is a treat for any Stephen King fan before things slow down a bit for the obligatory chick tune, Beyond Reality, which is amazing in its own right.

When Hell Awaks and Born Again by the Night are two more signature sing-ables, while Ghost Story provides a harder edge near the end of the album. Incidentally, both Evil Eyes and Ghost Story can both be heard at the Savage Circus website, www.savage-circus.com.

This one gets SIX stars!

Actually, you should buy this album, because it's phenomenally awesome, just don't buy this particular item from Amazon. If you look closely at the item information at the top of the page, you'll notice that it disclaims that this is a CD-R which Amazon will burn on demand when you order it. The claim is that the audio on the CD-R is the original master from the studio, and that the MP3 files [which are also available for sale] are generated from that original audio. Whether that's really the case or not, I can't say since I didn't buy both, but the track listing for this CD-R is the same as the track listing for the album in MP3. That's problematic, because track #7 is on the CD twice, in positions #6 and #7. The real track #6 "Beyond Reality" does not appear on this CD-R! Also, there's no liner notes with the CD-R, just the front cover and a track listing. It doesn't even have the artwork on the back. So don't waste your money on this version unless you absolutely cannot obtain the album any other way.

After listening to this disc for awhile, I checked the liner notes a few times to make sure that it wasn't Hansi Kursch singing. Holy crap, it's close. The only song where the singer, Jens Carlsson, doesn't sound like Hansi is on the slow song "Beyond Reality", a heavily acoustic opus.

I really enjoyed this album. It's great to hear Thomen Stauch once again pounding out the kind of beats that helped define the sound of early Blind Guardian. This album is a shinig example of what the early B.G. sound was all about: great power metal with the speed and technical precison of speed and thrash metal. And by power metal I mean it's a fist-pumping, adrenaline-rushing good time with lots of great riffs and solos, kickass choruses with cool backing vocals, and plenty of top-notch drumming.

Most of the songs are pretty up-tempo, but there are a few mid-paced and slower songs. Overall, this album has no real weaknesses, although some of the longer tracks seem to meander about slightly. The main thing that kept me from rating this five stars is what most other reviewers have already cited: nothing really original, just more of the same. But that's a good thing. There's plenty of music to sink your teeth into; each song is over five minutes long. From the first shredding riffs of "Evil Eyes" to the pounding drums-only finish of "Born Again by the Night", this is power-metal mastery. Thomen allegedly quit Blind Guardian because he was unhappy with the opera/orchestral sound they were moving towards, and this blast from the past is a welcome product of that.

Savage Circus reminds me a old Blind Guardian, from albums like "Follow the blind" and "Batallions of fear". Also the vocalist is very close to Kursh's voice, but this album is very tight like Blind Guardian. This record is full of solos, melodies and terrific arrengements. So if you like Blind Guardian and Iron Saviour, this is your new favorite!!!!

I was not happy with Blind Guardian's Opera album. Maybe that is why Thomen left, to continue to play the kind of music that band is known for. If you like their earlier stuff like Follow the Blind, then this CD is for you. Same paced rhythms, same aggressive guitars and basically the same type of vocals. All just produced so much better. I think this is a good album, doesn't do anything new, just more of the same. If you want to add another old Blind Guardian CD to your collection, run don't walk to get your hands on this. You won't be disappointed. If you were a fan of Night at the Opera, be cautious.

First off this is not the Import of this cd. It is professionally made copy. What do you lose you ask? The booklet is the answer. To me no big deal. I do not look at the booklet enough to pay $20 more to get it.

Now to the music. As the title to the review says this is music in the style of early Blind Guardian (the first 3 albums). However since we are no longer in the late 1980s it is updated by being faster and heavier. Also the recording is better as to be expected by technological advances. I would get this cd and their second one Of Doom and Death if you like German power metal. The price is well worth the music.

The song Evil Eyes blew me away with its classic vibe, which led me to purchase the album when it was actually being sold in the U.S., unlike now when you have to special order it. That sucks for true metal fans, since many of the truly awsome metal offerings are being released from Europe, and therfore may not even be available in America. Hopefully Dreamland Manor will be back in America soon, and hopefully Savage Circus will release their new effort in the near future as well, since their debut was a metal masterpiece.

Not many albums come out that can truly be placed on the hallowed alter of metal, along with Master of Puppets, Painkiller, or Reign In Blood. Dreamland Manor has the same power, attitude, and dominance as those albums in my opinion. It contains the classic shredding guitars, fierce vocals, thank you Jens Carlsson, and raw metal emotion that the classic albums showcase. Think Judas Priest meets Blind Guardian, meets Megadeth, meets old Helloween. Melodic, and powerful, heavy, and in your face. Savage Circus.

I was as sad as any Blind Guardian fan when I read that Thomen "the Omen" Stauch had left the band. He had been with them pretty much since their inception, and in my opinion had a lot to do with the killer sound they had on albums such as "Imaginations from the Other Side" and "Nightfall in Middle Earth". I've been doing air drumming to his trademark double bass sounds (I consider him the "Lombardo" of Power metal) for years.

However, something happened in the Blind Guardian camp to cause Thomen to want to seek out new ventures. I have my speculations, his performance on Night at the Opera seeming to be replaced more and more by triggered samples and (possibly) a drum machine?

I knew there is something amiss because the new Blind Guardian is not up to snuff either, Thomen or no Thomen.

However, us BG fans can rest assured that we will get plenty of mileage with his new band, Savage Circus.

I had heard their singer before, he is in the awesome Kreator/Arch Enemy meets old BG band Persuader and is a dead ringer for Hansi Kursch, so much in fact that I can play either of his bands and tell BG fans its an unreleased track by them and they believe me. Scary? Possibly?

But compared to the relative mess the past two BG albums have been, Savage Circus is a breath of fresh air. Other reviewers are dead on in the assumption that it is kind of like prime Iron Savior meets BG, and it has that futuristic Piet Sielck guitar sound mixed with Tales-Imaginations era BG.

Its a leaner machine than even mid period Blind Guardian as most of the miedeval influences are stripped away, and this Iron Savior influence makes it a bit more unique than expected.

Is it perfect? No. But its better than crying in your beer listening to the new Blind Guardian albums wondering what went wrong. Thomen may have made the right choice, he certainly didn't deserve being replaced by a machine (ironically that sounded kind of like the Bladerunner influenced Time what is Time by Blind Guardian!)

We'll have to see if the second album is as strong as this debut, and if the band can bring the more original influences (from Persuader or elsewhere) into the forefront.

"Dreamland Manor" is the new album by this new superband(?) consisting of Jens carlsson and Emil Nordberg (PRESUADER), Thomen Stauch (BLIND GUARDIAN) and Piet Sielck (IRON SAVIOR).

If you're looking for something completely new, something never done before and very original, this is not the album for you. If you want some old-new straight headed and mindblowing power metal, this is the album for you.

It's a very good album, with great performances from all the musicians. Great choruses, fast drumming and blazing quitar riffs, everything very powerful and intnse. Long songs with lots of changes of rhythms and solos. I have to give these guys the credit they deserve. They know what they're doing. But I'm afraid that's it for me...There is nothing new in this album. The formula is the same and practically, if you let me, worn out.

With a singer that sounds like BLIND GUARDIAN'S Hansi Kursch, with BLIND GUARDIAN's drummer, and the IRON SAVIOR guitar sound, and choruses. If you've listened to BG and IS before, it's nothing new. It's like they've taken the principal elements from each band and put it together, without the originality I expected. Musically, the band is more in the IRON SAVIOR vein, but with a more melodic and folk touch.

Last Iron Savior album was quiet disappointing for me. So that's why I expected something better this time. But it seems that Piet needs a time off the studio to think deeper and better ideas.

There are some good moments, though, in which the album takes off, like the opening "Evil Eyes" or "Between the devil and the seas"...

Three stars for the power and the attitude. Only 3 stars for its lack of originality and for being...for me, another power metal album...