Isolate

Circus Maximus | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 14, 2007)
• Original Release Date: 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: SENSORY RECORDS
• ASIN: B000TNJIFG
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #52,733 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #61 in Music > Christian > Hard Rock & Metal

Editorial Reviews

2007 Japanese edition of the band's second album, and once again Tommy Hansen was chosen as the guy to mix the album. With an incredible sound and 9 fantastic songs, this is a huge step forward and an album that will put the band high on top of the metal genre. --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant, September 3, 2007

By 

S. Craig Caldwell "CraigC-NC" (North Carolina, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Isolate (Audio CD)

This CD is very simply one of the best (if not the best) CDs I've purchased. Ever.

The musicianship is stellar, the vocals are amazing, the production is excellent, and the songwriting is near-perfect. If you like Progressive Metal (or even just rock/metal in general), you should own this CD.

The song "Mouth of Madness" alone is worth the purchase price of this CD. Also, the worst song on this CD (whichever it might be) is probably still as good as the best song on many other of your favorite progmetal CDs.

I own over 1000 CDs (own, not pirated), largely progmetal, and if this one holds up to long-term listening (and I think it will), it will be in my "Top 10 ever) list. I'd compare it to Queensryche's "Operation Mindcrime," if that tells you anything.

Buy. Enjoy. Then get their first disc, "The 1st Chapter." It was one of my favorite CDs in its year of release (2004 or 2005), so clearly it's also excellent, though the band has definitely kicked things up a notch in overall quality with "Isolate."

I've seen the band live (twice, in fact), and their live performance is worthy of the CD, with alll of the musicians nailing all of their parts, including the vocals (phenomenal harmonies, even live). All of the band members do background, but it's Michael Eriksen's lead vocals that definitely stand apart (though the drummer, Truls, has an awesome voice, as well). Mike has already established himself as one of metal's top new vocalists, and it's well-deserved.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the album that Dream Theater has been trying to make., November 12, 2008

By 

Paul W. Duet (New Orleans, LA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Isolate (Audio CD)

From the opening moments of "A Darkened Mind", I was completely blown away by this band and this album. I've been a prog rock and prog metal fan for most of my life and I love it all... recently it seems like Dream Theater are the poster children of prog metal. Don't get me wrong, I love Dream Theater... but as technical as they can be, they get downright sloppy in the studio and even more so on stage. This band, Circus Maximus, is like a super charged, super technical band that performs everything with absolute precision and perfection. Nothing seems forced or robotic.. everything flows perfectly.. the vocals are absolutely perfect.. the drumming and guitar playing are very technically impressive and tasteful.. and to top it off, this album isn't a collection of show-off pieces and poorly written songs (see Dream Theater's latest mess of an album "Systematic Chaos")... this album is a collection of fantastic songs! Every song is a masterpiece.. every note is perfect from beginning to end.. whoever produced and mixed this album is a genius. The quality of the production is akin to Queensryche's super expensively produced PROMISED LAND. A lot of time and money went into PROMISED LAND, and this album sounds on par with that album, although I'm sure it was produced for a fraction of the price.

Oh and something else that plagues prog (and always has) is bad lyrics. (Once again, see Dream Theater's SYSTEMATIC CHAOS.) Surprisingly, ISOLATE has good lyrics.. great lyrics, even. The melodies stick in your head.. heck, even the instrumental breakdowns stick in your head.. it's just that freaking good.

I can't recommend this album enough. It's the perfect progressive metal album from start to finish. The end.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars High quality progressive rock!, January 22, 2008

By 

Michael (Australia) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Isolate (Audio CD)

This is another great progressive metal album from Circus Maximus that shows how it should be done. These guys are a very technical unit that take care in producing flawless music reminiscent of early Dream Theater albums like "Images and Words". If you are at all intereseted in bands like Dream Theater then you really should check this out. It will blow your mind to listen to how great these guys are. I just wish Dream Theater was still doing this type of thing - that is, carefully constructed songs! I love both bands but how can you go past an album that sounds like alot of time has been put into its creation.