Customer Reviews

Isolate

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

Circus Maximus continue to flex their progressive-metal muscle on this sophmore release. The energy expenditure and technical prowess on this disc demonstrate that they are ascending the ladder in the progressive-metal genre.

The problem with this disc is when you compare it to their stunning debut - "The 1st Chapter." Although much of this album is on par with its predecessor, it fails to make any real movement forward. This is ok for some, and not for others - I enjoy it regardless of its continuation of their previous effort. "The 1st Chapter" was so outstanding, it's hard to imagine them making a leap beyond where they started.

One of the weak points are the vocals. While the singer has a good voice, both his vocals and the music seem to descend to the 80's rock-metal style on "Arrival of Love." Some may like this, but I find it difficult to swallow for a millennium progressive-metal band. The 80's have come and gone, let's move ahead, instead of regressing to former days.

However, the preceding instrumental "Sane No More" has so much charisma, technical ability, and even (believe it or not) FUN (did I just say fun???), it makes enduring the weaker aspects of this release worthwhile.

Even though there are weak points on "Isolate," it by no means a weak release. I wrote the weaker points in order to be helpful to the reader of this review. Overall, this album stands above a multitude of other bands in the same category. When I take into consideration all the releases that I purchased in 2007, this one still makes it to my top 10.

I got The 1st Chapter (their 1st album) when it came out and was blown away. I know it has been said before, but if you enjoy your Dream Theater, Symphony X, or the likes and just want it better (that is right, better), this is the band to get. I have had this release since day one and it has not left my CD changer, let alone the CD being played since it was first released.

The musicianship is very good, the band is extremely tight, the recording is well done (very well done).

As the album opens with "Darkened Mind" you might find it really difficult not to just hitting repeat a dozen times as you enter a state of trance with the riffing. Once you move past the first track, you are immediately hit with another amazing grove between the band and I'm certain you will think "man, I got to hit the track button to the beginning again.." However, let yourself go and it just continues to be as good as it started. Once you get to "Mouth of Madness," you might need to take a 5 minute break to stretch out your neck and arms as I am sure the level of air-guitaring and air-drumming will have put a strain on your joints and you'll need to limber up for the 13 minute extravaganza.

I am so juiced about this album, even as I type these words I felt inclined to bring it up to listen to.

Do yourself a favor and buy this one.

Once again, I stumbled on another group to add to my collection. As said previously, if you listen to Dream Theater, Kamelot and the like, then pick this up today along with their first release, 'The 1st Chapter'. Both are stellar releases. Every track rocks and they just do a great job with all the elements making this a fantastic listen. Enjoy!

Every song on this album is a winner, it's genuinely a great progressive power metal album. I may be alone on this thought, but "Abyss" is the greatest song I've ever heard - bar none. Six out of five. Absolutely stunning.

But I digress... if you are a fan of progressive power metal this album is an essential to your collection. It's incredibly epic, there's lots of variety, and the production quality is as good as it would ever need to be.

If you are fan of the genre, then this is a must have. As with most metaly progressive, it might take a few listens to get it, but man, this is terrific stuff. Circus Maximus definitely has their own sound, they are not a generic band. Their use of wild keyboards comes to mind, but there are some specific things they do that no one else really does. You have to listen but you'll hear things that are truly unique, creative and different (like the use of a classic theremin sound on Abyss).

There is a hint of Journey influence, maybe some others as well, but these guys can play. Vocals are terrific, if not very approachable. I loved their first album, The First Chapter. Listen to the track Glory of the Empire to hear their potential.

I hope these guys stay together forever and keep making new music. For fans of prog metal, and complex music. They are not as punishing as Pagan's Mind, but boy these guys are good.

I spent quite a bit of time sampling many available bands in the genre. I filtered my choices down to Circus Maximus and Cloudscape, and ordered both. Both are in my CD changer, on both computers, on my iPod, and another MP3 player. I've probably listened to Cloudscape all the way through twice (and they are good), but can't count how many times I've listened to Circus Maximus. I've had both CDs about a week.

I was looking for a very specific sound; outstandingly clean and melodious vocals, melody verses raw metal, soaring harmonies and background instrumentals, and virtuousity ala Dream Theater. If you're looking for rough vocals, head-banging metal, and a pounding beat, this is not the music for you. They almost perfectly meet my expectations for this type of music.

Vocals: think of Steve Perry, Ian Gillan, the singer with Alter Bridge, or (most closely) the fella from Queensryche (my only comparison here because CM is superior to QR otherwise), combined with a Journey type vocal harmony. This guy's vocal range is unbelievably clean and clear.

Musically: very similar to Dream Theater's more melodious tunes with a bit of misdirection, and their virtuosity is only slightly below Dream Theater's musicianship. If you like more melody in your metal, these songs will stick in your head for quite some time...in many ways they do have a Journey-like feel to their music.

There's not really a throw away song on this record. Several great melodies, a Dream Theater-like instrumental, and some rockers. These guys are quite good!

I'm new to progressive metal having always preferred my metal straight up... Metallica, Megadeth, and the like. I've always loved Queensryche, Savatage, Yngwie Malmsteen, and Dream Theatre but I was a fan long before the terms 'progressive' or 'symphonic' started being used. That all being said, I really like this band. Their music is melodic and complex, and Michael Erikson is an awesome vocalist. I have to agree with others here that they so sound a lot like Dream Theatre at times but what's wrong with that. I recommend this CD and thier debut effort "The 1st Chapter" as well. Neither CD disappoints.