CIRCUS PANDEMONIUM

A.C.T is back with a vengeance. After an 8 year respite in which most of us (myself included) wrote them off, they have concocted an amazing offering. In fact, this may be better than Last Epic. Yes, I'll admit the circusy theme is probably a bit overused in prog, but don't worry because the music here feels fresh, and is consistently addictive and catchy, despite having some quite complex passages and really superb musicianship. I can't really think of a bad track or anything about the music here that I don't like, style wise. Some of their previous works tended to be a tad too chipper, and then Silence went too far the opposite direction and had some OTT emoness, but this release seems much more emotionally balanced, which is what makes it (and I say this tentatively since I've only had this album for a week) their best release to date. I certainly hope it's not another 8 years before we get another.