HAVOC

To start with a conclusion, and as a fellow reviewer mentioned, ''Havoc'' is suited more to the younger fans of progressive metal; an extremely well-put-together construct of standard recipe prog metal songs, with the required weight on the guitars and an extra dose of commercial vibe (or ''cheesiness'' if you prefer). A Coheed and Cambria metal version is not far off summarising the sound, but let's see what else is there.

Circus Maximus combine the Dream Theater/Queensryche-laden (albeit less complex) riffing, with Roy Khan-type melody vocals and compositions layered on mid tempos, akin to the style of Coldplay, Muse or U2 (good examples are Flames, Remember) and not far off the mood that the fellow Nords Von Hertzen Brothers manifest. Unfortunately, the one hour of music included here seems to be a waste of the band's (obvious) talent in aiming to create radio-friendly prog metal, to the point where the listener presses the ''skip'' button (title track). There are some better moments in ''Pages'' and glimpses of more elaborate songwriting in ''Loved Ones'' and ''After the Fire'' but these get subsumed in the general lightheartedness of the sound.

If you get excited by power-pop prog metal, then this could be for you - the rest can by-pass or give it a spin on a long summer drive (or a summer's night party).

2.5 stars

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