ISOLATED CHAPTERS

Circus Maximus is a progressive metal band from Oslo Norway that was founded in 2000. The band has released 4 full length studio albums since that time, and released the EP "Isolated Chapters" in September of 2019. This EP contains two tracks that are not available elsewhere.

"Phasing Mirrors" (10:21) was written after the release of their 2nd album "Isolate" in 2007. Originally, it was planned as a bonus track for the album "Nine", but the band felt it didn't quite match the style of the other songs on the album. Several years later, the band decided to complete the track, and it is now available on this EP. There are some similarities to the "Isolate" album in that it has the same level of darkness in the music and it is also based around the song "Mouth of Madness". The music has that sound of dark and heavy guitars with the underlying synth. The beat alternates between mostly fast rhythms and slowing in some sections. The best part is in the instrumental breaks, as the vocals are a bit on the safe side. Later, there is a great mix of guitar and synth, the guitars bringing out the slower and heavier side of the track while the synth acts to brighten things up and usually is accompanied by faster drums. In the middle, there is an atmospheric keyboard riff and softer vocals followed by a nice, somewhat tortured guitar riff, then counterpunctual layered vocals. Some cool keyboard work follows accentuated by heavy guitar. It's a nice balance. Overall, the track is decent enough, nothing special, but enough there to keep lovers of hard prog happy. The male chorus later in the track is also a cool surprise.

The 2nd track is "Endgame" (7:38) which is a sort-of follow up to the track "Glory of the Empire" from the album "The 1st Chapter". This track begins with a sound that is more accessible and not as heavy, though there are some great guitar melodies there and an occasional progressive fill here and there. But it does kind of lack the power of the first track. The track could almost be radio ready, but is probably too long. However, it really isn't very challenging in a progressive way, maybe a bit lightweight, but a bit of a symphonic effect in the middle. It's good, just nothing to get real excited about.

This is one to keep the fans happy with some new music, but doesn't really hold much to keep a progressive fan happy. They are just good songs, but the price may be more than you want to pay for a couple of just decent tracks, unless you are a fan of the band, then you might be willing to part with 10 dollars for 18 minutes of music. Or you could get the "Nine Live" album which has both of these tracks now available as bonus tracks.