It’s highly unusual for the drummer of an upcoming band to be in the forefront. Well, things are different in the case of ex-BLIND GUARDIAN skin man Thomen “The Omen” Stauch, who’s probably the second most famous drummer in all of power metal, seconded only by the incredibly busy Jørg Michael (STRATOVARIUS, HELLOWEEN, SAXON and a million others). When Stauch abruptly left GUARDIAN after the smash hit album “A Night at the Opera” to focus on a solo project, I must admit that I thought he was crazy. After hearing “Dreamland Manor”, however, I can concede that he knew damn well what he was doing.

SAVAGE CIRCUS is actually a side project for more people than just Mr. Stauch. This band also features Piet Sielck of IRON SAVIOR (another band Stauch has played with) along with vocalist Jens Carlson and guitarist Emil Norberg, both of Sweden’s PERSUADER. The end result makes clear what must have been Stauch’s primary objective: to bring back that classic, thrashing BLIND GUARDIAN a la “Follow the Blind” or “Imaginations from the Other Side”. Gone are the outlandish compositions, excessive vocal choirs and tales of hobbits… and back are the heavy riffs and chugging rhythms. Hell, even Mr. Carlson sounds nearly identical to Hansi Kürsh (except for the signature German accent that is). BG fans will find themselves in nice, familiar territory with these nine tracks averaging a fairly lengthy 6 minutes apiece. These are generally your prime examples of German chugging power metal goodness, the only real departure being the ballad “Beyond Reality” which sounds a bit more like a STRATO ballad than a BG one.

A shampoo manufacturer not too long ago had the slogan “Trust them—they’re experts!” Well, the same goes for power metal. As far as I’m concerned, the future looks bright for SAVAGE CIRCUS so long as these four guys can overcome busy schedules and that nasty commute between Germany and Sweden. Basically, if you’re a BLIND GUARDIAN freak like I am but feel they need to step back the progression like I do, pick up a copy of “Dreamland Manor” before an army of orcs snags ‘em all up

- Cardona

OFFICIAL SITE: www.savage-circus.com

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