Savage Circus - Dreamland Manor

[Liu]

Savage Circus - Dreamland Manor
Dockyard One

The departure of drummer Thomen "The Omen" Stauch from Blind Guardian in 2004 was a hefty blow to band. It was the first major line-up change in the band's 20+ year existence and wide speculation aside, the actual circumstances that led up to his exit is still largely a mystery to anyone outside the Guardian camp. Few months later, Stauch met up with long-time friend and colleague Piet Sielck of Iron Savior (who has a long list of contributions to Blind Guardian's studio efforts) and along with two members of Persuader, formed Savage Circus.

Savage Circus is best described as two parts Blind Guardian and one part Iron Savior. You got Stauch's dominating drum sound (the guy is really fucking underrated) and Jens Carlsson's soaring vocals (besides a few instances, the guy sounds exactly like Hansi Kursch). Piet Sielck helps out with the backing vocals and general melodic mastery (he handles the guitars, bass and produced the album for good measure) and rounding everything out is second guitarist Emil Norberg. The closest comparison I'd make is Blind Guardian's Imaginations From The Other Side album with some elements of the first few Iron Savior albums spicing things up. So, in a word, Dreamland Manor is awesome.

Most of the songs are quickly paced with thick riffs and busy drum work. The guitar style of Piet Sielck and Emil Norberg is very much molded after Blind Guardian axemen Andre Olbrich and Marcus Siepen. And what can I say about Jens Carlsson? Like I said, the guy sounds exactly like Hansi Kursch, from his very german accent to the small nuances that made him so unique in the first place. I should mention that Hansi is one of my favorite vocalists, so anyone sounding like him will instantly grab my attention. And you can be sure, Savage Circus has my attention. As for the individual songs, there's just too much I love on this album to properly give it all justice. Favorites include Between The Devil And The Seas, Tomorrowland, It - The Gathering and When Hell Awakes. All have similiar traits: galloping fast pace, incredible choruses with some of the most majestic backing vocals I've ever heard and crafty guitar solos. Beyond Reality is the album's power ballad and it fits in quite well with the bombastic feel of the album (think of a heavier version of Blind Guardian's A Past And Future Secret and you're somewhat there). Ghost Story is the album's sole weak track. On its own its not really bad but it doesn't quite have the same remarkable qualities that the rest of the album has.

If you consider yourself even a small fan of the Power Metal genre, you owe it to yourself to seek out Dreamland Manor immediately. While they can't lay claim to having an original sound (untrained ears would easily mistake this for a Blind Guardian album), considering who is in the band, that is one distinction that works for them. Highly recommended.


01. Evil Eyes
02. Between The Devil And The Seas
03. Waltz Of The Demon
04. Tomorrowland
05. It - The Gathering
06. Beyond Reality
07. When Hell Awakes
08. Ghost Story
09. Born Again By The Night

Score: 9/10

[zach]

Great review. A well deserved 9/10! But isn't Jens from Sweden? WOuldn't that make it a swedish accent?

Fuck, i always have to nitpick.

[Liu]

I was refering to Hansi's accent and how much Jens sounds like him.

[zach]

gotcha. like i said, great review. I need to listen to that cd more.