Shadow Circus - 2023 - From the Shadows [mini-review]

(46:49; Shadow Circus)

US band Shadow Circus are out with the album "From the Shadows", and progressive metal is probably the best manner in which to define the landscapes explored on this production. It is an accessible variety of the form we get here, with at least a foot well placed inside the traditional heavy metal universe and songs that come with a bit of a bombastic presence and an undercurrent of Gothic and theatrical flair. The progressive tendencies of the band are most easily audible in the instrumental sections, that tends to come with more expressive features, and the drummer has a good time in supplying subtle details in his department that makes the music a tad more complex than the dominant guitar riffs makes you think. As per standard procedure we also get the ebb and flow between gentler and more harder hitting parts in many songs, and some compositions also feature more atmospheric laden interludes that add an additional dimension to the structure of the songs. With a little bit of power metal and possibly a small touch of thrash metal thrown in for good measure. A production to seek out if accessible progressive metal or more sophisticated heavy metal explored with a bit of a Gothic and theatrical flair sounds like your kind of music.

Olav "Progmessor" Björnsen, November 2023

Links:
https://www.shadowcircusmusic.com/