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WELCOME TO THE FREAKROOM
Tracklist:
Shadow Circus; Storm Rider; Inconvenient Compromise; Radio People; In the Wake of a Dancing Flame; Journey of Everyman
LINEUP
John Fontana: Guitars, keyboards
David Lawrence Bobick: Vocals
Corey Folta: Drums
Matt Masek: Bass guitar, 12 string guitar, cello, backing vocals
Zach Tenorio: Keyboards
REVIEW
Shadow Circus' debut album Welcome to the Freakroom is already out for a while. I have been listening to the album for some time now, but due to personal circumstances, could not review it before. But
since I find this album quite appealing, I really want to share it with you.
Shadow Circus is hailing from New York and the members have been active in many relatively unknown bands. Since 2006 they have been working on their debut album and early 2007 they signed with ProgRock
records, a label known for quality music and supporting new talent. Well, the 'talent' part is spot on, as Shadow Circus delivered a very nice debut album.
From the invitation, in true carnival style, to step up, the band takes you on a ride and a very pleasant ride I might add. The album holds some very strong songs and they are treading outside the set
paths, which is truly progressive in my book. The music is very varied, catchy, but most of all, very captivating. Bobick has a bit of a 'rough' voice and of course it is always a matter of taste, but it fits the
music in a good way, adding to the ride.
The band makes a good start with opener Shadow Circus, which is a strong neo-prog song, but as every ride has moments that are not so great, so does the second stop in this ride, Storm Rider. It is a good
song, in the vein of Glass Hammer, but the chorus is repeated too often, which makes it a bit tedious and with almost 8 minutes it just lasts too long. Had it been around four minutes, it would have been a great
song.
But the ride goes on and next up isa very strong track: Inconvenient Compromise. Excellent opening and lot's of great piano and synth parts throughout the song. It has a very nice orchestration and is one
of the highlightsof the album. It is followed by Radio People, a catchy song, that has the potential to be played on the radio. This song breathes the 70s and still sounds modern. The chorus will stick in your brain
long after you ended listeing to the album.
Welcome to the Freakroom ends on a high note, with two fantastic songs: In the Wake of a Dancing Flame and Journey of Everyman. Musically these are beautiful gems of progressive music.In the first one, the
vocals don't do it for me much, but since the music is so great, I can live with that. Journey of Everyman is a real epic, clocking 12 minutes and divided into three sections, the ride moves to previously unreached
heights. Wow, this is a masterpiece.
It is clear these guys are excellent musicians and they know how to compose good songs. They manage to mix the early 70s prog with modern, neo-prog and therefore have delivered a very impressive debut
album. Not the easiest to listen to, as I spent quite a lot of time listening to the album, but in time it reveals all it's musical secrets. If you love bands like Spock's Beard and Glass Hammer, you really should
give this one a try.
Score: 8/10
Marcel Haster December 2007
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