Band:	Savage Circus
Album:	Dreamland Manor
Style:	Power metal
Release date:	August 29, 2005
A review by:	Jeff

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
10. Ca Plane Pour Moi [Japanese bonus]

No no mates, you're not listening the new or unreleased album of Blind Guardian, but the first album of Savage Circus the new band of Mr Thomen Stauch ex drummer of the Guardians. If I must confess that I like the music and the album in general, I can't deny it, but I'm a bit upset too because this album is a total rip off of a Blind Guardian period "Imaginations From The Other Side". Evidently Thomen Stauch was and will ever be one of the souls of Blind Guardian, but I don't understand why he had to do something so similar?

When nowadays a band try to copy Nightwish everyone say that it is a rip off, that it is a shame, that we don't know where is the originality to do that, in two words that it is a big ugly crap. I read some reviews of "Dreamland Manor" and strangely I only see great reviewsa and I have two explanations maybe. First it's hard to find Blind Guardian clones and we're not pissed off yet by this music and Also Thomen Stauch played in the band then it's not so easy probably to do bad critics on his new combo. But, on the other hand the music is maybe simply good. I think that these two remarks are actually rights, the album is good no doubt but it seems to be hard to criticize it for some strange reasons.

Musically, "Dreamland Manor" is a great album of Power Metal. Melodic as hell with excellent choruses, great solos, powerful heavy riffs and strong tempos in reason of the powerful double Drum play of Thomen. A song like "Evil Eyes" for example is a real killer, but I have the feeling that I'm listening to a Blind Guardian song, and a good one... That's weird because it's good and I like it, but on the other hand my spirit say to myself "ho nice, Blind Guardian can take some vacations, we have something for the substitution?". That's the problem of this "Dreamland Manor", the production is good, the lyrics like the melodies are damn efficient but the originality is zero. In two words, if you don't care of the similarities with Blind Guardian, you'll find an excellent album, but if you care of such things, you'll probably be chocked.

I won't bow Savage Circus this time, and I will wait their second album to see if they can do something a bit more original and personal. If they can do it, we will have the proof that we're in front of an excellent band but now sorry, I want to wait their future. I can't give a great rating but on the other hand I can't bash this really catchy album that is for sure nearer of the top than the flop. To sum up, let's see how the Blind Guardian's fans will react now and later (especially when we will have ten others new Savage Circus) and we will have an answer on the real quality of this album.