Savage Circus - Dreamland Manor (2005)

I approached this album with the vague awareness that it was brought together by a member of Blind Guardian, and when I started playing it, and heard the vocals, I assumed that member was Hansi Kürsch. But no, it's the drummer, Thomen Staunch, who's got it all going, and the vocalist is actually Persuader's Jens Carlsson, who had already demonstrated his similarities with Kürsch, so that made sense. He brought with him guitarist Emil Norberg, and already in the starting line-up was Iron Savior's Piet Sielck on guitar and backing vocals, so this is pretty much a power metal supergroup.
The album is sometimes pretty super as well. It's certainly dripped in Blind Guardian, from speed to sound, although it's not as complex as the likes of IMAGINATIONS OF THE OTHER SIDE, being more straight-up rock in playing and song structures. But such tracks as "Tomorrowland", "Ghost Story", "When Hell Awakes" and even the slower piece, "Beyond Reality", are dynamic and powerful as they sing of battling with evil and... well, you know, the expected fantasy things, but with a darker shadow than is normal (other titles include "Evil Eyes" and "Waltz Of The Demon").
It would be unfair to spend too much time comparing Savage Circus with the bands they're related to, and if one can manage to do that, then there is a lot of enjoyment to be had with Dreamland Manor and its furiously successful display of metal.

****