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Manticora > The Black Circus Part 1 - Letters > Reviews > concertmusic
Manticora - The Black Circus Part 1 - Letters

Straight to the top of the Manticora catalogue - 95%

concertmusic, September 21st, 2006

Manticora return with their fifth full-length studio offering, and a glance at the track list confirms that this is their third concept work in succession. The story this time revolves around a 19th-century traveling circus, inspired by a H.P. Lovecraft story. Manticora, as mentioned, by now have a solid history of doing concept CDs, but this one stands out in that "The Black Circus - Part 1" is only the first half of a two-part work, with the second half awaiting us in early 2007. Again produced by Tommy Hansen at Jailhouse Studios, you know that the sound of this disc will not be of concern.

The first track sets the stage, as the narrator reads a letter to an unknown friend, describing the circus in somber tones. The off-key gypsy-like music in the background creates a dark and eerie atmosphere, and as the title of the CD indicates, the listener should not expect clowns and puppies in this circus. There are in fact 4 intermezzi, plus the aforementioned introduction, and all serve as necessary bridges between tracks, in most instances giving the listener information about the content and mood of the next track.

I initially listened to the first musical track, "The Black Circus", with some apprehension. From the start this track made a first impression of being one of the most straight-forward, fast, and uncompromising tracks in recent Manticora history. Why the apprehension, then? Well, to me, Manticora represent their own little niche in power metal, where they intelligently combine aggressive power metal elements with outstanding progressive metal tendencies. These prog metal sounds were almost entirely missing in this first track, and I feared just a little for the rest of the CD.

It turns out that there was no need to worry. This CD is one of those wonderful works that starts quite strongly, and keeps getting better, building up to better and better tracks. A couple of minutes into "Enchanted Mind", and my apprehension had disappeared, but was replaced with yet a different sense of puzzlement, as that particular track had an almost happy feeling to it - and any Manticora fan will find that disconcerting in its own right.

Again, never fear. The story moves on to "Forever Carousel", and this track grabs hold and encourages you to sing along at the top of your lungs - and great power metal anthem, with plentiful tempo changes and children's voices mixed into the fray. Just as you get comfortable again, "Freakshow" gets you off the beaten track again - a largely acoustic, and chilling, description of one aspect of circus life.

The rest of the album deals with the gypsies that run this circus, and starting with "Gypsies' Dance Part 1", then "Wisdom", and the finale "Disciples of the Entities", these 3 tracks to close the CD are positively superb. "Gypsies' Dance Part 1" is Manticora-style power prog metal at their very best - just you try to keep your feet still! The intermezzo between "Gypsies Dance" and "Wisdom" introduce a female vocalist, who sings the part of the gypsy fortune teller in "Wisdom" - and makes this track THE stand-out song of the CD. After the finale, you will find yourself wishing that Manticora had simply made this thing a double-CD - the wait for Part 2 of this work will be long and hard.

Rejoice, Manticora fans - while you were justified in wondering whether there would be the inevitable dud after 5 ever-improving efforts, this CD climbs to the top of the catalogue - and it cements that position with every additional listen.