All great surprises for me came this year from Scandinavia. After the impressive Clouscape, "The First Chapter" came to drive us mad in the hit of the summer. Even my neighbors were yelling "that again?"

Up to this point, it is one of the nominees for album of the year, and it is only their debut. If Symphony X is one of your favourite bands, if "Divine Wings of Tragedy" and "Odyssey" are some of the albums you were glued on and you consider them as the best you have ever heard of, then all that is left is for you to bow in front of Circus Maximus. I don’t know for how long they stand as a band or how much time it took them to get "The First Chapter" ready, but here you will find great composing work from musicians that can play anything their brain draws down with no difficulty. In their first cd (and now that I am writing the review I cannot believe it) they have overwhelmed their compositions without tiring you, so as every time you listen to it you will freeze on admiring their maturity.

Bottom Line: I honestly cannot imagine what they are capable of doing in their "second chapter". What I can promise is that as soon as it releases I will run to the nearest record shop and buy it with my eyes shut.