Cirrha Niva – Out Of The Freakshow (2016)

I don’t know if this genre exists, but I would categorize this music under neo progressive metal. Neo prog metal with symphonic influences. The musical compositions have a neo progressive rock feeling, while most songs are filled with heavy guitars and typical metal guitar solos. There are also a few hunches of Tool here and there in some of the tracks. The guitar solos are good, sometimes very surprising and well thought about. Legrand is a good singer, but not spectacular in my opinion. The sound of the album is fine, but the drums sound a bit too compressed, and the total picture misses some dynamics.

The opener track I Guess has heavy riffs and drums, and is also the darkest track on the album. From Ego carries the same vibe as the opener track. Some passages of the song are more calm and leaning towards neo prog as I mentioned earlier. Third track 24/7 Smile has a catchy rhythm and chorus, but later on the track becomes more dark and rough. Afraid To Bleed contains different long guitar solos that are well executed, and the symphonic rock like mid-section and outro are quite interesting. Silver Tongues is a musically cheerful song, and isn’t leaning towards metal. This track reminds me of Pendragon as well. Time contains a lot of double bass drum moments, and even has an Iron Maiden feel. Reprise Of A Beautiful Day has a piano versus guitar intro. An instrumental metal ballad. Just Another Legacy is the longest track on the album. I like the flute solo in the middle, but somehow it doesn’t really fit the music compared to the rest of the album. The guitar solo that follows up the flute solo however, is very well played. The vocal style reminds me of a combination of Dream Theater’s James Labrie and Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson.

This is sadly not album that keeps my full attention in its entirety, and I found it difficult to review this album. The prog rock songs are more interesting than songs that lean towards the metal in my opinion. It’s a good album, and I’m sure some people will really love it, but this isn’t something for me sadly. Just because this isn’t something for me doesn’t mean you will like it, so listen to it and form your own opinion!

***+ Iris Hidding

1. I Guess (4:51)
2. From Ego (7:09)
3. 24/7 Smile (7:36)
4. Afraid To Bleed (8:57)
5. Silver Tongues (5:42)
6. Time (5:38)
7. Reprise Of A Beautiful Day (4:24)
8. Just Another Legacy (11:54)

http://www.cirrhaniva.nl/nl/

You can listen to some tracks of the album here:

You can also read my review on Background Magazine:

http://backgroundmagazine.nl/CDreviews/CirrhaNivaOutOfTheFreakshow.html

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