DEADLY CIRCUS FIRE - The King And The Bishop

10 songs
59:32 minutes
***** ***
(self-released)

Bandpage

Until recently I have never heard of this prog metal quartet from London. Since their foundation in 2009, Deadly Circus Fire released one EP and two singles, before their first longplayer The King And The Bishop was ready.

It’s hard to categorise Deadly Circus Fire from a musical perspective, and maybe that explains also their weird name. The band is running the risk of sitting between chairs, as they are switching regularly between rough and melodic parts, making it possibly an ordeal for quite a few prospective listeners to get access to the music. The heavier parts show parallels to Deftones and Mastodon, as can be heard on Blackout that nearly sounds like nu metal, and on Black Mask which starts quite furiously. The band’s main influence seems to be Tool. Vocals as well as the dark and emotive instrumentation show parallels to this seminal rock band. Especially the down tuned and menacing In The Kingdom Of Flies could very well have been a song by Tool. At times I also feel reminded of Last Crack, the probably most criminally underrated avantgarde rock bands of the early Nineties. Most tracks run between four and five minutes but three of them make it to nine minutes. It is obvious that this longer pieces are the weirdest ones on the album, where the band is pulling all the registers. The opener Through The Soil for instance amazes with its many mood changes and even repeated listening doesn’t make it any easier to follow the flow.

Deadly Circus Fire can be labelled prog metal, as despite some comparisons they never try to copy a certain band. Prog fans of Rush and Dream Theater may not be the target audience though. As The King And The Bishop was already ready in early 2012, but due to some complications could only be released a good year later, it should be noted that Deadly Circus Fire are currently already working busily on the follow-up.