Under the Radar Pt. 1

It happens.

You're waiting with bated breath for the new release by a band that piques your interest. If the band is, say, an Iron Maiden or a Judas Priest, then you know exactly when it's coming out and can plan accordingly. But what happens if it's a younger, lesser known band on an indepedent label? Then it gets released to little fanfare and slips right under your radar. Like I say, it happens.

There's two such releases out right now that I just found out about last week. Hopefully they will be arriving at the station in the near future, as both bands have gotten excellent response from listeners with their debuts.

The first is Norway's Circus Maximus, whose "The 1st Chapter" made for an impressive introduction to their innovative Prog-metal sound. The new release is called "Isolate" and from the reviews I've seen so far is a worthy follow-up. I've heard a couple of sample tracks, and if anything I liked it even more than "1st Chapter"

The second release is from the engimatically (some would say downright oddly) named Spheric Universe Experiment is called "Anima" and it appears to have slipped under Amazon's radar too. S.U.E are from France, and their first CD, "Mental Torments" was a juicy slab of Dream Theater-influenced Prog-metal. I've heard one track from Anima, and it picks up where "...Torments" left off--perhaps a little more accessible, but that's impossible to state for sure without hearing the whole release.