Isolate is the second full-length studio album

Studio album

A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...

 by the Norwegian

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

 progressive metal

Progressive metal

Progressive metal is a subgenre of heavy metal originating in the United Kingdom and North America in the late 1980s...

 band Circus Maximus

Circus Maximus (Norwegian band)

Circus Maximus is a Norwegian progressive metal quintet from Oslo. They employ the use of symphonic, power and glam metal influences in their vocals which have a high-pitched tone, along with synthesizers and occasional keyboards...

. The album was released on October 24, 2007 in Japan, August, 2007 in Europe and September 4, 2007 in the US.

The cover-art for the album as well as a sample track containing an excerpt from the song "Wither", was released by the band on May 29, 2007 on the official Circus Maximus website. Like its former album, Isolate contains the same number of tracks (with the bonus tracks) and also track 4 is a Instrumental

Instrumental

An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or singing, although it might include some non-articulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments....

 ("Biosfear" on The 1st Chapter and "Sane No More" on Isolate).

Isolate is also the first album to feature new keyboardist Lasse Finbråten after Espen Storø's departure at the end of recording of The 1st Chapter. Lasse Finbråten added more keyboard/synthesizer

Synthesizer

A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...

 sounds to the album in both soloing and overall use. This is different to the previous album as Espen Storø's sound centered around the use of the piano

Piano

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

.

The album entered the Norwegian national charts at number 70 in August, 2007.

Track listing

All music and lyrics by Circus Maximus

Circus Maximus (Norwegian band)

Circus Maximus is a Norwegian progressive metal quintet from Oslo. They employ the use of symphonic, power and glam metal influences in their vocals which have a high-pitched tone, along with synthesizers and occasional keyboards...

.

1. "A Darkened Mind" − 5:33
2. "Abyss" − 5:00
3. "Wither" − 4:46
4. "Sane No More" (Instrumental) − 3:55
5. "Arrival of Love" − 4:10
6. "Zero" − 4:50
7. "Mouth of Madness" − 12:42
   • I. Alone
   • II. The Dream
   • III. The Initiation
   • IV. The Secret
   • V. The Conflict
   • VI. The Awakening
8. "From Childhood's Hour..." − 4:28
9. "Ultimate Sacrifice" − 9:17
10. "Silence" (Japanese Bonus Track)

Personnel

• Mike Eriksen − vocals
  Singing
  Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
  
  
• Mats Haugen − guitar
  Electric guitar
  An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
  
  
• Glen Cato Møllen − bass
  Bass guitar
  The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
  
  
• Truls Haugen − drums
  Drum kit
  A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
  
  
• Lasse Finbråten − keyboards
  Electronic keyboard
  An electronic keyboard is an electronic or digital keyboard instrument.The major components of a typical modern electronic keyboard are:...
  
  

Production

• Produced by Circus Maximus
• Mixed and mastered by Tommy Hansen (Jailhouse Studios)
• Artwork and layout by Mattias Norèn (Progart Media)
• Logo by Anja Sofie Haugen

External links

• Official Circus Maximus website
• Official Circus Maximus forum
• Official Circus Maximus MySpace