Five years after the successful release of the concept album “Isolate”, this time Circus Maximus are back with a strong and mature cd. “A lot happened in our personal lives during the past few years”, explains drummer Truls Haugen. “Three of us had kids, plus we also had a several bumps in the road with the production. So it has not exactly been a joyride, but it feels great to finally be done, and after all this time we are ready to unleash our new monster!”

Circus Maximus spent anyway their time also working hard to further refining their sound. With “Nine” they are poised to take their place alongside the upper echelon of Progressive Metal bands. The band’s musical formula is not easy to accomplish – take jaw dropping musicianship, add a singer like Michael Eriksen with a voice from heaven and toss it together with hooks, anthemic melodies and enough groove and heavy riffing that really gets into your head.

For this new record the band presents the best of both worlds – offering their most melodic and at the same time heaviest moments of their repertoire, with class and maturity which is really from another world. “The majority of the material on the new record was written by Mats Haugen and he has taken the music to a kind of simpler and more accessible approach, yet kept the progressive elements and the “nerve” that is Circus Maximus” says Truls Haugen. “We’re actually more melodic and heavier on this new record than we’ve ever been”.

The re-defining sound, the songwriting and the clever production, highlights the band as one of the leading, original Progressive-Metal band around. “Nine” is an absolute contender for Top Album of the year, transcending the boundaries and subgenres of Hard Rock music!

Imminent Sonic Destruction is the brainchild of Detroit-based guitarist, vocalist and metal innovator Tony Piccoli. Influenced by the raw power of bands such as Strapping Young Lad, Meshuggah and Pantera , as well as the disciplined complexities of progressive groups like Dream Theater and Genesis, Piccoli set out to change the face of metal. His blend of crushing guitars, ethereal overtones, a combination of vocal styles and wonderful melody are wrapped in subtly complex time signatures, skull-crushing guitar riffs, and melodic hooks so memorable that you will need surgery to get these songs out of your head.

After playing in several bands while living Arizona in the 90’s, Piccoli moved back to his hometown of Detroit, Michigan. He began writing songs that would become the blueprint for Imminent Sonic Destruction’s sound. After years of writing the music and working on perfecting the sound, Piccoli hooked up with local musicians to record two demo discs titled The Umlaut Speaks & The Umlaut Doth Spake which Piccoli himself says both are “fucking certified.”

In 2007 Imminent Sonic Destruction made the leap from a recording project to a fully fledged live band. Joining Piccoli is a veritable super group of Detroit area progressive and metal artists. First to sign on was former Tiles drummer Pat DeLeon who has recorded with Tiles on the Magna Carta and InsideOut music labels and well as touring Europe as the opening act for Dream Theater.

Solidifying the rhythm section is Bryan Paxton, who is a powerful metal force in his own right playing with Detroit metal bands JustDefy and Miles Beyond. Next to sign on was keyboardist/vocalist Pete Hopersberger from the Detroit progressive rock group Space Nelson. Pete’s musical knowledge and pure talent takes the Imminent Sonic Destruction sound to the next level. Rounding out the lineup is guitarist/vocalist and all around musical chameleon Scott Thompson. Scott has played numerous instruments in numerous Michigan groups as well as being an established solo artist.

Imminent Sonic Destruction’s live sound is a solidly dynamic onslaught designed to please everyone — from the hardest of hardcore metal-heads to the finicky ears of the progressive rock crowd — all while being easily accessible to the casual listener. Imminent Sonic Destruction’s live performance is a high energy yet disciplined assault that comes off as both brutal and lighthearted like the music itself. Imminent Sonic Destruction is coming. You have been warned.

Beautiful but brutal. Chaotic but calculated. It’s the balance between these seemingly opposing foils that Toronto’s Ascendia so perfectly strikes with their beastly brand of symphonic metal. Their mammoth sound spans the Atlantic, uniting elements of North American metal with a foundation rooted in the symphonic tradition of European metal, and is poised to appeal to even the most discerning genre purists.

The five-piece – currently comprised of vocalist Nick Sakal, guitarist/vocalist John Lov, drummer Billy Lov, bassist John Abanador, and keyboardist Maestro – has been amassing serious attention and accolades from Canada’s heavy music community over the past couple of years. They earned a slot on the bill for the Toronto stop of the 2013 Rockstar Mayhem Festival alongside heavyweight headliners like Mastodon, Amon Amarth, Children of Bodom, and Five Finger Death Punch. They’ve been tapped to support the likes of Into Eternity and Single Bullet Theory, and now, they’re set to capitalize on the buzz with their first studio album, expected later in 2014.

Brothers John and Billy have been performing together since their early teens, inspired by the sludgy sounds of ‘70s and ‘80s metal pioneers like Sabbath, Dio, and Rainbow. Soon after, their tastes shifted to more modern masters of the genre – “stuff like Nightwish, Kamelot, Killswitch Engage, and In Flames,” Billy explains.

One day, the two were walking to the music store with their longtime friend, Nick, singing a song. As John recalls, “All of a sudden, Nick let out a huge guttural scream that stopped us dead in our tracks.” As it turned out, he had quite the voice – swaying from epic, operatic singing and raucous, raging screams with ease. The seeds of Ascendia had been planted, and began to take root as the band performed metal covers of classic pop songs like “Maniac” and “Careless Whisper” for talent shows and battles of the bands.

“At that point, we knew we wanted to get serious, so we had to take a chance and start writing something else,” John explains. Their first composition was actually an acoustic ballad, “Starlit Eyes,” which remains a fan favourite and will be included as the bonus track on the upcoming record. Next, though, came a number of calamitous metal compositions – riotous down-tuned riffs and carefully orchestrated string sections anchored by machine gun rhythmic blasts and crowned by Sakal’s dynamic vocal prowess.

Part way into 2012, Ascendia put their writing on hold to focus on their live shows, leaving everything they had on sweat-soaked dive bar stages and building a following brick-by-brick with their gripping, airtight sets.

In 2013, they decided it was time to finally satisfy their growing fan base and deliver an album. “It’s been a very slow but calculated process,” John says. “We’ve taken baby steps the whole way, and I think that’s helped us develop as musicians and develop our sound.”

That sound, virtually unparalleled in Canada at this point, will be showcased in spades on the band’s first collection, bringing the urgency of their live shows to your speakers. The lyrics are in-depth and metaphorical, cryptically and poetically exploring themes of fate, deceit, and the human condition and culminating in a conceptual four-song series that tells the story of a young man and his spiritual Guardian.

Until the album drops, though, Ascendia will continue their quest to conquer the North American metal map with their innovative concoction of European-inspired symphonic sounds. “We always knew there was something here,” Billy says bluntly, “and now we’re ready to start the takeover.”

You’ve been warned.

Acracy– n. In political philosophy, the negation of rule or “government.” A society with the absence of coercion; one of voluntary order.

This is the very idea behind the recently formed metal band to hail from the Chicagoland area: one that writes and performs music without boundaries, without the standard rules of order, and without the impetus to follow the stylistic trends of popular music.