CALLENISH CIRCLE - "FLESH_POWER_DOMINION" (METAL BLADE)
Today's technology is much better than that of years ago. By dint of that development, many of today's bands succeed in sounding so much better than, say, Venom's debut album or some of the other classics from the 70's and 80's. Callenish Circle is such a band. "Flesh_Power_Dominion" is an excellent sounding disk, nothing else can be said about that.
However, sounding good is not the only thing that is necessary to cut it in today's world in which good CDs are released just about every day. You need to be able to make the difference, grab the listener by the cojones, write good music. When you listen to Callenish Circle, you hear a band that clearly knows how to play and how to write music, but in general they sound too much like a reasonably good Gothenburg-sound-influenced band. There are preciously few new things to be heard on the album, apart from the rather good "Bleeding".
Once I'd listened to the album a few times, the only tracks that left a memorable impression on me were the cover songs - "Pull the Plug" (Death) and "When the Lady Smiles" (Golden Earring).
RK
Written January 2002