While the Finns used their first three albums to establish themselves in the operatic female fronted genre, without bowing to blatant aping their famous countrymen/woman (aka Nighwish), all bets are off on "Circus Black", ten bouncy melodies (complete with tinkling ivories and trilling vocals) seemingly lifted from the post-"Wishmaster" era with Tarja Turunen. Of course there remains a certain subset of the metal populous who longs (Wishes?) for a reunion between the creatures of the Night and their departed songbird. Fat chance! In the meantime, Amberian Dawn has stepped up to fill the void. ‘Charnel’s Bell’ and ‘Guardian’ exemplify the slow moving style that allows Heidi Parviainen’s classically trained voice to shine through, unencumbered by more bombastic surroundings. As opposed to the wildly undulating guitar runs inherent through ‘Fight’, where her voice ventures towards helium induced heights.

Timo Kotipelto gusts on ‘Cold Kiss’’ and his Strataovarius partner in crime, keyboardist Jens Johansson, adds his touch to ‘Crimson Flower’. The lively ‘Rivalry Between Good And Evil’ instrumental is loaded with Finnish solos, meaning guitars, keyboards and the two pitted against one another. ‘Lily Of the Moon’ speeds to a close, ending things on an up(beat) note. A new album flashback!