Review by MartinDavey87 for Red Circuit - Trance State (2006)

Considered to be somewhat of a "supergroup", Red Circuit comprises of various musicians and producers who aren't really big names in themselves, but are members or have worked with bands that people might be familiar with, for example, such as Firewind, Elegy, Adagio and Vanden Plas. The results are surprisingly good, as this is a heavy, grooving, adrenaline-fueled album, full of tasty riffs and powerful vocals.

Despite often being referred to as "prog metal", Red Circuit's song arrangements are nowhere near the complexity often associated with the genre. However, they definitely have a sound to their music that prog metal fans should appreciate. That being heavy, crunchy guitars often backed by melodic keyboard melodies, and with Sri-Lanken powerhouse Chity Somapala on vocals, this is a band that have a perfect sound to appeal to fans of most styles of heavy metal.

With ten potential anthems to choose from, there really isn't a shortage of hooks on this album. Opener 'Under the Sun' is easily one of the highlights of the album, and instantly kicks things off with ass-kicking mode turned all the way up to eleven. Other stand-out tracks include 'So Hard to be Like God', 'Search for Your Soul' and the title track 'Trance State', all choc-full of headbanging grooves to get the blood flowing.

For a progressive metal record that won't require a billion listens to become familiar with, Red Circuit's 'Trance State' really is a treat for fans of the genre.