Circus Maximus vocalist. Are you kiddin' me!

[arnavut]

I must say that I enyoyed their album but it was not one of the bands that I was really looking forward to see (unlike Therion).

Those are the best situations to be in sometimes because out of the blue you are shocked and amazed. The suprise element makes you enjoy even more.

Anyway when they started their set before vocalist came out, they looked like any other good prog band. Their look, their presence, music nothing out of ordinary.

Then this "Frat Boy" looking dude comes in with a mic in his hand. I first thought maybe this fratboy on his way to "midtown club" went in to wrong place.

Then he starts singing and I am like


Are you kiddin' me!
He can pull off the tough vocal arrangements on the album with such an ease like its a britney song. More powerful than album, and control over his voice live than I rarely seen. Singers with 10's of album and 100's of large venue performance experience like Khan, Tate, Labrie NEVER sounded as good and as controlled as Circus Maximus singer Michael Eriksen.
NEVER.

WOW. I am still shocked and amazed!

 

[Hal9000]

Ditto

 

[Nightmare1z]

Agreed, he hit parts on the album perfectly - and with perfect ease. As I said in the other thread, I wish CM had shown a little more stage presence and interaction (my power metal side showing there) - but they still were damn good.

Ranked 3rd of the night, but that's behind Conception and Angra - of which were incredible, so 3rd isn't bad at all.

And CM ending with Imperial Destruction - one of my favorite songs of theirs - awesome. Look forward to seeing/hearing more from them

 

[mtlheart]

I'm not a Prog fan for the most part. I hit the vendors halfway through Conception's set. I've heard most of CM's album, but I won't buy it as it really doesn't do much for me. HOWEVER, I really liked their set. Very impressive. Some bands just sound better live.

 

[The_Q]

You know it, you know it... The band kicked (_l_) !!!!

 

[janisonata666]

Best singer on the night without a doubt! Band needs more stage prescense however.

jan

 

[The_Q]

Not only a superb singer but a VERY nice and cool guy. Hung out and talked for a good hour!

 

[Jibrille]

I enjoyed the set so much, I picked up the album the next day

 

[eppst1]

Great set! I would have to agree their stage precense was a little lacking - but it/was a minor quible.

 

[OdinsCourt]

The harmonies were the best part. Brilliant!!!

 

[guardian26]

They smoked, no doubt about it.

 

[The.Lost.Hatter]

they worked their way into my top 5 favorite bands after their performance without a doubt.

 

[Barking Pumpkin]

Sorry, I had completely different thoughts when I saw this topic title. He obviously had the range and note control, but he is probably the shriekiest, whiniest vocalist I've heard. Part of it was the volume, but I didn't really like his vocal tone. Lots of the high parts on the album are doubled somewhat, so it's not as obvious. Yeah, he had pretty amazing range and control, but it was greatly overshadowed partly by his whiny tone, and partly by the fact that the mix was so that every high note pierced my ears.

 

[Andy Laudano]

I expected Conception to be amazing. I expected Angra and Orphaned Land to put on a great show. I even expected Manticora to play a heavy, high energy set that warmed up the crowd. They all delivered. But even though I like Circus Maximus' debut CD, I never expected them to kick as much ass as they did!! They were amazing and went WAY beyond my expectations! Everyone still had their favorites this weekend - Orphaned Land fans will still say they were the best, same with Angra, Conception, PC69 etc. fans. But nearly EVERYONE I talked to was blown away and talking about Circus Maximus. They were heavy and catchy enough to please the Power metal fans and talented enough to please the Prog fans. They were the surprise break out stars this year.

 

[rockyracoon]

Great set! I would have to agree their stage precense was a little lacking - but it/was a minor quible.

ive seen a couple comments about CM's stage presence. i loved it. they were totally composed and professional. total contrast to a band like Manticora's stage presence. CM simply played their amazing set and let that do all the talking. no added stage antics necessary whatsover.

 

[Dustro25]

Michael Eriksen was just too good for your ears Bp. This man has tone you can't handle. Incredible.

 

[Joe-×]

Mike Maximus kicked total ass. He was the best singer of the weekend. Complete power. Perfect pitch. What appeared to be zero effort at both. Can't ask for more than that. And they played Imperial Destruction. Woohoo. I'll trade presence for ability any day of the week.

 

[bradb7216]

CM was definitely one of the highlights for the whole weekend. Not only are they a kick ass band, they are an extremely cool and down to earth bunch of guys. the whole band stood next to us all night at the preparty and were VERY cool!

 

[General Zod]

Usually, I would be right with the folks complaining about the lack of energy by Circus Maximus. However, I was too stunned by the perfection of their performance. I wasn't at all looking forward to this band, but they just floored me. As others have alluded to, the singer just slayed. For my money, he was the best vocalist at the fest.

Zod

 

[Dolamite S. Biffle]

Circus Maximus was easily one of the highlights of the weekend. They were fucking too unbelieveable.