Frontline is one of those melodic rock bands that made a name back in the golden days of hair metal and are still alive and kicking (being less popular of course nowadays). I'm always glad to see bands like this one. More than obvious their days of success have come and gone but that doesn't seem able enough to make them call it a day - they still considered a productive unit and their releases can be considered of good quality.
Their 1994 debut attempt State Of Rock was a big success and included the hit Another Love (well at least I remember this song). Not only they manage to brake in the international rock charts but they also toured across Europe with bands such as Gotthard, Bonfire and many more. Unfortunately things went wrong from there on: the band released an acoustic album called Two Faced in 1995 that didn't manage to revamp the 1994 success, then line up changes occur. In 1996 they released (or at least tried to) Heroes that only managed to made its way in the Japanese market (since their European company went bankrupt). Surprising enough the band kept working but in an underground phase. They reemerged in 2000 with Right Attitude and Against The World in 2002. A short brake with the compilation Almost Unreleased in 2003 was enough for a regrouping and the release of Seventh Sign in 2004.
So what can a hair metal act (I love to hate this term) has to offer in 2006? Well for a start it is pointless to mention that such an experienced team the least that can deliver is an honest / safe album. And from one point Circles is such an album. Circles contains all the elements that make a melodic metal album enjoyable: catchy hooks, larger than life refrains that stick in mind from the first time, excellent vocal lines that gently tickle the ears and some shredding guitar work. All this sound ideal but don't think for one moment that Frontline deliver something revolutionary here. Well-calculated music that will satisfy the listener but will not offer any kind of thrills.
Still we are leaving in poverty times and old school stuff like this one is hard to get. Fans of the genre invest without hesitation - others first check the band's back catalogue (especially the exceptional State Of Rock).