The SERPENTINE moniker is well known in the little AOR/Melodic Rock circles of experts as the name is also associated with the great ex SHY/SIAM/TNT front man Tony Mills, the famous singer was performing some superb vocal tracks in their 2010 debut album "A Touch Of Heaven" and the following "Living & Dying in High Definition" ...After some personal turmoil and some team replacement, the SERPENTINE version 2.2 was ready to record their new opus "Circle of Knives" under the Gary Hughes' direction and expertise at his own Doghouse Studio in Blackpool .

The Gary Hughes stamp is all over some tunes like the addictive "Forever", the title track or "Bleed" and "Suicide Days" that clearly recall TEN, a similitude both in the stylistic display but also in the typical voice tone of rookie frontman Adam Payne (ex TIDAL), the British elegance and this particular polished sophistication is pushed at its paroxysmic climax: It's clearly a blessing and a curse !

Let me explain, the musicians are full of expertise and the sound is in perfect conjunction with the songwriting but on the flip side it seems that the energy is missing, the pulse seems to be too controlled and falls flat under an unimaginative succession of well known tricks and highly predictable gimmicks (the ordinary "La Tragedienne"/"Where Does Your Heart Beat Now?")!

The originality is not the most prominent characteristic but this not really important, Sheena Sear who had produced and mixed the bands previous two records had the difficult task to finalise the mix, and I believe the final product sounds a bit overproduced a little flat and woolly, in such a way that, so that the sharpness is gone.

One the good side, my perception is that the arrangements and notably the keyboards/piano parts and the orchestral layers are set in sheer concordance with some subtlety notably on the opening cut "Season of the Witch" or even more obvious for the best cuts like the guitar driven "The Hardest Fall"/"Bound By The Strings of Discord ".

The creativity of the Keyboardist/Mastermind Gareth David Noon is the driving force of the album, the lovers of MAGNUM/TEN or DARE will adore this "Circle Of Knives" for my part the tamed spirit and the hermetical background is a major interference, clearly an obstacle for a better rating!