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Being a big fan of Chitral Somapala and his previous work in acts such as Civilization One and Firewind, I was immediately intrigued to check this out. Not to mention their keyboardist and programmer Markus Teske boasts work with such greats as Symphony X and Vanden Plas. A nice mix of a Power(ful) and Progressive backgrounds, and it really shows through in the material – the sound results in a head on collision between Vanden Plas and Nocturnal Rites, with a sprinkling of Pagan's Mind-esque riffage – a truly wonderful mix. Whilst boasting a label of Progressive Power Metal, they fuse the two beautifully; never indulging in the ludicrous showmanship of certain progressive acts and keeping the flower out of the Power Metal – these guys full on tear it up. Whilst this certainly isn't the best Prog/Power release this year Homeland is good.

Nine times out of ten I'll be given an album that features three or four great songs that are clouded due to a negative ratio of killer to filler, thus destroying most forms of longevity (except that one track you put in playlists). Red Circuit are quite the peculiar act; whilst none of their tracks are flat-out amazing, they're all very good and best of all they stay consistent throughout the entire album – which is quite the rarity, giving me quite the nightmare trying to rate it. Album opener and title track "Homeland" is simply brilliant, with an incredible melodic intro straight out of Vanden Plas – bridging over into a fat riff that owes a customary head-bang. "Sun of Utopia" has a pretty sweet intro belching forth a 70's mellotron sound, rising to a stunning Tad Morose feel. "Canonize Your Sins" is another ass-kicker that opens with a tearing guitar solo. Really I could name the entire track list; there isn't one bad track here.

This makes it pretty easy to recommend Homeland to you if you're a fan of powerful metal with a sprinkling of progressive touches. Fans of Vanden Plas, Angel Dust, Nocturnal Rites or even Tad Morose would all do well to check this out – that is of course if you enjoy Chitral Somapala, which has quite the divided opinion around the metal scene. Recommended