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| Magic Pie - Circus of Life |
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Artist: Magic Pie
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Type: Audio CD [ View other products of this type ]
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Magic Pie follow up their fantastic first album with an even stronger second. All the same elements are there, the amazing vocal harmonies, the melodies, the incredible musicianship, but with all new songwriting. Their gutsy, playful, inspired progressive rock with touches of Spock's, Deep Purple and Flower Kings will make you happy for a long time.
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Audio samples:
 01. Circus of Life - Part 1 - Welcome
02. Circus of Life - Part 2 - Freakshow
03. Circus of Life - Part 3 - What If
04. Circus of Life - Part 4 - Trick Of The Mind
05. Circus of Life - Part 5 - The Clown
06. Pointless Masquerade
07. Watching The Waters
Album reviews:
..Magic Pie are one of those bands that fall into the modern/retro progressive camp along with the likes of The Flower Kings, Spock's Beard, The Tangent, Transatlantic, Karmakanic, La Maschera Di Cera, Kaipa, and the like, with their use of three lead singers, symphonic old school keyboards, multi-textured mood altering atmospheres, complex and melodic interchanges, make them a band with a unique chemistry, and certainly a band that is in great company musician-wise, or compositionally with any of the aforementioned bands.
One thing that sets The Pie apart for my tastes, is the quality of the songwriting, and again, Kim Stenberg's guitar playing, which is in a league beyond what you hear from the playing on these other bands' cds. Yes it's a matter of taste and all of that, but Stenberg has an aggressive side that takes the band out of their straight away progressive rock sound, and adds some fusion and virtuoso delights to the music. It's progressive music all the way, with no lulls or filler, and is a variety of prog that can easily invite non-progressive rock fans based on the energy, musicianship and melodic hooks...
Read full story at http://www.proggnosis.com/PGRelease.asp?RID=21906
...Fans of Flower Kings and Karmakanic will most certainly embrace this release, as the music includes all of the highlights we have known and loved for so long. Magic Pie however hails from Oslo, Norway, and is therefore a nice change from the suffocating power of Swedish prog. As an illustration of the band's ambition the album starts with the epic "Circus Of Life," which is composed of five separate pieces. The opening section "Welcome" is an acoustic little beauty which blends mellotron with real cello where the catchy vocal melody reminds me of ACT. You hear this song for the very first time and it will stay in your memory forever! The second part is the all instrumental "Freakshow" which introduces heavy guitar riffs and plenty of ingenious drum breaks and fills, and an overwhelming seventies sounding organ. Using exactly the same line-up as on the band's debut you witness how homogeneous Magic Pie has become shining in every single department.
With "What If …" the calm sets in, turning towards hazes of drifting Pink Floyd sounds. With two different lead singers the band also injects a nice variety in the vocal department, which in some cases is the stumbling block. Here however the vocals nicely blend together, leaving behind traces of Alan Parsons Project along the way. I don't think any other group before them has ever included an "epic" within an "epic"? The lush 21:50 long "Trick Of The Mind" is the fourth part of the "Circus Of Life" masterpiece, introducing complex parts with hints of Flower Kings, Spock's Beard, Yes, but also Deep Purple and Uriah Heep, and with fine melodic parts from the golden book of The Beatles and CSNY added to complete the picture. Incredible guitar solos battle against furious Hammond sounds turning this in what surely has to be the band's live favourite...
Read full story at http://www.progressiveworld.net/html/modules.php?name=Reviews&rop=showcontent&id=2474
...The opening 20-minute epic "Change" covers every spectrum of progressive rock, from some catchy acoustic moments, to searing prog-metal, to flat out symphonic rock littered with Hammond and guitar interplay. It's really hard to say just who is the star of the show here, as the whole band just shines on every song. Guitarist Kim Stenberg is a monster player, both on electric & acoustic, and the man can shred when he wants to, or lay down a gorgeous melodic passage, plus he can churn out some mean rhythms and riffs as well. Keyboard ace Gilbert Marshall plays a mean Hammond organ as well as various synths, and the rhythm tandem of bassist Lars Petter Holstad and drummer Jan T. Johannessen lock into some incredibly tight and intricate grooves. Vocally, Magic Pie are quite strong as well, and in fact they have three singers, Eirik Hanssen, Allan Olsen, as well as Marshall. Style wise, and it's not noted in the booklet who sings what, one of them sounds like Trent Gardner from Magellan, and you also hear some Roine Stolt and Nick D'Virgilio influences at times as well. There's plenty of harmonies, which gives the vocals a real strong quality as to not get drowned out by the intense musical fireworks going on around them...
Read full story at http://www.seaoftranquility.org/reviews.php?op=showcontent&id=2703
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 New bulk discounts
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To make purchasing even easier, we've implemented a method of discounting to save you even more money.
The discounts are based on number of products purchased in a single purchasing session.
The discounts break down as shown in the table below.
All shipments will include a $1.75 handling charge.
| Items |
Discount |
| 3 - 4 |
5% |
| 5 - 6 |
10% |
| 7 - 9 |
15% |
| 10 or more |
20% |
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