Hi guys! Circus Maximus is a new shining star in the progressive music sky...here in Italy your name is still unknown... would you tell us about the story of the band?
Well, the band got a steady line-up in 2002 after years without a bass player and a keyboard player, when Espen (keyboards) and myself (bass) joined the band. Actually, Michael (vocals), Mats (guitar) and Truls (the drummer) have played together for almost ten years under different band names.

The brothers Mats and Truls started playing together about two years before that, I believe it was in 93, when they just where covering favorite Metallica and Megadeth songs and hoping to be signed one day. After recording three/four demos, the last one got us signed, and got us in touch with Danish based management, Intromental in 2004.

"The first Chapter" is your debut album. How long does it take to compose it? Have all the songs been written in the same period?
Some of the album material has been around for a while from the early days when Mats, Truls and Michael was jamming as a trio, some parts have been composed at home individually on computer, and later introduced to the rest of the band, as well as just jamming in the rehearsal studio with full band.

Would you explain anything about the lyrics? Is the entire album a concept?
The lyrics of the album contains a lot of different themes...from portraying society around us, to inner struggle and searching, to even songs about love.hehe.and of course the album contains a song of a quest:)

Why you choose a "so Italic" name? What's behind Circus Maximus?
The name came about when our drummer Truls, or was it Mats.. dont remember.. saw the name Circus Maximus being used as a password in a computer game, thought..hmm that’s cool... To add, it was the computer game "The Ripper" starring among others Christopher Walken... for all you computer geeks out there... like us... hehe

I think that you keep your influences in bands such as Dream Theater or Elegy... how much is it real?
Of course all of us are into progressive music, and Dream Theater being a big progressive band, we all have listened to this band, but I think that there are also so many other cool bands that have given us inspiration over time, ... Queensryche, Metallica, Meshuggah, TNT, Testament, Pantera, Ayreon, Megadeth, Symphony X, black metal stuff, 70`s prog like Yes, Rush, Flower Kings, classical music, 80’s melodic rock, hard rock ... so many to choose from ... The list goes on and on, since the music taste of the members in the band is to wide.

Slam! is a hard rock oriented webzine... have you ever been influenced by something more "sleazier" than progressive metal?
I think the previous answer kind of covers this one as well....:)

How was working with a recording-guru like Tommy Hansen? How did you keep in touch with him?
Tommy Hansen was awesome! He is as you said a guru in his field, and made the album sound fantastic, and gave it the balls it needed and deserved to become the starting point in the life of Circus Maximus. The man knows his stuff! We got in touch with him through our Danish management, Intromental, who are friends of the guru from before:)

Each one of you shows an experience that is hard to find on the first album of a band. Have you played on any other project before?
Truls has been involved in some other projects in past and presence, (with Black comedy-past, Insense-present) and Michael ahs done an album with a band called Carnivora, which he is no longer participating in.

How is the metal/hard rock scene in Norway?
I think its cool that there are so many bands coming out of Norway these day, making notice in the international marked. Good friends of ours (Pagans Mind) for example, have done really well these last years, producing cool progressive metal album after album. As for the rest of the metal/rock scene, I think its ever growing, and must be the biggest it’s ever been.

What about the promotion of "The first Chapter"?
Well, if you count commercially, we have had quite a bit of both radio, webzine and magazine coverage throughout both USA and Europe.... maybe not in the biggest medias yet, but maybe that will change if the album really starts selling good.:) I think our European and US labels are doing what they can to make the first chapter promoted with the funds they have, and we’re really satisfied with the work they are doing.

I think Circus Maximus could be a perfect support band for bigger progressive act, like in the tour Pain of Salvation did with Dream Theater... are you planning anything?
As of now we don’t have any touring planes, but of course we all hope for a break, and can only see our selves lucky if we get the chance to do such a thing with any of the big boys:) We have a lot of “smaller” concerts lined up in Norway and Denmark, plus we’re going to USA to play at the ProgPower Festival in Atlanta in September.

In the end, you got a free space to promote the band!
If you enjoy progressive metal, melodic rock, diverse music that appeals for both musicians and non musicians, if you enjoy music that you can blast through your car speaks as well as through in your headphones under your blanket in your bed, then you should check out our music. Melodic progressive metal coming your way!