“All-encompassing prog madness... insanely elaborate and yet aggressively melodic... In truth, it’s the joy that oozes from every one of this album’s myriad stylistic pores that seals the deal.... Orpheus Nine are among the best bands ploughing this ageless furrow.”
— Dom Lawson, PROG
“A melodic crazy quilt of twists and turns, equal parts bombastically indulgent and tuneful.... A very impressive debut!”
— John Collinge, Progression Magazine (★★★★½)
“A delight from start to end.... Symphonic American progressive rock rarely sounds as good as this.”
— Kev Rowland, ProgressoR (★★★★★★!)
“Even by prog’s usual high standards, technically they are flawless, effortlessly crossing the boundaries between traditional prog, jazz-fusion, avant-garde, metal and mainstream rock.... Very mature debut that succeeds on most every level.”
— Geoff Feakes, Dutch Progressive Rock Pages (8/10)
“A genuine tour de force that is vibrantly alive and exciting, rendered with the urgency and passion of hungry souls dependent on this music for their very survival.... A marriage of clever bravado, elegant finesse, and steadfast conviction...with some of the most exquisite keyboard tapestries this side of Jupiter. Transcendental Circus is a spectacularly enchanting debut from a band whose future brims with promise.”
— Emil Broussard, ProgArchives (★★★★★)
“Great music... deserves a lot of new attention in the very near future.”
— Patrick Moraz, keyboardist [Refugee, Yes, The Moody Blues]
“Very strong debut with no wrinkles, no dull moments, and no filler.... One of the things that stands out about the band is the maturity of knowing when to razzle dazzle and when to keep it cool.... Transcendental Circus has perfection written all over it.”
— Lee Henderson, Art Rockin’ / Big Beautiful Noise
“An absolutely great progressive rock record that restores faith in the genre.... Original musicians playing for their lives and going for their wildest ideas. An instant classic...the album of the year by a magical mile.”
— Greg Jones, ProgArchives (★★★★★)
“A wonderful debut album.... The music is diverse and sounds fresh and original.... With bands like Orpheus Nine the future of Prog is guaranteed.”
— Douwe Fledderus, progVisions (★★★★)
“Genius. Madness. Beauty. Surprise. Schizophrenia. Perfection. How can a band be this strong, this tight, this compelling, on their very first rodeo? It’s almost unfair.”
— Malcolm Torres, ProgArchives (★★★★★)
“Ambitious in every way ... an entertaining and refreshing mix of neo- and retro-prog.... Transcendental Circus is a true discovery and Orpheus Nine is one of the most interesting new bands of recent times.”
— Martin Dambeck, Empire
“Excellent vocals and top musicianship.... Strong virtuosic playing, but with hooks and melodic lines. Definitely for me one of the best albums from last year.”
— Bogdan Olariu, ProgArchives (★★★★)
“Plenty of hard-driving musical interplay.... Orpheus Nine should find a home among fans of timeless prog rock legends.”
— Robert Silverstein, Music Web Express
“Progressive rock is celebrated with a pleasure and joy that are contagious. Filling 75 minutes is not an easy task, but the Transcendental Circus performance is a complete success.”
— Jochen König, Musikreviews (12/15)
“A very enjoyable mix of AOR/neoprog and old-school retro prog.... Technical and compositional virtuosity cleverly balance each other with emotion and melody, and the band is bubbling over with ideas. An outstanding debut!”
— Nik Brückner, Babyblaue-Seiten (11/15)
“A hell of a fun listen that deserves your attention. Highly recommended.”
— Ken Golden, Laser’s Edge
“Transcendental work of art ... a smartly devised collection of musicianship heavy with emotion and dripping with a sense of humor.”
— Brian O’Leary, Amazon (★★★★★)
“This album is a gem, a perfect balance between complexity and subtlety.”
— Dave Weiser, Weisersound
“An incredible musical adventure.”
— Matière Noire (top 20 albums of 2017)
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