Since the release of Exile Paradise back in 2006, In Strict Confidence have grown into a sextet with the addition of new members Haydee Sparks & Nina DeLianin (with several other musicians lending a helping hand on several tracks as well!). How much this accounts for the guitar-heavy sound that is a staple of this album is open to question (not that it really matters anyway!) but this latest release definitely sees Dennis Ostermann & co exploring a more rock-flavoured path than ever before. The preceding singles 'My Despair' & 'Silver Bullets' which kick the album into life (following on from the circus-themed intro that is the title track), both hinted that this could be the case & the rest of the album fulfils these hints with interest as the metal-like riffs that grace 'Set Me Free' take the band further away from their electro roots than ever before. I guess some purists might find this off-putting but, equally, it could see ISC attracting fans of bands like Lacuna Coil or Within Temptation although Ostermann's distinctive voice brands every track with the ISC trademark. It's certainly full of highlights with the superb 'SnowWhite', for example, proves to be one of the finest tracks they've ever recorded & it's easy to imagine the more melodic headbangers getting plenty out of decidedly epic & full sound, which is another facet of the album's appeal, working its magic equally well during the heartfelt, piano-led 'Ewige Nacht' which demonstrates its latent power in the fullness of time & while 'This Is All' starts deceptively light & playful it soon builds up an impressive head of steam with Antje Schultz again putting in a distinctive performance on backing vocals while the way the contrasts with Ostermann's gruff voice during the chorus of the excellent 'I Surrender' provides further proof of how important she has become to ISC. If there's one possible criticism could be made of the album it's that it does get a tad predictable after a while, a touch more variety would have been a definite plus but, for all that, the album does end on another epic note with 'Golden Gate' boasting a slightly laidback, reflective feel that seems to echo the slight melancholy of the coming of autumn, bringing to an end the greatest summer of your life (good music can do this, you know!) & proving a fittingly epic end to this incredible mind journey.

However, as is usual with ISC, that's not quite the end of the story as there's a second limited edition disc that forms part of the lavish boxset (I'm assuming that nobody would want the single album version as to do so must feel akin to only hearing half of it or, to use the novel metaphor that always feels so appropriate with ISC, getting into a really engrossing story & then not reading it all!) that contains a load of remixes, none of which really set the senses on fire (although the fact that Rhys Fulber is responsible for one of them will no doubt prove a draw!), a couple of videos, some extended versions, including 'I Surrender' which explores more fully the exotic elements that the shorter version only hinted at, as well as some new tracks, any of which could easily have made the album proper & are thus of high enough quality that no self-respecting ISC fan will want to miss them.