I think that I could have written a review of this album without even listening to a note on it. Despite the fact that The Middle Of Nowhere is just the second album by Circle II Circle, the members have the experience it takes to define direction and explore this direction in the most convincing way. The band uses the standard ingredients. Take for example opener “In This Life” which combines all these ingredients: incredible vocals by Zachary Stevens, a goosebumps intro in the vein of Savatage’s Hand Full Of Rain, an orchestral twitch and an excellent guitar solo turning the song into a five minute ‘epic’. The rhythm guitars on this track aren’t that convincing, but this is being made up for during the heavier songs on the album.

“Open Season” is one of the songs I don’t like that much. It just sounds a little bit too old fashioned, partly due to the early nineties backing vocals. The backing vocals in general could have been better, they are slightly over pitched and don’t really add to the music. The distorted backings used on “Holding On” aren’t working out either. Despite these minor flaws Circle II Circle came up with a solid album that in my opinion is slightly better than their 2003 debut Watching The Silence. The album is also available as digibook with the live bonus track “Watching The Silence”.