Circles
The Compass
Basick Records
The term ‘mini-album’ somehow doesn’t do ‘The Compass’ justice. To us at least, it implies a neat taster, an interesting but ultimately unsatisfying sample of greater things to come: and that is certainly not what you should expect from this, the second release of Aussie prog-metallers Circles. These five songs form an exciting and entirely coherent body of work in their own right, these relative newcomers having evidently wasted no time in finding their feet.
Now aligned with the leading champion of all things techy and ambitious, Basick Records, this lot are fast becoming one of the most difficult acts of the so-called ‘new wave of progressive metal’ (NWOPM? It could catch on) to pin down. While the crushing, kinetically charged riffs are here in force, the band’s mastery of dynamics and incorporation of myriad different stylistic elements, including a prominent dose of – whisper it – melody, puts them into a category all of their own; ‘Act3’ is a great example of this all too rare approach. The ambient interludes and labyrinthine song structures help to emphasise the percussive power of their more overtly metallic moments, but all are pieces of a puzzle that’s well worth some contemplation – there are moments on this record where you feel like you’re floating in the midst of a hurricane, pulled along by powers that you do not entirely understand, enraptured all the same.
Ultimately, this is not one to miss. The technicality is indeed impressive, but it’s not the prime mover, rather, one aspect of an entirely engaging and rather original sonic collage. Whether you’re experiencing ‘djent’-overload or are new to this whole unpredictable scene, Circles should be one of your next ports of call. Let’s hope that the geographical constraints don’t keep the band away from the UK for too long…
Buy this album here.
Review by Rob Sayce
