Friday 28 October 2011

Siege of Amida's Betraeus announce UK tour, EP launch party and release behind the scenes footage from their upcoming video, Towards The Sun


Gruffly tech-ish riffery mixed with passages of spun-out acoustic ambiance” Raz Rauf, Thrash Hits
 
It’s great to have underground bands like Betraeus breaking through” Johnny Doom, Kerrang! Radio
 
Mancunian progressive death metallers Betraeus announce release party and full UK tour to support their incredible debut EP, 'Towards The Sun', out on 14 November via Siege of Amida Records.
 
The EP coincides with the band's much anticipated video to the title track, and to further wet appetites they have released some insightful behind the scenes footage. Check out the raw sets, props, hilarity and hard work from the band and director Tom Bohan that make up the awesome video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXfHJfkW2s0
 
Having destroyed the 'Pepsi Max' stage at Download Festival this year as well as the 'New Blood' and acoustic stages at last year's Bloodstock, Betraeus are rapidly gaining a rep for being a sublime force of metal, so make sure to check them out at one of the following dates:
 
November:
Friday 4 – Manchester Academy 3 (EP release party)

December tour:
Tuesday 6 – Swansea, Sin City
Thursday 8 – London, Purple Turtle
Friday 9 – Brighton, Belushis
Sunday 11 – Glasgow, 13th Note
Thursday 15 – Leicester, Soundhouse
Saturday 17 – Manchester, Satan’s Hollow
Sunday 18 – Bury, The Towler
Monday 19 – Leeds, Escobar

Commenting on the EP party and tour, frontman Chris Sykes says:
 
"Towards The Sun has been a long time in the making so we couldn't be more excited to be headlining the Academy 3 in our home city to celebrate the release, it's gonna be one hell of a party!  For those of you who live elsewhere in the UK be sure to check us out at one of our dates in December as it's always been Betraeus's ambition to play as many towns and cities as possible, so your going to get a very special show!

Thursday 27 October 2011



Metal Injection hosts Concrete Sun’s new music video

Starting today Metal Injection is hosting “Last Man Under the Sun”, the new music video from Serbia’s sludge-rockers Concrete Sun.

Directed by Daniel Toader, “Last Man Under the Sun” comes from the band’s self-released debut “Sky Is High”, which features nine tracks of riff-driven and groove-soaked southern rock.

Check out the video HERE!


“Sky Is High is a massive riff-based grooving monster of a rock album.” Sea of Tranquillity

“Well worked proper classic rock, channelling a bourbon drenched, downtuned vibe with more emotion and feeling than many can manage.”Cackblabath

“I highly recommend this album to the groove/heavy/southern American metal and rock lovers…” Alone Music

“Think Clutch, Blind-era Corrosion Of Conformity, and so on, and you’ve got Concrete Sun in a nutshell.” About


 

Visions- Home Review

Home is the debut album from English tech metallers Visions and it is the latest in a long running line of tech metal hopefuls. Whilst the album has some truly brilliant guitar work and some very catchy hooks, it does feel like it’s all been done before and there isn’t much originality here.

Don’t get me wrong, this is a good album, but in today’s metal scene, good isn’t good enough, it needs to be great or more. For fans of the tech metal genre, this album will be a good addition to your collections, but if you only have a passing interest in the genre it will feel unoriginal and stale.

It does have some extremely good points much like the beautifully orchestrated clean section in Oceans and the musicianship is absolutely first class in every song.

This is an album for the fans of the genre; anyone else really won’t be interested. However this is their debut album, so I would be interested in seeing if they evolve or if they stick to the same formula.

3/5

Crossover pioneers Senser are to release a Hip Hop covers EP and make their killer version of Channel Zero by Public Enemy featuring Slayer available to stream



As a prequel to their fifth album, genre moulding legends Senser release 'Biting Rhymes', a compilation of early Hip Hop covers, paying homage to the artists who inspired their pioneering rap-rock-metal sound.
In their words: "This is really the music most of us grew up with, to us early Hip Hop represents a parallel with folk music, or the Jazz standards - a lexicon of classics"

Senser have chosen songs from what can be considered the second wave of Hip Hop by Public EnemyEric B and RakimLL Cool J, and The Beastie Boys to rework in their own style. The versions vary from faithful renditions to explorations of the original themes and certain live recordings that date from early in their career.
To celebrate the release, Senser have made their killer cover of Public Enemy's Channel Zero, featuring a sample of Angel of Death by thrash legends Slayer, available to stream. Check it out here - http://soundcloud.com/senserband/senser-channel-zero
They continue: "It's fairly common knowledge that the track Channel Zero by Public Enemy was very important to us; a big catalyst in showing the possibilities. We've been playing it since the start"

As is to be expected they kick, groove, stomp and languish in a magnificently ill style that befits the originals. A head nodding tribute to the masters.
Track listing:
1 - Dont Believe The Hype (Public Enemy)
2 - Follow The Leader (Eric B and Rakim)
3 - Mama Said Knock You Out (LL Cool J)
4 - Channel Zero (Public Enemy feat. Slayer)
5 - Looking Down The Barrel Of A Gun (The Beastie Boys)
Biting Rhymes will be available digitally via Imprint Music on 27 November, with the track Looking Down The Barrel of the Gun available as a FREE download from senser.co.uk
Catch Senser on tour in November:
11th - Scream Lounge, Croydon, UK
12th - Joiners, Southampton, UK (Support - Idiom)
13th - The Fleece, Bristol, UK (Support – Cars On Fire, Rock In Your Pocket)
14th - Cavern, Exeter, UK (Support - Idiom)
15th - The Haunt, Brighton, UK (Support – Idiom, Floors & Walls )
16th - Purple Turtle, London, UK (Support - The Painted Smiles , The Spindle Sect)
17th - Kasbah, Coventry, UK.
18th - The Well, Leeds, UK (Support - Idiom)
19th - Moho, Manchester, UK (Support - Idiom)
December:

1st - La Condition Publique, Roubaix, France

Thursday 20 October 2011

Aliases/Visions Live


On the 30th September, Aliases and Visions were halfway through their “Safer than Home” tour round the UK and they were in full swing.

Kicking off the night were Surfaces, who were unfortunately playing with a sub-bassist, but still managed to kick the night off to a rocking start. It was a bit of a slow crowd to begin with as there were only 4 people including myself, but after the first song, the crowd picked up quite a bit. The music was a bit of a departure from the rest of the bill, as was more straight ahead Death Metal than more Technical stuff, but gave it a bit of variety. Apart from a few niggling sound problems the band played very well, especially considering that the bassist was a sub. My only complaint is that the band didn’t move around on stage at all apart from the vocalist, but as I said, considering there was a sub, it’s understandable.

Margot Kidder were 2nd on and they played music in the same vein as Surfaces, but managed to pull more of a crowd and have more of a stage presence, interacting more with the crowd and having a fair bit of stage movement. It also helped that Margot Kidder managed to get a better sound quality than Surfaces. The crowd seemed to really enjoy it and get moving.

Visions were main support and they completely blew the previous two bands out of the water, with some amazing crowd interaction and some good movement on stage. It looked like they were really enjoying themselves, which for me, is important for a band. If there not enjoying it, then why should the audience. In this case, the band was loving it and the crowd were loving it as well, as they were moving and having fun. My only complaint was that I just couldn’t feel the bass, but apart from that, it was a brilliant set from Visions, with most off their set being taken from their Debut album Home.

Aliases, the headliners, were absolutely amazing, starting off killer and only improving as the night went on. Jay got his vocals just right and the switching between screamed and clean vocals were amazingly tight. Also seeing such technicality being pulled off live flawlessly quite literally blew my mind, having an eargasm right there. They managed to pull the biggest crowd off the night, but as the venue was tiny, quite literally a glorified pub gig and hidden in the depths of Wolverton, it wasn’t a huge crowd which disappointed me quite a bit. They are definitely a band I will be checking out again live.

Overall it was an amazing night and the music was absolutely first class. My only real disappointment was that the venue was so small and the bands deserved a bigger stage and a bigger crowd.

Overall- 4/5

Surfaces- 3/5
Margot Kidder- 3/5
Visions- 4/5
Aliases- 5/5

Wednesday 19 October 2011

ACODA Live Review

I’m gonna get the negatives out of the way first here. The promoters off the actual night were very disorganised and didn’t know I was coming to interview and review one of the bands until an argument between the two promoters cleared things up. Then I had to wait for 2 hours to actually get my interview done, and then the show started half an hour late. So by the time the music actually started playing I was in quite a bad mood and could only hope that the music would cheer me up.

Cheer me up the music did, with Our People vs Yours kicking off the night with some pretty solid metalcore. This was my first time hearing this band and I was pretty impressed, despite the small stage that an amazing stage presence that captivated the crowd. Also the singer was extremely ill but he persevered and sounded better than some “professional” singers do when there 100% so fair props to him.

Following on from them were the extremely disappointing The Catharsis, which just sounded like noise. This could be due to the poor sound engineering that was going on throughout the night, but I just couldn’t hear any choruses or anything that made any sort of melodic point. It also seemed like the crowd believed so as well as the only members of the crowd that I could see were actually members of other bands being respectful, there were very few actual “fans” there, everyone else was outside having a cigarette. The only good part about them was that their bassist had a good stage presence. The singer and guitarist were just constantly on the floor in front of the stage, and I don’t know if that’s a staple off the music but it just didn’t impress me.

Floods followed and again rejuvenated my faith in music. They managed to pull in a fairly impressive crowd for the size of the venue (which in reality was a glorified pub gig). They had some pretty impressive fan interaction and stage presence which made it an absolute joy to watch and their musicianship was absolutely top notch. The only down side was that the screamed vocals seemed slightly off from the rest of the music.

Finally ACODA were up, and you could tell this is who the crowd were waiting for. More people came in specifically to watch this band, so I knew I was in for a treat, and I was not disappointed. They played an amazing set with some truly memorable crowd interaction moments, where things on the brink of disaster were neatly turned round to become moments of comedy gold. Also, and by far the most important thing, the songs were catchy and people were singing along. I thoroughly enjoyed every song. The only downside for me was that I had to leave slightly early to catch the last train home because the gig had started so late, but if I could have, I would have stayed for the entire thing.

Overall, every band bar The Catharsis put on an extremely enjoyable set and definitely made up for the bad start to the evening.

Our People Vs Yours- 4/5
The Catharsis- 1/5
Floods- 4/5
ACODA- 5/5

James Merrett

Human Sculpture- Our World/Torn Down review

Having never heard Human Sculpture before; no surprise, this being their first release, I had no idea what to expect from the Finish Five piece, but my god was I in for a treat.

The opening track of “Our World / Torn Down” (The first mini-album release from Human Sculpture) started off quite tame, but within a few seconds I was hit with a wall of drums and the fun began. This mini-album is full of brutality, from the lyrical content, with lines such as “having raped the world a thousand times,” to riffs as hard as a sledgehammer and vocals that would have the population a small French village running for the hills.

The production is very good, everything at the right level to be heard in the right way for the overall tone of each song, and every song a hook to keep me interested, certainly an album I will be re-listening too, I cannot wait to hear more from Human Sculpture in the future. Now if only we could get more bands to take a leaf from the Finnish book of metal…

William D'albertson Young
8/10

Concrete Sun- Sky is High Review

Imagine if you will, your ears being scraped alongside the rusty innards of a pickup trucks back end, now add the dull thud of a hangover, that is how this album made me feel and I hadn’t even drunk the night before.

Now don’t get me wrong I love Southern Rock, from “Down” to “Black Stone Cherry”. But “Sky is High” left me wanting more, as if I had been sat in front of a buffet of Michelin star food and instead was made to eat dirt.

The thing that annoyed me by far the most on this album was the lazy songwriting, for example, “D.A.N.U.B.E” and “God Forsaken Prostitute” are almost identical at the beginning, I may be being pedantic but since when has every other song on an album had to start with exactly the same chord, tone and tempo? We all love palm muting, but let’s not do a Zakk Wylde, who at least can pull off using the same technique over and over again.

Concrete Sun suggest they have taken influences from “a blend of southern rock, blues, stoner, groove, sludge and grunge”, but that doesn’t mean they should have taken all those influences and turned them into one gelatinous lump.

But enough of the terrible analogies, I will try and give some constructive criticism, firstly, the voice, either it was recorded badly or it just isn’t up to scratch, and I say that as there were points at which I thought the voice had a certain quality to it, but nine times out of ten it sounded like a bad mix of James Hetfield and M Shadows.

The guitar-work is lazy; there is a lot of potential as sometimes I find myself picking out in the bottom of the mix a good lick and wonder whether it was lost in bad production or if nobody thought to say, look you CAN write, so write more like that three seconds just there. And my god where are the bass and drums? I had to strain my ears to hear the bass and when I did I was pleasantly surprised, the bassline was good, really good in fact, but I had to crank my sound up to find it.

Overall then, the album is dull, lazy and perhaps quite typical for a debut release. It needs work, there’s good to be found, but it’s hidden amongst the muck.

William D'albertson Young

3.5/10

Diamond Plate Interview

James Merrett caught up with young metal upstarts Diamond Plate last month. Here's what they had to say

Hey guys, how’s life treating you?
Konrad: Life has been busy, but really great. Our debut album ‘Generation Why?’ was just released in the US, and will be released in Europe on August 29. We’re on our first ever tour of the USA, and life on the road has been amazing so far. We couldn’t be prouder of all the work we’re doing, and it’s definitely only the beginning!

For those new to Diamond Plate, how would you describe your sound?
-It’s always hard to describe your own band’s sound.  We’ve always just played what we felt, and let critics/fans categorize us. Our band is heavy, aggressive, with a good sense of song writing. Some people say that we have an old-school vibe to us, and I guess that comes through from all the older music that we listen to.

Your debut album Generation Why? has been out for a few weeks, how has the reaction been by the media and the fans?
-We’ve been blown away by all the great support that we’ve had from critics and fans alike. All of us put everything we could into this debut album, so it was really gratifying to see that people dug the album and understood what we were trying to do.

In some reviews you were compared to current thrash lords Evile, how does that make you guys feel?
-I think the comparison comes from being on the same label. Evile is a fantastic band but I definitely think that both of our bands have our own identities and we’re really not that similar.

You’re signed to Earache Records, which is host to a lot of big names in Metal, How does that feel?
-It’s amazing to be working on the same label that many of our idols were on back in the day. Carcass, Morbid Angel, and Sleep are three bands that I listen to constantly. I’m honored to have something in common with all of those bands.

You’re about to go on a full blown tour with first Kittie, and then Warbringer, are you nervous for these dates or looking forward to it?
-Right now, we are about two weeks in to our tour with Kittie and Dirge Within. It’s been incredible so far and we couldn’t be more excited to be spreading ‘Generation Why?’ all over the states. We’ve been playing to a brand new market/crowd, but the reactions have been killer night after night and we’re definitely gaining a lot of fans. The next tour with Warbringer, Lazarus A.D., and Landmine Marathon will be amazing as well. We’re excited to play to our ‘type’ of crowd, since we’re used to playing to thrashers. Warbringer and Lazarus A.D. have been great friends of ours for a while now, so it will be a lot of fun to go out with those guys on one of our first tours.

You recorded your debut with Neil Kearnon, who has worked with metal legends such as Judas Priest and Nevermore. Were you intimidated whilst working with him?
-Not at all. Neil did an amazing job making us all feel so comfortable working with him. We were really able to relax and let ideas flow easily. That’s the reason why the recording went so smooth even though the entire album had to be tracked in 10 days. The knowledge and experience that Neil brought to the recording allowed us to sound like we’ve always dreamed of sounding. Without him, the album would definitely not have sounded as good as it turned out.

You have some very outspoken tracks on the album about today’s youth such as Generation Why?
Being so young yourselves, how did this inspiration come about?
-We really wanted the album to be not only relevant to the world today, but specifically to people that are our age. Being only 18/19 years old, we all felt that writing about our own generation was the only way to write something true and honest. ‘Generation Why?’ is meant to be a statement against people in our generation that do not strive for greatness and are content with living a life of mediocrity.

When are we going to see you guys tour the UK?
-Our plan now is to dominate the USA with relentless touring. Once we’ve generated some buzz on this side of the world, we’ll start touring the UK, Europe, and everywhere else in the world. Wherever there are fans of metal, we want the name Diamond Plate to be known.  If fans want to see us play in your country, please buy a copy of ‘Generation Why?’ and show us that you want us there! All of us can’t wait to get out of the US and start playing around the world.

Is there anything else you would like to say to your fans?
- Don’t take our word or anyone else’s word for what our music sounds like, go check it and decide for yourselves. Thanks for using your ears! Why so heavy?

Thanks for taking the time to do this interview.


Diamond Plate- Generation Why? Review

For a band that barely has the combined age of 60 (Band average age is 18) Diamond Plate are on  the fast track to success here, with a brilliant thrash album and being signed to Earache Records, where a lot of the more prominent names in the underground metal scene are coming from. In a few years, I think Diamond Plate will be one of those prominent names.

Generation Why? Is a brilliant thrash album, with some pretty outspoken statements and views for a band so young. It seems like they are trying to distant themselves from what their current generation are about. Hence the title Generation Why?

Featuring 10 blistering tracks (plus an intro) this album is an intense, fast- paced album that has cut the fat and just kept the meat. The band seem to mesh influences, with the guitar work being very heavily inspired by the 80’s thrash scene, and the vocals seeming a lot more heavy and modern. They’ve received a fair bit of flak about this, but to me, it suits the music well and gives it that extra edge.

Some stands out tracks for me are the title track Generation Why? And At the Mountains of Madness so if you want to listen to the band before buying the album, look these tracks up on YouTube as they are two of the best representatives of the Diamond Plate sound.

My only complaint is that the majority of these tracks can be found on previous EP releases so for some long time Diamond Plate fans, they will have already heard the majority of these tracks, but for newcomers, this is a brilliant slab of thrash metal.

James Merrett
4/5

Tuesday 18 October 2011

Decaying- Devastate Review



Death metal is a blessing and a curse. In some circles, if you keep to the old-school blueprint, you’re guaranteed success, then in others if you keep to the old- school blueprint, you’re destined to fail due to the fact that there the people who want some innovation. Decaying manage to hang on the edge of both circles with some fast, old school blastbeats, but then followed by some insanely heavy mid-tempo sections which thud against your ear-drums.

With song names such as Strangled, As The Fire Burns and …To Decay, you can tell straight away what sort of music this band plays, and let me tell you, it definitely isn’t pop. Bordering between modern and old-school death metal, Decaying are a breath of fresh air for the death Metal scene, even for people who aren’t all that interested normally, who only like the big bands. They combine deathly growls and blastbeats with some slower sections which only emphasise the heaviness off this band.  They don’t re-invent the wheel, but their sound is surprisingly fresh.

My one complaint about this band is that some off the songs just drag on, with one song even reaching 15 minutes in length, which for me, is far too long for death metal and the songs gets a bit boring after a while. This is the only point for me which the album gets tedious to listen to, and it is unfortunately quite a big niggle for me.

With all this said however, Devastate is a brilliant album and if you are a fan of Death Metal, it is definitely worth picking up.

James Merrett

3.5/5

Mishkin Row Away From The Rocks Review

Mishkin seem to me to be a mix between heavy rock and technical genius, with some extremely catchy songs backed up with some outstanding musicianship. The key words there are catchy songs. These are sing along anthems which grab the listener and stretch open their ear holes with their pure awesomeness.

Varying from the jagged rhythms of Good Day to Die to the catchy sing along Waiting for the World To Change to the Danny Elfman style opening of On Your Sleeve, Mishkin have provided more variance in just a 4 song EP more than most bands provide in an entire album.

This is a band who, whilst only now releasing their 2nd EP, have done a lot and have a lot of experience under their belts, having written a song for the 2008 Bejing Olympics and done full tours of China twice. You can tell whilst listening to the EP as it has such a mature sound that won’t confine them to one genre and will allow them to push the limits of what they can do.

After listening to this EP I am desperately looking forward to their debut album. I can’t recommend this band enough. No matter if you’re into Hard Rock or Metal or Prog, there will be something for you to find on this EP.


5/5

7 Horns 7 Eyes Convalescence Review


If you throw Prog, Death Metal and a little bit of Black Metal all into a pot and stir, what you are left with is 7 Horns 7 Eyes. Having just released their EP Convalescence it’s a short but brutal listing experience.

Coming in at just under 15 minutes long with only 3 songs, it is an extremely short but extremely brutal EP. Opening song Vindicator is a statement of intent of what 7 Horns 7 Eye’s can bring to the table, then following on, the title track Convalescence is one of melody and tranquillity. This juxtaposition creates a rather unique listening experience

However it is the final track The Winnowing is the ultimate listening experience for 7 Horns 7 Eyes for me. It’s everything the band can bring to the table and more.  It combines melody and complete brutality extremely well and makes the listener just want to hear more.

This is definitely a band that I shall be keeping an eye on. The only problem with this EP is that it is to short, which with the music being so good, is a definite down point. I’m looking forward to the full length release.

James Merrett
4/5

CIRCLES unleash new video and single 'EYE EMBEDDED'


Australian progressive Metallers CIRCLES have announced they are to release their first single 'Eye Embedded' taken from their debut EP 'The Compass' on November 14th, which comes with a remix edition, 2 b-sides and an instrumental arrangement. The band will be unleashing a brand new promo video alongside the single release.

The band have also put together exclusive footage that not only chronicles the making of the video for the track but gives fans a taster of the video to come. View behind the scenes here: http://youtu.be/HIL9GCmOkOA  

Comments CIRCLES drummer and video director Dave Hunter"Shooting our first offical video was something we've always looked forward to doing. Once it was all over, we were completely drained. It's like playing a show for 10 hours straight, except your set list only consists of one song. Overall it was a great experience. So far, the response to The Compass has been quite overwhelming. Hopefully we can push it further with this video." 

Since their critically acclaimed debut EP was released in May this year via Basick RecordsCIRCLES have been hard at work building their profile worldwide - their studio jam video for 'Clouds are Gathering' reached the No.1 spot on Scuzz TV, reached No.3 on the Australian Metal iTunes chart, swept the review boards worldwide with praise for 'The Compass' and all whilst continuing to play countless gigs in their native homeland and begin work on their follow up record!


 This might be the best new band you'll hear all year. Truly epic. - Metal Hammer.
Beyond world class. - Blunt Magazine
Circles are here to make a point. - Rock Sound Magazine
Melodies so catchy they are probably illegal in some countries. -  Terrorizer Magazine

 
 
Tracklisting for 'Eye Embedded' Single

1. Eye Embedded
2. Eye Embedded (Big-F remix)
3. Silence (Prelude demo)
4. Beautiful Fascination (Prelude demo)
5. The Design (Instrumental)

Irish techcore bruisers Red Enemy return to the UK on planet-loud.com sponsored tour supporting their debut EP, Where We Call Home


 
 Melding the ferocity of hardcore to the technical intricacies of progressive metal and nailing it down with a fat old groove.” Pete Withers, Rock Sound
they've got balls , they've got decent songs and it's HEAVY.”Dom Lawson, Metal Hammer
 
 
Following the huge success of their debut UK tour in August, Dublin's Red Enemy bring their brutal grooves and technical riffery back to our shores on theirplanetloud.com backed headline tour.
The band are touring in support of their killer debut EP, 'What we're contained in, is what we're worth” which was released on the 10 October in the UK – check out a track here: http://soundcloud.com/holdtightpr/red-enemy-where-we-call-home
Guitarist Conor Dockery comments: "We cannot wait to get back over to the UK! We couldn't have asked for anything more from our first trip. We met some great people and made some great friends. This tour is set to be awesome!"
Planet-loud.com editor Graham Finney comments: "The first time we heard Red Enemy we were blown away by their face-smashing metal and it's an absolute honour to be sponsoring their upcoming UK dates. Expect plenty of bloody noses and bruises when Red Enemy head to your town..”
Since forming in 2008 they have rapidly climbed the ranks at home with their powerful live shows, earning them support slots with Architects, Suffocation and Despised Icon and many more. Word spread and it wasn't long before they were packing out venues in Ireland themselves.
This year has seen them tour their homeland with TesseracT and Parkway Drive on both bands' Irish tour dates, as well as sharing stages with Save Your Grace, Once A Wolf and Visions in the UK. This UK tour rounds up what has been a massive year for Red Enemy, and 2012 promises to be even bigger when they drop their as yet untitled debut album! 
Catch them live in NOVEMBER:
22 - London, Brixton, The Windmill23 - Hastings, The Carlisle 
24 - Biscester, The Hobgoblin 
25 - Banbury, The Wheatsheaf 
26 - Aylesbury, White Horse 
27 - Brighton, The Haunt
28 - Bolton, The Alma Inn
29 - Stourbridge, River Rooms


http://soundcloud.com/holdtightpr/red-enemy-where-we-call-home

Circles- The Compass EP Review

Circles manage a feat many bands attempt to do and fail miserably, and that is to mesh two genres that generally mix like oil and water. Circles do this extremely well and for the most part the, transition between the two are completely seamless.  At some points it feels like you’re at a club, then you’re transported to another realm completely which consists of jagged timing, brutal guitar playing and soaring vocals.

This is a very good EP with some extremely catchy choruses going into the jagged brutal guitar playing of the verses. The best example is EP opener The Frontline with it’s completely soaring vocals and intense guitar work. This is a band who mix melody and aggression very well.

The techno elements of the tracks are spread out throughout and it offers a different listening experience compared to all the djent bands going around at the moment. The electronic moments aren’t overplayed and the focus is definitely more on the aggression off metal.

For a debut mini-album, this shows some excellent song-writing although there are some sections that sound slightly repetitive in each song, but give the band time and I believe they will definitely be a band to keep an eye on in the future.

James Merrett

4/5