Label: Divebomb Records
Date: May 13th, 2022
Let’s move from the largest city of South America (and Southern Hemisphere in general, as well as Western) to the most populous one in the States. The most of Metal fans connect “Big Apple” with Anthrax Suffocation or Immolation (even if before I wrote the review of “Act of God” I got a really deep shock), but since this is huge city there’s tons of bands playing all kinds of Metal. That’s why ensemble I’ll write about is also a legend. Well, probably only underground and just the scene of such creativity. And these smarter of you already know, or at least strongly suppose, why this is like that, even if they exist since 1999, so theoretically should be well-known, if not to everyone then tofans of this kind of playing. Anyways, this isn’t the place, I guess, and besides there’s no time for writing on here their whole biography, discography and stuff like that! People who wanna know this can always contact Paul LaPlaca. He’s very friendly, so you’ll surely get to know everything, or even more, what you need to know!
“Circle Game ” isn’t available yet, but is ready for pre-order as well. So let’s talk about the most important thing in our (at least mine and a lot of people who I know) lives. Mean of course and surely music! This CD contains twelve songs of music not everyone will like. I know I probably shouldn’t write such things and even more to do it at the beginning of review, but I was always saying exactly what I meant and don’t plan to change it anymore! Reason why only some parts, and I think it’s less, if you will like or even love this is what we have to do with “Circle Game”. Guys call their creativity by the name progressive metal and well… I always had some kind of problem with this term.I somehow think it says almost anything. You know, this is too general. At the same time my experience (and this is thirty five years one, so it is quite huge, I think) shows as more complicated terms bands use to describe their music as more shitty it is. Maybe not always,but in the very most like that it is. Besides, these complicated terms say even less the word “progressive” which has been used to describe music since at least half century. OK, but nomenclature is only nomenclature and there is no sense to fight about it.The only important thing is music and that’s why I’ll try to tell you as clearly as possible what you should expect of “Circle Game” as well. New Yorkers’ (and to be even more precise: Brooklyners’) creativity isn’t something you can describe with one word in myopinion. I mean, I can find influences of quite many sub-genres of metal.
In general the dominating one is technical and sophisticated by this meaning heavy, which doesn’t mean you can’t recognize on here some elements of stoner or thrash metal. You Can hear this both in music itself and vocalizations – fascination of first of all some Danish metal God is as clear as a day in my opinion. But another one, this time English, is also very important for vocalists. Anyways, songs’ structure is built of course on guitars which create the melody here. Well, from time to time it’s a little strange,but still is a nice-to-listen-to one. This is full of guitars’, and not only, tricks. At the sametime all of them just serve what is the point in Metal. That’s just not very “light-digestive”. I somehow connect it in the most with bands from the seventies – I mean here both stricte music and common character. There are some influences of more, let’s call it,modern music, but it doesn’t change the fact I mentioned above. Well, backing to vocals,they’re the same like a lot of music, very varied and are even some short fragments of growling. Hopefully you know now what you can expect from this album and my review told you if you should buy this CD or October Thorns play what isn’t your cup of beer!
Personally, the more times I listen to “Circle Game” the more I like it. But it can be just one more proof I need to mental hospital as soon as possible, the best immediately.
