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Circle II Circle: Seasons will fall

26/02/13 || Ironpants

I am known for having sleeping disorder. I seldom sleep more than 3-4 hours each night and some nights I don´t sleep at all. Through the years, I have grown accustomed to this fact. I don’t have a problem with it, and the only ones who gives a shit, is people around me hearing about this the first time and starts preaching ”…you must sleep or you are going to get sick”, or ”…you have a headache huh? Well that´s because you don’t sleep”. I use the graveyard shift to read books or just lying in my bed in the darkness, listening to music and touching myself. Like some heavy metal Nosferatu with earphones and a empty eyed glare. Although the real Nosferatu would be out hunting, lurking in the shadows, stalking young women for a brief lick on their tender, soft necks, but I won´t do that no more, cause, that is apparently a felony?

But, sometimes your life takes a new direction, you turn the page, reboot your system, fix your glitch. For me, it was being served this digitalized piece of Valium. When I slithered into my bed, plugged the old leakholes with my earphones, pressed play and… instant sleepmode occurred. I haven´t slept this good since I was a baby goat. That’s not good. I mean, you are supposed to enjoy music, and if not, at least freak out and change the music and then ramble on about how fucking bad it was or whatever. No, I fell asleep, knocked flat, like taking a hit from a piston powered uppercut from Mike Tyson himself.

But hey, I am supposed to review this album, and I have the mindset that I should listen to the album i review at least 2-3 times before even trying to write anything. So of course I gave it a another shot and fell mentally asleep again while sitting up in a chair. I am actually mindnumbed right know, like on a couple of Xanax with a few zips of the old wine… and a plain cup of vodka…

The first song, ”Diamond blade” is quite alright, medium and sort of heavy, with a rather catchy chorus, but that’s it. In the second song ”Without a sound”, the chorus sounds like an old cassette player getting short on batteries. And from there it gets worse. And that’s a bit odd, I mean, I didn’t expect grindcore or something, but at least some heavy metal for fucks sake!? Let it rip once in a while for the sake of metal!! In ”Isolation”, I thought I had a treat coming my way with a quite heavy beginning falling into a rather cool beat on the bass drums…but no, as soon as the verse starts it falls back into a low paced piece of Valium again.

Well, about the production, it´s of course well produced in a way, but I don´t like the guitar sound at all, it is like it´s recorded in an old tin can. All instruments are well played though, and you get some fine guitar solos. Oh, and the singing…
This band is ruled by the mighty words of Zak Stevens, that previously has been a singer with Savatage, a band that has a tendency to draw bonus points amongst people with at least a little knowledge in metal history. I myself have not spent too many of my precious minutes with them, never understood the good stuff about that band. I didn’t hate them, I just ignored them. What I do know however, is that they were an high class act with powerful voices. The singing here though, sound a bit mistreated, I feel it´s a bit held back and boring? Or is it as simple as that the voice doesn’t cut it anymore? The wailing that old Zak presents on the extended notes sounds as in slow motion, like playing a 45 rpm single on 33 rpm (you elderly people out there know what I’m talking about). There´s no spark, no ball and crotch here, only slow, sleepy, strained hard rock singing.

I want something back when I listen to music, I pay attention to what I hear (mostly) and I actually get pissed off listening to this. You can be mushy and cheesy on a couple of songs if you want, but at least show some spirit and killer instinct in some other parts. This maybe works for some people, but it´s straight out the door for me.

I myself, retreat back to my cold inner sanctum, cursing myself for humming the chorus to ”Diamond blade”, that will be the only single small thing that got stuck from this slowrolling sleeping pill.

Information
Released: 2013
Label: earMUSIC
Website: www.circle2circle.net
Band
Zak Stevens: vocals
Bill Hudson: guitars
Christian David Wentz: guitars
Paul Michael Stewart: bass
Henning Wanner: keyboards
Adam Sagan: drums

Tracklist
01. Diamond blade
02. Without a sound
03. Killing death
04. Epiphany
05. End of emotion
06. Dreams that never die
07. Seasons will fall
08. Never gonna stop
09. Isolation
10. Sweet despair
11. Downshot
12. Only yesterday

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