Review Summary: Of Awakening is an album you won’t love, but you will certainly like. In this case, it’s just fine
German band The Circle attracted some attention with their 2021 first release
Metamorphosis, a twenty-seven minute, four song release variously identified as either an EP or an LP. For this listener, it was a compelling listen, blending prog, melodeath, black metal, post-metal, and symphonic touches into an intriguing whole, making The Circle unquestionably a band to watch.
Now, here’s the follow-up.
Of Awakening is unambiguously labeled an LP, although given its five song, thirty-three minute runtime, the band’s penchant for brevity remains. The Circle continue to broadly explore the same musical territories, but it is clear they’ve aimed to prioritize atmosphere over melody this time around. Fans who gravitated towards the melodeath aspects of
Metamorphosis might be a touch disappointed, even if that genre still plays a role here, with this release simultaneously feeling a bit heavier (even if not particularly brutal by underground metal standards) and more atmospherically haunting.
Every song here is reliably enjoyable, from the title track’s catchiness (and violin solo from Ne Obliviscaris’ Tim Charles) to the grand delivery of “Ashes and Falling Tides” and the tastefully triumphant march which defines “Reign of the Black Sun”. Ironically, though, even if The Circle seem to have pursued a more cohesive vision here than they did on
Metamorphosis, I tend to find the latter to have a more readily identifiable identity, even if it’s only an exciting “throw things at the wall” energy. In short,
Of Awakening showcases plenty of hints of a promising formula merging black/death metal with symphonic and neoclassical influences to produce a brooding and sinister feel, but most often the results feel a bit suspended between various trends in the modern metal landscape. I’ll eagerly await The Circle’s next rendition, but this album feels more like a “good” than a truly “great” offering.
