Circle of Fear
Circle Of Fear "Pain...Scars...Healing"
Death metal has arrived in Pennsylvania by the way of Circle Of Fear.
My first experience with this band was a three song demo that lacked
a certain something when it came to the production. I was told that
would be taken care of when it came to the full length release and, sure enough, it was.
Now, before I get into it, I should point out that I'm not a huge fan
of this style of music. A lot of what I heard pretty much sounded
like second rate Cannibal Corpse...and I'm not too fond of
Cannibal Corpse either.
There's a lot of talented musicians in the death metal scene
and Circle Of Fear is no exception. These guys can play.
The music, of course, is brutal, heavy and aggressive,
there's no doubt about that. The death metal vocal style is
usually a big turn off for me. I don't know about you, but,
I like to be able to understand the lyrics. Most of what I've
heard in the past sounded like Sesame Street's Cookie Monster
after a bottle or two of Jack Daniels. I can't sing to save my life.
But, even I could end up fronting a death metal band if that's
the vocal style you're looking for. When it comes to this release,
however, Chris (the vocalist) has an aggressive vocal style,
but, it's at least somewhat understandable and that's always a
plus in my book. His vocal style is closer to hardcore than
it is death metal. Although there is a bit of that low death
growl found on this recording. Not a lot, which is good.
Plus, the band uses sound bites from movies such as
"Unforgiven," "A Clockwork Orange," "Silence Of The Lambs,"
"Tombstone," "Army Of Darkness," "Blade" and the third
"Hellraiser" flick. They work these into their music
to give it more of an impact.
Nine songs with a running time that's a little over
half an hour. If it's heavy, aggressive death metal that
you want, give this release a listen because you'll
probably like what you hear.
http://www.circleoffear.com