Cirkeln Paints "Thine Winter Realm Enthroned" In Glorious Shades of Black Metal (Early Track Stream)
Cirkeln is a one person melodic black metal project with a penchant for the fantastic. Since 2019, this Swedish act has been crafting a separate existence from our own. This existence is a world that is inspired by both the literary worlds of J.R.R Tolkien and Michael Moorcock along with the musical influence of Bathory. The past three years for Cirkeln has seen a handful of demos and a debut full length in 2020. Both of these releases, warmly received, combined black metal with the epic passions of an adventure novel. 2022 sees a new record A Song To Sorrow which continues the artist’s journey into worlds beyond—but those expeditions are becoming more vibrant. Listen to “Thine Winter Realm Enthroned,” the closing track of the album, below.
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A Song To Sorrow is a bold declaration of escapism which brings the listener to a world of vivid color and grand emotion. For the first time, the scale of Cirkeln’s music can be fully appreciated with a production suited to its ambitions. Cirkeln populates their world of melodic black metal with lengthy synth introductions which cascade over eventual blast beats and guitar chaos. Songs like “Thine Winter Realm Enthroned” take their time with a winding introduction before launching into a standard black metal gallup. Other tracks like “Vaults Behind Vaults” swirl acoustic and electric guitar in a mire of dissonance. There is room in the world of Cirkeln for both the warm sun and the frigid landscapes which lie in shadow. Much like the cover painted by famed Tolkien artist Roger Garland, A Song To Sorrow offers much more in the way of black metal than a monochromatic image. There is intrigue and storytelling and the experience is a riot of colors and sounds which sets the stage for its drama.
A Song To Sorrow is being released through True Cult Records, a Greek based black metal and dungeon synth label that has already put out strong releases from Mystras, Candlekeep, and Unmother. Cirkeln, for its eccentricities, fits in nicely within True Cult’s catalog as it is surprising and unpredictable. Cirkeln is a world of its own and exists with near infinite ambition and dedication to its influences. This is music for bright fantasy paperbacks and stories of wonder.
Cirkeln adds the following about “Thine Winter Realm Enthroned”:
“Thine Winter Realm Enthroned” is a song about the death of the old at the hands of the new. Much like in our present time, it’s time for the old dogmas to be questioned and for the old kings to be held accountable for their reign. The song suggests that this is a cyclical process that is as inevitable as the seasons shifting. Ultimately, the song is a call to revolt as it concludes with the line “storm the walls; take back the realm.”
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A Song to Sorrow releases March 25th via True Cult Records.
