ALBUM REVIEW: Narci – Circle of Sighs
Salo, the first album by progressive doom metallers CIRCLE OF SIGHS, was arguably one of the more intriguing albums to come out last year. Combining crushing doom metal hooks with a huge synth sound, the band are certainly not your typical doom metal outfit, eschewing the more psychedelic leanings of keyboards and synths within doom metal in favour of style that borrowed heavily from electronic music. Little over a year since that album’s initial release, the band are back with its follow up, Narci, an album that, if anything, takes the band’s sound even further into the realms of electronica, almost completely shedding the doom from their sound, with excellent results.
Spectral Arms, with its ominous, eerie opening motif and glorious clean vocals, sets a foreboding tone right out of the gate, easing the listener into the album gently, and bringing in elements piece by piece as the song builds, giving this a dark and subdued feel that keeps the listener on the edge of their seat throughout, showcasing a far more progressive sound than on their debut. We Need Legends, is a disjointed brew of funk and electronica that, although initially bizarre, works extremely well, again illustrating that the band is pushing their sound out much further than before, with the metal components within their sound being almost totally stripped away, save for a brief, raucous guitar and drum section that comes in in the song’s final minutes.
A Crystal Crown of Cosmic Pain continues in a similar vein, albeit with a much heavier sound that has a strong industrial edge. The tight percussion and domineering bass within the sound clashes with the robotic, crooning vocals perfectly, and the soaring guitar licks similarly add a musical contrast that give the music a little more depth. Roses Blue starts witha much softer, ethereal sound to it, centred mainly upon the drumming, ambient keyboards and haunting vocals, before launching into a dense slab of doom with harsh vocals and plenty of aggression, making it a little more visceral than earlier offerings.
The brief, soundbite orientated Segue 04 provides a short interlude before Narci bursts into life, taking the metal elements of the previous track and accentuating them significantly. It’s a monstrous, groove-laden shot of intensity into what has been a relatively reserved record, and grabs the listeners attention with a chaotic and anarchic affair that borders on death metal. Heaven In Flames, with its vast, droning synths and claustrophobic sound, achieves the oppressive nature of its predecessor with a minimalist, electronic approach, resulting in a primitive take on classic electronic music with a slight doom metal flavour.
The Man Who Stole The Wind brings the album to a close with a stripped back, powerful piece of music that uses soulful vocals and guitars, along with bombastic symphonic and synth sections, ebbing and flowing between the rock and electronic sides of the band’s sound, with the vocal performance being the only consistent aspect of the song’s sound. It’s a brilliant, anthemic climax to an eclectic and magnificent record.
If the fact that this band covered KRAFTWERK on their first album wasn’t a clear enough indication as to the direction the band was aiming to take their music, the musical shift on this album certainly is. The differences between this album and its predecessor, Salo, are almost night and day. Where Salo was much more rooted in doom metal, with plenty of chunky guitar and bass hooks, with the synths complementing the rest of the music on offer, Narci sheds the band’s doom metal influences almost entirely in favour of a far more progressive and synth orientated sound. Luckily, this change works extremely well, and although fans of their first album may be put off by the way this album has turned out, those with a a broader musical taste and a love of progressive and bizarre music will undoubtedly love it.
Rating: 9/10
Narci is out now via Metal Assault Records.
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