Artcic Circle - Forcing the Astral
March 20 2008 at 10:58:51 PM
Canadian ensemble Arctic Circle creates a perplexing blend of Black and Thrash Metal, significantly empowered by mathematical structures redolent of Weasel Walter’s Flying Luttenbachers of old. Yet, instead of stomping out songs with algebraic efficiency, Arctic Circle teeters precariously, as each piece’s palpable structure continually threatens to dissolve into sonic chaos. This sort of template does not translate well into extended composition, and the band recognizes that, creating songs emboldened by their brevity and nearly self-destructive in their brutality. There are some brief classical-ambient interludes here, too, which provide a necessary breather, but also show a facet of the band that needs a bit more fleshing out. Were Arctic Circle to work this into the songs themselves, we’d be dealing with a far superior result.
[Stewart Voegtlin]
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