Sweden may be more known for its death metal than the black variety, but that hasn’t stopped it from vomiting out some great bands over the years. Next on the slate are Circular Ruin who amalgamate both styles into a rather fantastic stew of dissonant noise. Less abrasive than trad black metal, rather than feeling watered down, it is a much more powerful and interesting prospect.
At an almost perfect 37 minutes long, after a brief introductory track, it’s off for the races with ‘The Altering Altar’. It’s an explosive start of blackened melodic death metal which kind of sums up what this band is all about. With no let up, the casual stomp of ‘Perisher’ embraces those classic heavy metal influences before expanding into some glorious melodic guitar work. It’s a superb moment which highlights the pedigree of the musicians who all hail from various other bands.
‘The Storm I Keep Within’ throws out those expected buzzsaw riffs that is expected from Sweden, but not before long they have dissolved into an atmospheric, haunted sermon as the blackened influences come to the fore. This movement between the death metal and black metal approach is seamless, and makes for a thrilling listen. ‘Ropes To Salvation’ slows proceedings down somewhat as the band explore their atmospheric side. Slow sections move into explosive black metal. ‘Nocturnum’ throws in elements of doom in its slow, heavy churn, whilst final track ‘A Dream Of Thirst’ goes all out with its heaviness in a glorious romp to the finish line.
A defining feature of this album is that how, amongst all the heaviness, it retains a wonderful melodic edge. It’s this that sets it aside from similar bands, and provides a more accessible route for those seeing a way into extreme music. By respecting and understanding how the classic metal artists did it, they are able to forge their own path by taking the stepping tones left in place and formulating a new sound. A Sermon In Tongues is a more than worthy addition to any self-respecting metal fans album collection.
