Circle Takes the Square - Decompositions: Volume Number One

Savannah-based Circle Takes the Square impressed the heck out of me when I saw them opening up for Kylesa early last year on their European tour.
Now, the band returns with their first full-length album in eight years, following an EP entitled ‘Decompositions: Volume Number One, Chapter I: Rites of Initiation’ released in 2011, and just like their previous full-length 'As the Roots Undo', this new effort features an eclectic bag of sounds and moods, veering from an intense and raucous combination of noise, hardcore and grind to lulling ambiences and folky tunes. 'Decompositions: Volume Number One' will take you to a number of places, equally evocative and off-putting, challenging and intriguing, and although it’s not without its faults it’s a good, solid effort from a band that sounds like no one else. That obviously means something! (7.2/10)

Band info: www.circletakesthesquare.com

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Age of Woe - Inhumanform

Armed with a crushing style of death-influenced hardcore, similar to Entombed and to a lesser extent Converge coupled with the monolithic sludge of Neurosis, Age of Woe’s “Inhumanform” is a surprising release that shows a lot of promise for a band that formed only three years ago. The band wastes no time on subtitles and kick things off with the incredible “Like Embers”, which boasts some heavy and crunchy monolithic riffs braced by bulky, powerful drums, while some grabbing guitar melodies play throughout the quiet moments. In tracks such as “The King of Thieves” they pound out a two-step hardcore with a consistent fury sounding a bit like their infamous comrades Disfear. Good stuff! (7.5/10)

Band info: www.ageofwoe.net

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Okus - Okus

Okus? Sounds like the name of an orc from Lords of The Rings doesn’t it? Well, it’s not! It’s actually the name of a grind/crust combo from Ireland, but sonically they’re just as vile and fearful as those vicious creatures from JR Tolkien novels.
Okus combine elements of grind, punk, crust and doom to offer up a raw, powerful and sometimes intimidating sound that assaults our senses in a Entombed-meets-Napalm Death way. With 7 tracks running through nearly 32 minutes, “Okus” is lean and vicious and sees the four-piece excelling at layering different sounds and rhythms, switching easily between relentless, powerful blast beats to sludgy, caustic grooves. Nasty stuff! (7.8/10)

Band info: www.facebook.com/Okusband  
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Santiago Alquimista - Lisbon 

19/01/2012

  

Although tonight’s show isn’t exactly crowded, the excitement surrounding these shows is clear to see on the faces of the few ones that decided to go down to Santiago Alquimista and watch psychedelic rockers Kylesa in action. After all, not only this is the band’s first time in Lisbon, they’ve also brought with them two enthralling and distinct groups, Ken Mode and Circle Takes the Square, as support acts.

The evening starts with the Canadians Ken Mode, who delve straight into the belligerent and compelling sounds of “Obeying The Iron Will...” from their latest effort “Venerable”. The three-piece play their entire set with the lights out, which helps create a dark and mysterious ambience that totally complements their intense and emotional charged performance. It’s a great shame that a large portion of tonight’s crowd is acting with indifference towards this talented bunch.

Second up are Circle Takes the Square, who are a guitarist short tonight, but play a fierce and highly convincing show nonetheless. At times bordering Today is the Day levels of frenzied volume, the band engages in an experimental melange of raucous punk, abrasive noise and rapid-fire blasts of grind throughout nearly 40-minutes. Their set is divided between rabid numbers like “Crowquill” and “In the Nervous Light of Sunday” from their debut album “As the Roots Undo” and schizophrenic and plain puzzling songs like “Way Of Ever-Branching Paths” from their recent EP “Decompositions - Vol I”.

Next is Kylesa, and the crowd goes loud when the band walks into the stage to perform “Said and Done” from their mind-blowing album “Static Tensions”. Despite a few problems in the vocal department, the five-piece are on glorious form tonight playing all the crowd-pleasing tunes like “Tired Climb”, “To Forget” and “Unknown Awareness”. Phillip Cope and Co. doesn’t do much in the way of audience interaction, but that doesn’t seem to irk the crowd, who shows their appreciation for every song very loudly.



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