Grave Circles/World Within The World/Schattenkult Produktionen/2025 Full Length Review

 

  Grave  Circles  are  a  band  from  Ukraine  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  on  this  recording  goes  for  more  of  a  raw  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2025  album  "World  Within  The  World"  which  was  released  by  Schattenkult  Produktionen.

  A  very  dark  yet  heavy  sound  starts  off  the  album  while  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording.  Vocals  are  mostly  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  mixed  in  with  a  few  growls  along  with  some  of t he  riffing  also  adding  in  dissonant  melodies  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  blast b eats  can  be  heard.

  When  tremolo  picking  is  added  into  the  fast  riffing  they  also  give  the  songs  more  of  a  raw  feeling  while  synths  can  also  be  heard  at  times.  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  the  album  also  mixing  in  influences  from  both  the  modern  and  old  school  era  of  the  genre.

  Some  of  the  tracks  are  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  when  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  finally  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style.  along  with  a  couple  of  songs  also  adding  in  a  small  amount  of  clear  vocals  and  clean  playing. The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  hateful  view  of  the  world,  worship,  faith,  pain  and  separation  from  humanity.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Grave  Circles  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  raw  and  aggressive  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Feral Instinct"  "The  Die  Is  Cast"  and  "One  More  Drop".  8  out  of  10.

  https://gravecircles.bandcamp.com/album/world-within-the-world

    

Grave Circles Interview

 1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording and release of the new album? In the beginning of the year we prepared for scheduled live shows, but all festivals were cancelled due to the quarantine. We are currently working on the 7’’ EP “The Burning Chariots” which consists of two new songs and a cover song of Katharsis (Ger.). After that, our second full length containing 9 rearranged songs from Tome I and pre Tome I era will be released. It is shaping up to be a more simplistic album with raw production much more reminiscent of the classic black metal sound. There will however be acoustic guitar parts and brass instruments. The work wouldn’t be complete without a bit of experimentation. In general, it will be recognizable Grave Circles stuff but at the same time a bit different. 

2.Recently you have released a new album, musically how does it differ from your previous ep? Tome I and Tome II are factually one album. The tracks Thy Light Returneth and Predominance were actually written before Tome I. The plan was to include them and When Birthgivers Recognize the Atrocity with the three tracks that ended up on the Tome I EP and release a full length consisting of 6 tracks. We simply did not have the funding to pay for the studio and the recording of drums. We recorded three songs because that is all we could afford at the time. This came out as our Tome I EP. So nothing changed i think. 

 3.How would you describe your progress as songwriters from the first ep to the newer album? Everything with the exception of “Unspoken Curse” which is by our new guitarist Exile was written by myself and Virus during the same period of time. Even the upcoming EP and second full length will feature some old and unreleased songs. While I have something to say we will continue to create music. On the other hand if I do not, Grave Circles will end. Everything is done intuitively and often small fragments come together and form a cohesive whole in a day. On the other hand there are months where nothing new is created. 

 4.On the ep you also covered some satanic and occult topics, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in those subjects? I am interested in the individual and cultural knowledge of the divine. I am fascinated by the relationship of “God” and followers. I neither accept blind worship nor liberal satanism which begins and ends with self abasement to supposedly put one self in opposition to the world. In modern times many so called cargo-cults have emerged and many black metal bands are at least somewhat involved in these movements. When these fledgling occult groups which are a mish-mash of “men, horses and chariots” so to speak are created bereft of tradition and organic historic development it is simply syncretism. * For example the worship of Pan God, Baphomet or Anti-cosmic movement. An example of anti-syncretism may be something like a solar cult which is found in many ancient cultures, or more traditional heathenism where the forefathers believing in the principles of dualism of light and darkness tried their best to appease both sides. *I am talking about “cherry picking” and mixing of the elements of different philosophies and religions. 

 5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Grave Circles'? The name was inspired by the song Circle of the Graves by Asymmetry so there is no secret there. We wanted to avoid something pathetic, pretentious or overly loud which is what many go for. We came up with a simple name and stuck with it. Kind of like many Death and Thrash metal bands in the late 80s and early 90s. 

6.On the new album cover you can see some Gnostic, Esoteric and Alchemy themes in the artwork can you tell us a little bit more about adding these concepts onto the album artwork? Light and darkness. Man and woman. Good and evil. The piece depicts the ever present principle of dualism. The two opposites form a whole and one flows from the other. The one gives significance/faith to the other (key). See The Delivery of the Keys, or Christ Giving the Keys to St. Peter a fresco by the Italian Renaissance painter Pietro Perugino. There are also undertones of violence, imposing of one's will/belief system on another. The hands that are transferring the key are covered in symbols: the sign of mercury - reference to the gnostics, whip - reference to the Khlysts (an underground sect which splist from the Russian Orthodox Church in the early 17th century), Ouroboros (an ancient symbol depicting a serpent or dragon eating its own tail), the grail and the all seeing eye. 

 7.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance? We have performed live only once simply due to the fact that live shows were not initially our goal. I think our best performances in top form are still in the future.

 8.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your newer music by fans of black metal? The reactions have been overwhelmingly positive, at least from what I have heard so far. Of course it would be great to hear more constructive feedback and opinions regarding every song as well as our lyrics. Perhaps that will happen when the physical releases come out. Nowadays it is the norm to consume tons of new music on streaming services so people don't pay attention to every release. 

 9.What is going on with some of the other bands or musical projects these days that some of the band members are a part of? Our live bassist KGD and myself are the only members of the band who participate in other projects besides Grave Circles. KGD has a really promising death metal project called Temple of Torment. Their new release will drop soon. He is also a member of a fairly well known Ukrainian project - Kroda. I am preparing for recording the drums for two french projects. Unfortunately I can’t elaborate on that. 

 10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future? It is hard to say. As of now all of our efforts are directed towards the upcoming EP and full length. 

 11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your newer music and also what are you listening to nowadays? Mainly my inspiration comes from Sol (Denmark) and Circle of Ouroborus (Finland). As of the black metal in my playlist? Currently it is Black CIlice, Moondblood, Arkha sva, Clandestine Blaze, Ascension. There are also post punk bands I enjoy as well.  

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts? Modern black metal is going down the drains and straight to hell, and not in a good way. So called “black metal models”, transvestites, black metal boy bands, constant apologizing and disavowals coming from certain artists. Sometimes it seems that the black fire has morphed into some kind of hellish corporation kind of like Netflix where all the participants are suffering from severe mental derangement in a psychotic attempt to please the modern liberal world.

 

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Grave Circles/Tome II/Les Acteurs de L'Ombere Productions/2020 CD Review

  Grave  Circles  are  a  band  from  Ukraine  that  plays  a  very  experimental  and  dissonant  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2020  album  "Tome  II"  which  will  be  released  in  May  by  Les  Acteurs  de  L'  Ombre  Productions.

  A  very  fast  and  raw  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats.  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  along  with  the  vocals  being  mostly  grim  sounding  black  metal  screams  and  a  great  portion  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  done  in  a  very  dark  and  dissonant  style.  Clean  playing  can  also  be  heard  in  some  parts  of  the  album  along  with  some  brass  instruments  also  being  used  briefly  on  a  couple  of  tracks.

  At  times  the  music  also  gets  very  experimental  sounding  along  with  the  vocals  also  utilizing  an  angry  shouting  approach  at  times.  Clean  singing  is  also  used  on  a  couple  of  the  tracks  as  well  as  some  of  the  riffing  also  adding  in  a  small  amount  of  melody,  one  track  also  adds  in  a  brief  use  of  singing  bowl's. The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Human  decay  and  questions  of  faith.

  In  my  opinion  Grave  Circles  are  a  very  great  sounding  dissonant  and  experimental  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Both  Of  Me"  "Thy  Light  Returneth"  and  "Abstract  life,  Abstract  Death".  8  out  of  10.

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