Circle of Ouroborous – Shores
It is so incredibly rare that I hear something that completely paralyzes me. I had precautions from Patrick/Northern Sky that this was “different” and that it may take time to get used to or set in. The very second these vibrations reach your ear – they go past the thinking mind into the spirit, creating a home for itself within. How does one even begin to understand? I know that words cannot give any meaning for the energy “Shores” emits. If I were to even understand everything within it, I would have a hard time telling someone else what it really is about. Almost like describing the face of someone in a dream whom you had never met. It is ever-present during the listening but almost completely lost after it is over besides the general feeling it leaves you with. Maybe that is the secret to a recording, which truly embodies its own world. “Shores” incorporates so many styles within one very distinct, unique, and avant-garde style. One listener might hear black metal, another crust, old punk, or even rock. The vibrant nature of “Shores” is spread on a vast canvas with these elements and portrays any number of feelings within one steady mood. The vocals are spoken – never sung – and sometimes wailed. Only a few seconds of the entire listen expose a black rasping voice that sounds like nothing else in its context. The drums are very dry and dirty sounding but provide a perfect pulse for the trance effect. Try to imagine a less complex Ved Buens Ende “Written in Waters” mixed with Alcest’s “Le Secret” and the almost stoned performance of Sonic Youth’s “Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star”. Soak that in a warm, mid-range guitar tone that absorbs any room for silence between movements. This is so ahead of its time – I know that it will never do as well as it deserves to in today’s circles. It’s that good. This will be a CD in your collection in years to come where someone comes over and asks, “Who is Circle of Ouroborous”? To which you respond, “The very core of avant-garde.” – TRA
NORTHERN SKY PRODUCTIONS
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