Circle- Terminal, A Review (2017)

Circle- Terminal, A Review (2017)

By: Ghost Writer

Rock N Roll Animal

I guess than being Finnish is no easy thing, too close to the Arctic Circle, too close to Russia, but the Finnish people have managed to survive long cold winters and the constant menace of the red country, but that might not be the only merit of Finnish people, as they have also been producing a lot of uncompromising rock acts for a while, and talking about Finnish rock bands I have a couple of favorite ones, those glam-sleaze-goth-punk-hard rock legendary band Hanoi Rocks of course and more recently the brutal Kuroishi, wonderful bands that defy all stereotypes and show how vibrant, healthy and massive is the Finnish rock scene, but if we talk about my most cherished Finnish secret, we will have to talk about the awesome Circle, more a collective than just another band, who remain almost impossible to classify, going from psychedelic freak out jams, highly complex progressive rock, hallucinating kosmische krautrock and hard edged heavy metal, and impossible mix of Faust, Ash Ra Temple, The Stooges, Judas Priest, Queen, Black Sabbath, Amon Duul and Gong, if such a thing could be mentally conceived.

Their latest recording goes by the simple name of Terminal and believe me, it's quite a trip (Well, all Circle recordings are quite a trip by the way), featuring the inimitable vocals by the amazing Mika Ratto, whose performance on the opener Rakkautta Al Dente is a definite stunner, adding a strident element to the epic nature of the guitarists riffing, the antigravity drums and the proggy keys, the band going all the way and immersing in a sound that's both magnificent and malevolent, with Ratto becoming a fierce competitor of people like Mayhem´s Attila Csihar, using his voice as a wide catalogue of characters, going from rabid growls to almost operatic falsetto stuff, all this while guitars go into an intense tour practices recalling the desert blues of Mali´s Tuareg bands, other almost invoking ancient Viking spirits.

For the title track they go more into a heavy metal direction, as riffs got mote groove oriented and dense, there's always a humorous element to Circle and sooner or later riffs may remind you of something else, as pastiche of a whole lot of other things is a big part of the band, while Ratto does his best King Diamond- Rob Halford (Tom of Finland inspired, of course)-playing-with-Amon Duul homage, the band gets close to the motorik nature of a band like the mighty Neu!, the result is as intoxicating surreal as it is fascinating, impossible to get passed by. 

But if we talk about taking things to the limits, there is Saxo, a crazed psych piece with hypnotic guitars and totally out there vocals, a powerful muscles rhythm section disconcerting really far, in what might be probably the best song in this collection with the band really going beyond music, creating a mighty mix of ugliness and beauty, a dirty rainbow of sounds proving Circle as still a force to be reckoned capable of going beyond the realms of our imagination, and just before taking the tour de force named Imperium, a hard hitting and high reaching piece of punk inspired energy music with Ratto stellar piercing vocals taking the absolute lead here both vocally and with his astonishing keyboard playing.

Kill City is not exactly that song Iggy Pop recorded after the demise of the Stooges, but it shares the original piece´s sense of outlandish deliver, it has powerful sweeping guitars and deep chorused vocals, sounding eerie and hypnotic, Ratto delivering some punishing vocals while trapped against pulverizing drums and then making unpredictable rhythm changes, the band putting themselves to the test at each second, never letting things get bore and embracing changes with contagious enthusiasm, leaving it clear why they are still one of the most legendary bands coming from this brave and remote land, capable of making some of the most outrageous rocking sound one can imagine, coming from one of the farthest confines of this planet.