Preceded by a couple of demos in 2006, an EP in 2007 and a split with Australian black metallers Austere in 2008, this is the first full length from Germany's Isolation. Closing A Circle is melancholic black metal that has evolved out of the anger, chaos, and bleak depression usually associated with the genre into a fusion with the broad horizons and deserted landscapes of bands such as Isis and Neurosis. The black element has been relegated to a subsidiary role to allow the spaces between the rage and futility to be fully explored. It's rough, it's raw, it's melancholic, but the songs feel too laboured, as if rehearsed – or even under-rehearsed – to the point of a precision that removes anything organic from them. This is the one downfall in the production. Another is the performances. The ambitious guitar work, though good, is limited in its scope, chiefly relying on formulaic patterns and rhythmic rigidity. The bass-lines are too rigid, as if played by someone unfamiliar with the nuances of the instrument and so unable to bring to the songs the substance and fluidity they need. And its prominence in the mix taints the songs, and the album for that matter. The vocals are, at times, strained. And together with the heavy-handed drums, they pull the compositions apart.
There is something compelling about the songs, and the music demands a level of indulgence that does bring reward. Closing A Circle is melodic and dynamic, focussed and expansive, and what is here hints at what could be great promise for the future of this band. They need to lock themselves in a rehearsal space, play the songs over and over and over and explore the compositions and breathe life (or death, even) into each aspect of what are, largely, good compositions and then draw that live feel into the studio. Maybe their next effort will be what this should have been.
(www.seaoftranquility.org)
