Norwegian progressive metal band Connect The Circle fuse powerfully enthralling vocals and groovy guitars in a fascinating sound they describe as “dark, melodic and progressive.”
The band was born out of the ashes of guitarist Kenneth Brastad’s thrash metal band Forbidden Forest. Seeking a fresh direction, he proposed a total transformation that focused on heavy metal without limitations. He soon discovered vocalist Arild Fevang, who submitted an audition ‘tape’ that became the band’s second single Burn The Sky, and instantly had Kenneth hooked on his unique voice and theatrical performances.
The band released two albums in their original lineup, but their drummer departed and was replaced by Baard Kolstad (Leprous/Rendezvous Point) as a session drummer. They eventually decided they needed a keyboard player to bolster the Connect The Circle sound, and met Andreas Auby through a friend. A classical pianist and keyboard player who also loves Slayer and progressive music, Andreas joined as a session musician before becoming a permanent member. And they’re also working with bassist Mariuuz.
On the sound they’ve crafted over the years, Arild told us: “I would say that Connect The Circle has a very distinct sound. We are a very different band now than when we started out in 2018, but if you put on any of our albums or songs, you will be able to tell that it’s us. I think that has a lot to do with the way Kenneth Brastad and I write together, and the fact that my voice is very recognisable.”
Our latest taste of this is Sacrifice, which was released at the start of last month. It opens up with lone drums quickly bringing in a darting guitar riff and interestingly off-kilter keyboard sounds. That feeds into an engaging verse led by Arild’s powerful vocals intersected by cool stabbing guitar flurries, which flows into a big singalong chorus led by the line “Raise your hands up in the air, We won’t survive without sacrifice.” Stabbing guitars and keyboard return to bridge into another lively verse. A second chorus drops into big rolling drums, which continue as a little keyboard solo takes the lead and sets up a final chorus.
On the track, Arild said: “The reception has been great! We are a bit overwhelmed by all the kind words that have been written about it, so no complaints there. Quite a few radio stations are picking up on it, and the song is getting added to playlists all over the world as we speak. If you haven’t heard it yet, you can expect a dark, melodic, progressive metal song with a great chorus.”
As alluded to, Sacrifice follows a solid back catalogue of prog metal gooness. That includes two more singles earlier this year, the excellent Never Ending Winter which opens with a cool riff giving way to a mellow verse and On The Run, which begins with a funky effects-ridden riff dropping into a groovy guitar-led intro before a lively verse that you can check out in the video below. Prior to that, they released three albums in three years – from which we especially love Bloodsucker from most recent album Blinded By The Violence – so there’s plenty of music to dig your teeth into.
The Connect The Circle sound is influenced by a wide range of sounds and artists. Andreas listens to the likes of Genesis, ELP and Dream Theater, Mariuuz is into The Dear Hunter, Coheed and Cambria and The Ocean. While Kenneth is big into Steve Vai, Ayreon and Nevermore and Arild listens to a lot of David Bowie, Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath.
As Kenneth explains: “We all share a passion for new music, but we also share the passion for old classics. That is probably why Connect The Circle sounds like Connect The Circle. We don’t limit ourselves, and there are no so-called ‘guilty pleasures’ in this band. We like what we like, and we use it to create new music that matters to us.”
And on what inspires them to write music, Kenneth adds: “Everything! There might be just a sound from a movie, a twisted guitar riff or a baby making some random sounds at the grocery store. For some reason, I have music in my head 24/7. It’s been like this for many, many years now. I fall asleep thinking of music, and I wake up thinking about music. Music or melodies also become images or pictures inside my head.
“On our next album, Arild told me about the idea and the story. His ideas and the song titles became ‘musical images; when I wrote the music. Those images inspired me to create a ‘mental musical journey’ of the story before it was written.”
And Arild added: “Anything, really, as long as there is a story to it. On our upcoming album Wolf In The Sky, the whole album is one big story, making it our first concept album. It’s all about this great catastrophe that started back in the year 536 with a gigantic volcanic eruption, that led to the worst period in human history to be alive. On Sacrifice, you can hear the people sacrificing gold to the Gods as a desperate act to survive the starvation that followed.”
Connect The Circle’s fourth album Wolf In The Sky will be released in August, promising what they say will be their best album yet – and it’ll have limited editions available on vinyl and CD. They also have plans to play the whole album live, most likely sometime next year. And they’re already busy writing for the next album, which is part of a trilogy about incidents that pose a threat to mankind.
You can follow Connect The Circle on Facebook, Instagram, Threads and TikTok, and check out their music on Spotify, Apple Music, Soundcloud and YouTube.
Listen to Connect The Circle on our Spotify playlists GigRadar Metal and GigRadar Nordic
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