Australia’s progressive metal giants, Circles, shape a new era with the release of the first part of their long-awaited two-part EP – ‘The Stories We Are Afraid Of | Vol. 1’. Out Now via Wild Thing Records.
Produced during the extensive lockdowns in Melbourne, Circles‘ new EP emphasises the importance of self-reflection and self-realisation in the face of despair and hopelessness, and illustrates the first steps in finding the strength to make positive, empowering change in oneself.
Circles’ Ben Rechter discusses the themes of ‘The Stories We Are Afraid Of | Vol. 1’: “The overarching theme of Vol.1 is one of a loss of identity and purpose, and trying to recapture a sense of wonder and passion for life that was once a core part of you. Musically, we went into these writing sessions with a focus on being more direct than on previous albums, steering away from crowding songs with heaps of different riffs for the sake of having more riffs that we personally like in there.”
‘The Stories We Are Afraid Of | Vol. 1’ was mastered by Luke Cincotta (Karnivool & Dead Letter Circus) and was self-produced and mixed by Circles’ guitarist Ted Furuhashi. The addition of precisely developed synthesiser lines, integration of electronic percussion and refined samples brings another dimension to Circles’ new EP.
The progressive giants’ recent three singles have seen rotations on domestic and international radio stations, as well as curation from Spotify and Apple Music editorial playlists. ‘Sleepwalking’, ‘Dig’ and ‘Echo’ have all been featured by The Racket on Triple J. Playlist success includes Spotify’s All New Metal, Progressive Metal, Homegrown + Heavy and Rock Out playlists in addition to Apple Music’s New Music Daily, Heaps Heavy and The New Rock. Media support from domestic and international media outlets includes Heavy Mag (AU), Hysteria Mag (AU), Kill Your Stereo (AU), Metal Hammer (UK), Sonic Perspectives (US), The Prog Report (US) and more.
Circles recently came back in full touring force with a memorable Australian tour across the East Coast and Adelaide in collaboration with Destroy All Lines & Wild Thing Presents. Their advanced touring experience has seen them at internationally acclaimed prog festivals such as Progfest (Australia), Euroblast (Germany) and Progpower (USA) as well as opening for The Dillinger Escape Plan, Periphery, Opeth, Fear Factory, TesseracT, Twelve Foot Ninja and many more globally recognized acts.
After the international success of their previous album ‘The Last One’ which landed #3 on AIR Independent Albums, #47 ARIA Digital Albums, and #4 on The Music’s Album of the Year 2018, to say that their new EP has been anticipated is an understatement.
Cementing the next era for this prog-powerhouse, ‘The Stories We Are Afraid Of | Vol. 1’ is OUT NOW via Wild Thing Records on all major platforms and via CD and Vinyl via the Wild Thing Music Store.
Order here: https://ffm.to/circlesthestoriesweareafraidofvol1
