CD Review: CircleDown's "Mobius" Gets It

Sep 19, 2010
Melissa Kucirek

East Coast's CircleDown - Photo Courtesy of CircleDown.com

What do you get when you mix rap, thrash metal and a bit of synth? East Coast-based CircleDown delivers a near obsession-worthy song.

East coast-based CircleDown has four tracks to bring their A game in the EP "Mobius." And, while the first two tracks cater to the speed metal crowd, and will be familiar to Linkin Park and even a bit of Sum 41 fans, CircleDown is only two out of four in delivering killer tracks.

Radio Friendly Thrash Metal Song

It is not until track three, "Crash," that this writer found a new obsession. Where on Earth did this bizarre sounding blurb of a oriental tweak come from? Just as the first two songs - while excellent in arrangement and strong thrash metal performances - channel some power punches, "Crash" seals the deal. It is a fury of buildup and conflicting sounds. Really, it is that good. It is memorable and one of the most radio friendly thrash metal songs this writer has encountered in quite some time (think Faith No More, that is how long).

Listeners will also enjoy track four, "ReConstitute." Never a dull moment in this one either. It is missing the synth sound, but the roar and toe-curling percussion swoop right in there. This song also brings it.

CircleDown is comprised of Drew "Diode" Madore (vocals, DJ, synth), Kevin "Cansh" Cansian (bass), Eric "Reebus" Wisely (drums) and Dean Romanelli (guitars). At first it is easy to lump this group into every other speed metal rock/rap outfit. But, again, the "Crash" song is so memorable it is insane to think that there are not more songs out there like this for a band like CircleDown.

Tightly-Produced Songs

What is also evident about these guys is they get the tightly-produced song. There are no gaps, no down moments to songs. The bridges engage, and true, Madore's vocals have little range, the band and arrangements certainly make up for the normality. According to its official biography, CircleDown has been lauded for earning two Auddy™ Awards, given to songs that score high on a program that tests clear mathematical hit potential. Or "The underlying musical patterns of this song are similar to songs that have been hits for a long time." Meaning, they write songs that in theory, can be hits.

Fans of Faith No More, System of a Down, DownSlave, Incubus, playing video games, Linkin Park, maybe 311 and maybe some European-flavored dance tracks should give these guys a listen. It is not that that first two songs disappoint, it is just they seem to be swept away into the "just okay" song pile. Again, listeners will enjoy tracks three and four.