Shores

A comparison with the dutch band Urfaust would be most revealing for Circle of Ouroborus’s style. What instantly arrests the listener’s attention is the vocal methods that the bands employ. Incongruous, yet not substantially different to the Batavians’s singing who use clean, ceremonious, almost ludic vocals, Circle of Ouroborus also remark themselves with a non-growled vox, although used in a different purpose. I am not far from error by saying the front-man is talking rather than singing. His performance brings to mind a murmur, a voice struggling to anchor itself in the rhythm, disillusioned, placid, unimpressed by the scope it serves.

The production scores an essay in the chapter of homosexuality. The guitars and other instruments, in fact the guitars and the drums for save these two there doesn’t seem to be anything else, are frequently cornered by the vocals, which despite their apparent weakness cover them nonchalantly.

The compositions these reindeer-fuckers propose rely on excessive repetition; the only progress is based on the energy used by the band whilst playing. Deconstruction through minute improvisation or complete lack thereof. Circle of Ouroborus try to achieve completely unembarrassed flow of music, a surrender to the purposelessness of existence. The result is as plain as music can get. ‘Shores’ is almost as devoid of odd-time signatures as a sacred monster of the pop box-office, yet how parallel in visions. Although having nothing musically in common with black metal as a genre for it is closer to rock acts, Circle of Ouroborus is black metal as far as black metal can go. It is the full acoustic transposition of it’s philosophy - nihilism made cadence.

Yet however close to ideal ‘Shores’ comes, it’s complete portrayal of purposelessness does no good to my ears. It is in fact comfort of the ear that we seek in music, although opposed to what our intellect may want. Circle of Ouroborus sometimes immerse silently in the background while I listen to them, such is their idiosyncratic quality towards the normal.