Circles Drop Their Third Single ‘Echo’ Ahead of Their Highly Anticipated EP ‘The Stories We Are Afraid Of | Vol 1’

Circles’ storm continues with the release of their most dynamic track yet, ‘Echo’ out October 19. ‘Echo’ and its accompanying music video comes as the third single of their upcoming EP ‘The Stories We Are Afraid Of | Vol.1’— the first part of the Melbourne progressive metal titan’s two-part concept record, out November 25.

Continuing on from their most recent record, ‘The Last One’, which found impressive success at #4 on TheMusic’s Album of The Year 2018 and #3 on AIR Independent Albums, Circles have continued to build excitement for their upcoming EP ‘The Stories We Are Afraid Of | Vol. 1’.

Further pushing the boundaries of the international djent movement that Circles helped characterise, the metallic chugging guitars, belting blast from the drums and serene atmospheric pads featured in their new single ‘Echo’, reinforce the band’s heavy influence in the genre.

‘Echo’ starts with a resonating electronic kick drum, paired with atmospheric synths and the hypnotic despair in Rechter’s vocals. The impact of the building drums and subtle guitars reflects that growing ache in one’s head that’s filled with voices of self-doubt, paralysing pity and pressure. Dropping out for a glitched-filled interlude like the calm before the storm, the band erupt into a skeleton-shaking triple-time breakdown. Leading the track out with a bone-crushing riff and a powerful vocal delivery pleading to break from the foundations of one’s turmoil, this is one of Circles’ most cathartic tracks to date.

Circles have composed ‘The Stories We Are Afraid Of | Vol.1‘ with intention and finesse. ‘Echo’ builds upon ‘Sleepwalking’ and ‘Dig’ by portraying themes of self-reflection and desperation to make a resolution; to fight your struggles and take the first steps to reacclimate to the life you once lived.

Rechter provides insight into how ‘Echo’ integrates into their upcoming EP:
“Echo is Vol. 1’s lowest point, emotionally. It deals with being well and truly at the bottom, feeling as though you deserve the hopelessness that you feel. Even if that’s not a true reflection of the situation, sometimes those inner voices block out all others with a relentless drone.”

‘Echo’ was mastered by Luke Cinacotta (Karnivool & Dead Letter Circus) and produced/mixed by Circle’s own Ted Furuhashi. With the abundance of subtle auxiliary percussion, lush floating synthesiser pads and a pulsating electronic kick drum, Circles’ new direction with production has led to a track that’s inherently progressive in nature.

Showcasing the band’s refined sound with Ted Furuhashi’s production, frontman Ben Rechter makes comment on the writing process:
“Ted’s production is great on this volume as a whole, but I feel that he really got to show what he’s capable of with this one, outside of heavy music. It’s probably the biggest departure from earlier Circles music, and took us on a journey that surprised us. It’s definitely an important song to us.”

Paired with the single is the epic music video produced by the band’s very own David Hunter. Filmed at Fabrik Studios, the clip parallels the building tension in the track as Rechter is seen despondent on the floor before contemporary dancer Bridget Lyte appears. Lyte’s movements intensify as the track grows in its dynamics and the rest of the band make their appearance. The band and Lyte unleash and purge in the track’s peak amongst a colossal white light show to close out.

The band’s blitzkrieg with their last three releases comes with consistent national and international radio play, with ‘Sleepwalking‘ and ‘Dig’ seeing support from The Racket on Triple J and curation for Spotify’s All New Metal, Rock Out and Homegrown + Heavy playlists as well as Apple Music’s New Music Daily, Heaps Heavy and The New Rock. Further media support from The Music (AU), HEAVY Mag (AU), Hysteria Mag (AU), Kill Your Stereo (AU) and Metal Hammer (UK) supports the hype of their highly-awaited upcoming EP.

Circles have continued to flex their extensive national and international touring experience after a string of successful shows (Destroy All Lines & Wild Thing Presents) at revered venues in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra and Adelaide. Appearing at high-regarded international prog festivals such as Euroblast (Germany), Progpower (USA) and Progfest (Australia), Circles continue to build upon the impressive list of artists they’ve supported. Opening for The Dillinger Escape Plan, Opeth, Fear Factory, Periphery, TesseracT, Twelve Foot Ninja and many more, Circles are an internationally recognised prog powerhouse.

Fall into the atmosphere and emotion in Circles’ latest single ‘Echo‘ on October 19 and keep your calendar updated for ‘The Stories We Are Afraid Of | Vol.1’ (November 25) because Circles are set to thrill.