Metalcatto
If you’ve been following us for a bit, you might think I’m just a Death/Black type of Metalhead. However, my beginnings in the Metalsphere are closer to Prog than anything else—and I mean the joyful type, 90s Prog! Which is why Connect the Circle caught my attention right away. Wolf in the Sky not only promised to be conceptual (it’s about a volcanic eruption!), but also to deliver that lost sound with a fresher touch. Am I being nostalgic for once? Maybe, but it’s my blog and I’ll do what I want!
Wolf in the Sky offers an interesting combination of solid and uplifting Proggy riffs with darker themes. It’s almost as if you took Dream Theater or Fates Warning and tuned down all the convoluted ideas and six-minute solos. Whether that’s good or bad depends entirely on your level of nerdiness and elitism. It’s not Soen though—the album has more activity and dry punches. It doesn’t get lost in soft, sentimental passages. Even if being annihilated by Vesuvius or Krakatoa is actually a fitting extreme Metal theme, Connect the Circle approaches it from a melancholic angle.
There’s not a single harsh vocal section in Wolf in the Sky, and though I was concerned about that at first, the clean vocals are smooth and emotionally effective. What impressed me most is the clear enunciation. I was able to immerse myself in the story thanks to their articulate delivery. The production is as clean as your bank account after festival season. The guitar tone pays homage to older times, but never feels cheesy or overly nostalgic. In fact, Connect the Circle remains committed to giving you a bleak journey into the past, when humans were at the mercy of nature… wait, is that really the past? Well, that sucks!
Now, I’m going to risk contradicting myself—but yes, sometimes I did miss harsher vocals and maybe a bit more speed. I think Connect the Circle could benefit from dialing up the aggression here and there. Oh, and can we get more showboating? (Yes, I am the snobbish fan, deal with it!) Like the kind we get in the closing track? On a much pettier note, I’d love to hear the bass get a bit more room to breathe, but then again, most people wouldn’t even notice—so I’ll leave that alone.
I was expecting a total cornball from these guys, and while it wasn’t exactly Pierced from Within-mean, it brought back that old-school Prog energy that reminds us art comes and goes in circles. When things are done well, they always return in a different form. Connect the Circle might be an underground band, but it certainly has the potential to carve out a loyal following by the time the next Prog cycle dies off. Umm… I kind of ended on a sad line there.
Label: The Norwegian Sound
Release date: August 1, 2025
Website: https://www.facebook.com/connectthecircle
Country: Norway
Score: 3.7/5.0
Metal Eclipse Reviews 