Here we have the third full-length album from Netherlands based deathsters Callenish Circle. After bouncing from Hammerheart to Polar Bear Records to DSFA Records to Edgerunner records they have now settled down to a four album deal with Metal Blade.

Although I have seen this mostly listed as a death metal band I feel that Callenish Circle belongs more in the thrash metal genre, mostly due to the chunky guitars and a vocal style that varies a lot more than the typical death metal band. The album crosses several metal genres though, from the more melodic standard metal of “Take Me Along” and “Bleeding” to thrashier numbers like “Obey Me” and “What’s it Good For”. The album is capped off with a wonderful cover of Death’s “Pull the Plug” that closes off this release quite nicely.

This band has matured quite a bit since their earlier releases. Don’t take that the wrong way, they haven’t “wimped out” or gone mellow, they are just growing as a band and have really established a sound all their own. If these guys were to get some airtime on major market radio or MTV they could get pretty damned popular!

01 Obey Me
02 What's it Good For
03 Your Own Oblivion
04 Take Me Along
05 Bleeding
06 Your Final Swansong
07 Suffer My Disbelief
08 They Have Chosen
09 ...
10 Pull the Plug (Death cover)
(Metal Blade)
Rating: 8 /10