Stream the New Circle of Contempt Album Structures for Creation in Full

At the very beginning of 2010, the following package of young, up-and-coming Sumerian Records’ and Sumerian-affiliated bands headed out on tour together: Periphery, Animals as Leaders, Veil of Maya and Circle of Contempt.

Fast forward six and a half years and the careers of three of those bands have taken off, the face of a genre. Meanwhile, Circle of Contempt… well, what the hell happened?

Circle of Contempt were dropped from Sumerian following the release of their 2012 EP Entwine the Threads, which might help explain their profile’s decline since (four years is also a very long time between releases these days). But that’s a chicken and egg debate: were they dropped from Sumerian because they were falling short of expectations for the label, or have they since fallen short of expectations because they were dropped? The truth usually lies somewhere in the middle, and I’d posit that’s the case here. That they’re from Finland probably made it difficult for the to tour the U.S., too, which is always going to be important for a U.S.-based label.

But whatever, all that’s in the past: they’re back now, and they self-released their new album Structures for Creation on July 1st. It’s easy to hear why this band may not caught’ve on the first time around: there isn’t a ton that makes them stand out from the pack, sonically speaking. At the same time, though, there’s an almost Misery Signals-esque sense of melody in the guitars that I’ve not heard mixed into this kind of metal before, and I’m enjoying listening to it. Like Misery Signals, I feel Circle of Contempt are destined to be one of those bands that a small legion of fans really really love and everyone else just kinda glosses over.

Anyway, stream Structures for Creation below. If you’re into this kind of thing I’ll reckon you’ll think it’s pretty good! Order it here.