Oftentimes, when we consider what it means to hearken back to the classic days of doom metal’s infancy, it tends to be some sort of creation that blurs the lines between styles with some slow riffage thrown into the mix so that people can loosely call it doom and feel justified doing so. But, it’s on the rare occasion that we manage to get an album that not only does away with such ridiculousness but, rather, goes all into the true classic sound of what doom was in its earliest years with a select talented few coming out of the woodwork to deliver us a performance that simply cannot be denied. With their debut album, People of the Black Circle simply had to put forth something interesting to catch our attention, but the reality they created is something that is far, far more.

This is the kind of doom that we need more of in our lives. Doom that actually takes its time, dabbles in plenty of the elements that have helped elevate the style to become the absolute juggernaut that it is in today’s landscape, delivers riffs, darkness, and awe-inspiring wonder in equal portions, and something that actually leaves an impact after the listener has finished immersing themselves in the creation at hand. Without fail or stumble, that’s just the beginning of what People of the Black Circle brought forth in their eponymous debut album. Six tracks that leave one hell of an impression right from the get-go with virtually no room for error or inquisitive light to pierce through, it’s the utter entirety of this debut that sticks with the listener even hours after its last note has faded into oblivion with everything that came before it absolutely bouncing around in the head of the listener. It’s from the light psychedelia to the drawn-out rhythms to the smooth but eerie vocals and so much more that People of Black Circle manage to put forth one hell of a debut that is already a clear step above much of the competition for all that it accomplishes with seemingly minimal effort, truly opening the door wide for what this band could potentially bring to the table in the future.

There is real magic, emotion, passion, and talent to be had within the very whole of this debut with it not only setting the creation apart from what many others might bring to the table for their debut but really shows us just how ambitious and capable this band is from the very get-go. I would dare anyone to challenge the very excellence of People of the Black Circle, for I can only see this Greek act rising above and absolutely conquering with whatever material they put out next.

LISTEN to “People of the Black Circle” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE People of the Black Circle on Facebook here.