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The Circle, by way of Germany, plays a somber style of melodic black metal that weaves both beauty and ugliness into the sonic fabric of their second album, Of Awakening. Harsh vocals, that have death metal growls combined with de rigueur rasping, and fast tremolo picking are supported by keyboards and piano as well as clean singing in a way that gives songs like "Ashes and Fading Tides" a gothic atmosphere. The Circle adds some creepiness to "Ruins, My Dying World" where the haunting clean singing evoke a distant yet inexorable sense of impending dread. Of Awakening is an album that requires more than a few spins to sink in because you have the immediacy of the traditional metal and the slower, more viscerally emotional melodies to wrap your head around. The Circle offers music for brooding contemplation, well suited to long, dark winter nights.