Circle The Wolves lose their delusional State Of Mind on their darkly potent new single and video — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
The latest release from the Edmonton foursome of Michelle Johnson (vocals), Steven Johnson (guitar), Corey Johnson (guitarist, bassist, keys, producer) and Keith Runco (drums), State Of Mind fuses grand designs, surging electric riffs and Michelle’s haunting vocal prowess into a resounding attack on toxic relationships and finding your way out of the dark.
“It’s about being in a relationship with someone that is narcissistic or controlling in some form or another,” the band explain. “The singer is screaming that she needs to stay in that state of mind so that the relationship never ends.”
Indeed, the sheer emotional toll of Michelle’s vocals — mingled with the heavy instrumentation — illuminate the fear and self-loathing in the track. The listener is enveloped in the extreme of her pleading, seeking, and desperation, while also throwing horns with the thrashing behind the melody. The song is an anthem for those who find themselves trying to survive life’s unrelenting punishment on our hearts. The listener is dared to examine their own likeness to Michelle’s story — a raw, unadulterated prose on hurt, pain and sorrow. If it seems to come straight from somewhere deep, that’s probably because it did.
“Every Wednesday Steven, Michelle and Corey get together and write a new song,” the band explain. “Michelle does the lyrics all by herself.” The band will create the skeleton of a track, with Michelle giving them time to flesh out their ideas. “They then say, ‘It’s ready for you’ and Michelle heads into the vocal booth having no idea what the idea sounds like yet. All lyrics are written on the fly. Michelle likes to work alone when creating the lyric and melody for the Circle The Wolves songs. She feels she can better connect when there isn’t anyone else in the room!”
State Of Mind comes packaged with a visual component — a video now on YouTube. “We had a low budget and Michelle wanted to do a cool selfie-like video for this single. Something that showed her personality,” the band say. “She thought she’d wear a mask to be mysterious but be able to show her face. There are clips of live performances on this video mixed with unique videos she found on stock video photography. Combined with some overlays and a video of her singing all dressed up showing her emotion. It really came together in the end to show a very tortured Michelle.”
Infusing orchestral and piano-based melodies with wavetable synthesis, Circle The Wolves are tearing up the rule book and re-inventing metal into a different and exciting sonic experience uniquely their own. Watch the video for State Of Mind above, hear more from Circle The Wolves below, and follow the pack over to their website, Facebook and Twitter.
