Mercury Circle – Killing Moons (Review)

This is the debut album from Finnish dark doom rockers Mercury Circle.

Featuring current and ex-members of Swallow the Sun and Children of Bodom, Killing Moons contains 63 minutes of infectiously dark music. The overall style is one of doom-infused, moody, synth-enriched dark rock.

Although I can hear aspects of bands like The Cure, Paradise Lost, U2, HIM, Nine Inch Nails, Autumnblaze, and Filter in this music, and these serve well enough for a rough idea of the band’s sound, the reality is that Killing Moons has a presence and personality that largely belongs to Mercury Circle alone. Comparisons such as the aforementioned can obviously be made, but I very much like that Mercury Circle have produced something that stands on its own.

Mercury Circle’s music is textured and rich, with a strong emotive component. There are many exquisite melodies and vocal lines to be found, and the overall quality of songwriting is very high. The songs are atmospheric and frequently epic in scope, while also retaining an intimacy in places that’s quite disarming. You can hear a wide variety of different influences and musical elements across the album, and each track has its own character and feel as a result. It is obvious that a lot of hard work and passion has gone into crafting these songs, and the end result speaks for itself.

The singer gives a sterling performance throughout the album, with a versatile, powerful voice. Whether it’s delivering an anthemic chorus, or haunting verse, or anything else, he excels in his role.

Killing Moons is a very well-realised and enjoyable collection of dark and moody tunes. There’s a lot to explore here, and it’s definitely worth spending the time getting to properly know this record.

Very highly recommended.