Circa Arcana – Bridget Viginti
Release Date: 18th February 2022
Label: Self-Released
Spotify
Genre: Post-Hardcore with Metalcore elements.
FFO: Underoath, Broadway, Burden of a Day, Asking Alexandria (earlier).
Review By: Mike Leighton
Circa Arcana, more like Circa Nostalgia, because that’s exactly what this 5 piece post-hardcore group have brought to the table upon first listen of their new EP. Circa Arcana formed in El Paso, Texas during the devastating Covid-19 pandemic, and instead of letting the dark times get to them, they decided to use it as fuel for the fire that was their creative process, and out of the flames came their forthcoming EP, Bridget Viginti due out February 18th, 2022. Production credits go to the band themselves and JTS Studio Productions; mixing as well as mastering credits go to Chris Hard and RESTARTUS Productions.
Right off the bat, this EP swept me up in a wave of nostalgic feelings with its mixture of heavy guitar riffs, melodic choruses, crushing vocals, and the occasional somber and more emotional moments. The tracks on this EP showcase everything that got me into this style of music back in early high school. Circa Arcana’s forthcoming EP, Bridget Viginti, brings with it something for every fan to enjoy, whether it be the heavier aspects or the more melodic moments. There is a nice line drawn in the sand between the more technical moments and those that pull on the emotions of the listener.
10 of Swords: I, for one, was pulled back to 2007-2008 from the very start of this EP. Fantastic clean guitar tones along with some well-placed fret slides are a nice touch to the beginning of this EP. The vocal melodies throughout this track are reminiscent of early Writing On The Walls by Underoath, and possibly We Came As Romans. The couple of, as they say, “bleghs” are just fantastic and really get this track going. Then we get a verse before an impressive guitar hook accompanied by some synth elements before the main chorus. In the middle, the listener is presented with some very nice clean vocals and then a very emotionally presented guitar riff. Next, everything slows down, and a very distorted, almost sludgy guitar riff comes in behind the vocalist’s harsh screams and some nicely timed drum fills.
In tarot, which this album is clearly evoking with the track titles, the 10 of swords is a card which deals with the duality between a backstabbing crisis level defeat, a betrayal or loss of epic proportions, when upright. Later, I’ll be including some basic breakdowns of the other eligible tarot cards because I find this source of inspiration to be particularly interesting.
The Tower: This one starts off with a nice and memorable guitar riff. Based on the themes presented in the first track, and the lyrics from the lyric video, it would seem this song revolves around the journey of self-reflection and finding one’s self. The tower can be symbolic in nature as it can represent the upward climb of life where you will inevitably have trials and tribulations before you can really find who you are as an individual. The video also, from the very beginning, shows someone being burned at the stake. This falls in line with the concept of the song titles as well as the title of the EP itself, but also the more underlying meaning I think this song is talking about. Who am I?
Do I conform and live as everyone else does, or do I possibly burn for standing up for what I believe in?
Unsure of who they are, this individual tries to hide even their most inner feeling through pills, drinking and lies. Maybe “I’m going in for the kill” is this person killing the side of themselves that isn’t who they really are. This is a story about finding one’s true self; of self-reflection, denial, and ultimately, acceptance/mental clarity.
“This is not the real me…” is something that is said quite a few times, and definitely reflects an internal struggle; reflective of the cacophony of noises that can sometimes be in one’s mind, distorting one’s thinking, and making it hard to find what’s real. Leading into an absolutely brutal breakdown, with some awesome shattered glass sound effects and really nice synth elements in the background furthering the point it seems.
In tarot, the tower is a card that shows up in times of great turmoil and destruction. It often denotes an experience that forces you to question your beliefs along with your perceptions or sense of security. It deals with predicting the arrival of or recognizing the importance of such an event that is ultimately going to be used to create new life circumstances, like the ashes from which the phoenix rises.
The Chariot: This track is strong, brutal, and in your face throughout. It is an extremely anthemic, charged track. The guitars in this song really shine and give off an almost early Bullet For My Valentine or Asking Alexandria vibe. Not only the guitars, but the vocals as well as the background synth elements mesh quite well together giving a very cohesive, succinct track. The almost animalistic like growls and breathing in the middle make this track sound very raw; almost pure adrenaline. Following those growls, we get a group battle cry “hoo” that sounds perfect for a live show.
In tarot, the Chariot is all about victory, overcoming the opposition through confidence and self-control. It is a powerful major arcana card that brings to mind not only the joy of victory but also the necessity of controlling your aggression and drive into a usable force in your life.
Luna: My personal favourite, and a standout track on this EP. Luna is very more melodic throughout and has a much more uplifting vibe than the other tracks. The pre-chorus has some solid cleans accompanied by the crunchiest, and quite infectious guitar riff that we’ve heard up until this point. It’s just an awesome riff along with those cleans; very powerful. The louder-than-life chorus makes you just want to learn the lyrics as fast as possible in order to sing along with the band at the end of an, what I can only assume, energetic live set. Kind of gives off vibes of The Used, in my opinion.
In tarot, the moon is the card of intuition, the unconscious, and the dream state. It often represents ones ‘shadow’ self, and commonly deals with projection of fears from your past into your present and future circumstances. Because the nature of the moon card is that of illusion, it is commonly showing you that not all is as it seems beneath the surface.
Esoteric: this track brings the EP to a nice stopping point; almost full circle. Once again, it has all the elements of what Circa Arcana have to offer, and there’s really something for all fans of metal to enjoy. One final, strong chorus with both clean and harsh vocals to drive the point across and close quite a refreshing EP. If it were me, this song would have been switched with The Chariot, as it was, in my opinion, a stronger track to end on as it relates to overcoming opposition.
(4 / 5)
