Circular Ruin formed in 2019 and, after releasing a debut EP in 2023, now return with their first full-length, A Sermon in Tongues. Their style is melodic and hook-driven, but the overall sound is bleak as hell and abrasive, thanks to harsh riffing and Oscar Tornborg's twisted, reptilian snarl.

The songs cover the whole range of tempos, from slow, crawling passages to blast-beat-fueled surges of grim energy, always emphasizing a sense of nightmarish dread and hateful spite with a jagged, thrashy/punky edge. The standout track for me is "Ropes of Salvation," which creeps forward ominously before erupting into hook-filled sections that strongly evoke Necrophobic. Tracks like "The Altering Altar" and the closing "A Dream of Thirst" also stand out, delivering grisly, fist-clenching moments throughout.

At just 36 minutes, the album feels a little short, but perhaps that's a blessing. It leaves you wanting more and makes it easy to throw on again and again. All told, this is an incredibly solid debut and one that fans of melodic black metal, especially the grimmer, nastier kind, should not miss.