Warface - The 9 Circles Review
5.0Overall Score
Reader Rating 82 Votes

I am the devils reaper!

Last year he was one of the fastest raising artists in the raw scene. He released his first album ‘Art of War’ in November 2014.

Now in 2015, his popularity broke all boundaries! He released his new album, called The 9 Circles at Supremacy! You know him, his unique sound design, energetic performances and his highly appreciated live act – Warface!

The album consists of three CDs. CD I, called The 9 Circles, comprises 11 tracks including an intro and outro. So, nine full tracks. The second CD consists of 12 collaborations. Some of them will sound familiar to loyal Warface soldiers. CD III is a mix, including all the tracks from the previous CDs. But before we discuss the tracks, let’s discuss the design and the concept of the album.

Design

The album is a brilliant piece of art. I don’t fall in love with album covers that fast, but this one is truly wonderful. This front artwork is inspired by the circle of hell. Proportionate, nine icons are scattered around the circle.

Each icon standing for one circle, or one track.  The double pentagram is centered in the circle, showing you all the different ways of raw, all leading to chaos. Well, that sounds and looks brutal! In the center of these paths you see the peerless Warface logo.

Album-Cover

When you open the album you see another stunning artwork. Warface is inhaling smoke. It looks like he is possessed. The artwork is very detailed and well designed.

You can see scars, scratches, pale yellow eyes without pupil and burns on his skin. Warface is Satan himself! On the background you can see hell fire. When you unfold the case even further you will find a booklet on the left and the three CDs on the right. The booklet contains a description of all 9 circles. So what are the 9 circles?

The 9 Circles Concept

The 9 circles are inspired by La Divina Commedia, better known as Divine Comedy by the Florentine poet Dante Alighieri. Dante’s Inferno is about the 9 circles of hell.

He tells us that hell is divided in 9 sections. Each with a different environment, matching the punishment and the damned that wander around in this circle. To enter the last circle you have to walk through all of them. So let’s have a look at these circles and tracks. Lets enter the eternal darkness.

CD I

Intro
“Your faith is decided, everlasting damnation for your sins!”, these are the first words on the album. You will hear some crackling flames and holy sounds in the background. Set foot into circle one. Limbo: Eternal Darkness

Track 1 – Limbo: Eternal Darkness (with MC Nolz)
‘All faith is gone to enter paradise’ are the first words spoken by MC Nolz. The non-believers have to wander around in eternal darkness, the limbo, desperate to meet God. The track will start with some soothing melodies. But then it get’s harder under the command of MC Nolz and emerges to a climax with lots of kick-rolls assisted by a nice and powerful melody. A great prelude!

Track 2 – Lust: The Violent Storm
In the second circle there are the first ones to be punished. They are punished by the violent storm. First you hear a melody pounding like the wind. Sounds like a violent storm to me! I also like the deep bass joining the drop. This track will blow you away like a storm at this point.

No time to rest, because another melody will drown you deeper into the track, introduced by a deep voice. I really love this melody. It’s unique in many ways and the sound design is amazing. One of the best tracks out there.

Track 3 – Gluttony: Voice of Addiction (ft Eric Dumont)
The Gluttons are forced to lie and suffer in coldness and ceaseless icy rain. The vocals for these track are not fitting the track in my opinion. Until the raw, uncut drop. These drops are brilliant. But why does he include like 100 drops in one track? It’s hard to get into the flow, while the track changes so often.

Track 4 – Greed: Fuck You, Pay Me!
The lyric tells you all about this track. Fuck you, Pay me! The souls try to escape out of a pit of smelting gold by now. Once they are almost out, they will be swept back into the pit, to fall even deeper. This track has a nice build up and the vibe will definitely make you go crazy. Live, this track is a true experience!

Track 5 – Anger: Beyond Aggression (Ft. Superior)
The most original track on the album and also the most aggressive. But it suits this track because in this circle an endless battle between the souls take place! This track is a crossover between metal and hardstyle. The former heavy metal band Superior with the raw Warface sound. A great experiment. At Supremacy, he played this track, underlined with a live performance by Superior, which was intense and stunning until the end.

Track 6 – Heresy: Heretics
Here the Heretics are trapped in flaming tombs. The track includes some nice melodies and screeches. You can interpret these sounds as crackling fire. A chorus of devilish angels is giving a nice holy sound to this track. A loud voice in this track will make you ‘JUMP THE F#CK UP!’. A good track using many voice samples. But the kick rolls are not that special.

Track 7 – Violence: Mutilate & Destroy
This track is about the violence. Those who are thirsty for violence are doomed to drown in boiling blood. And so the violence in this track will reach its boiling point. It does start with a nice harmonious kick, similar to the one in Catalyst. But with every drop the kick will become heavier. Also a unique track on this album.

If you hear this track live, you better wear your earplugs, you can feel the kick pounding through your whole body. It is a great combination of a gated kick, elements and sounds he already used in Catalyst and his hardcore similar, more distorted kick.

Track 8 – Fraud: Deception
The fraudulent wander in the circle named Maleborge. Thieves, sorcerer, astrologers, corrupt politicians and evil counselors wander around here for instance. These people are a ‘disease’ for society. They are thrown into a pit, tortured by demons!

The track is full of perfect kick rolls. The voices of the devilish angels are used in this track as well, just like the track Heretics. Besides that you can hear a demon voice scream out some lyrics like, BOW BEFORE ME NOW, MOTHERF#CKER! FORFEIT THE JUSTICE! It’s one of the roughest tracks of the album. Also one of my favorites!

Track 9 – Treachery: Everlasting Fire
You are now at the ninth circle. In the very center of hell. Satan (Warface) is imprisoned in ice, as a trophy of treachery. The track starts with angels singing ‘espiritu sanctus’, in the background you hear ringing church bells, perfectly fitting the track and atmosphere. It’s a rough  track, with a wide range of various sounds. The sound design of this track is brilliant. Screeching melodies and kick rolls  with a deep bass makes this track a masterpiece.

Outro
Angels guide you back home through crackling fires and get back to earth and give you a view towards heaven. What an awesome ride through the 9 circles of hell.

CD II
This CD contains 12 tracks with many collabs. We did select some for you!

Track 4 – Path to Extinction (With The Geminizers)
One of our favorite Warface tracks! Starting with a nice intro, a piano plays a soft melody. In the background you hear some lyrics passing by, getting rougher and rougher. You feel it coming, it’s time to scream; BURN! The kick rolls and the high pounding sound are giving you adrenaline everywhere. The hard part is followed by another softer part that sounds like a metal song. After that it’s time for the second drop. Holy shit! The high screaming sound topping the kick is brilliant! Get ready for the last part of the track. Path to .. EXTINCTION! This track has a perfect build up. Getting rougher when reaching the end. It has three intros and three drops. And they are all different which make it nice to listen to this track.

Track 7 – Disphoria (With E-Force)
We love this track because you can hear both sounds of Warface and E-Force combined. The deep kick of Warface is topped by the typical cracking screech sound of E-Force. This track will reach higher BPM’s further on in the track. A great collab.

Track 8 – Unleash War (With Digital Punk)
This track would perfectly fit at the first CD. It has a nice intro followed by a louder intro part, that reminds me of a hardcore anthem, such as Metropolis of Massacre by Miss K8. After two minutes in this track, the words are spoken; ‘UNLEASH WAR’. You here massive screeches and beaming sounds blasting through your speakers, followed by that epic intro sound. A great song using Digital Punk his unique melody, sound and the kick roll sounds by Warface. Combining these two sounds into a great collab!

Track 10 – Warzone (With Luna)
We love the deep bass cracking beneath the kick rolls. With this track you are really ‘READY FOR WAR!’. You can hear the high screeching siren sound all over again. The second collab with Luna and it’s again a masterpiece. No screeches needed, because the kick will already let you lose your mind. Do know the heavy sound of an artillery? Well, the kick is pretty close to it!

CD III

This third CD is a mix CD with all the tracks on the album. It’s a nice CD for all the people, who would like to enjoy the album in one go The order of the tracks is almost the same as the sequence on the CDs. The mix builds up to an increasingly rougher level.

This album is a must have for every RAW enthusiast. It contains dozens innovative tracks. Every time you listen to a track again, you will hear new sounds. They are all great tracks, in their own and unique way.

In addition, the concept and the design of the album is brilliant! Warface did a great job again and keeps surprising with every new track.

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