Every collaboration is the happy result of a chain of fortuitous circumstances, of random and providential encounters. GRAVE CIRCLES is no exception. It all started with quite a boozy Christmas dinner amongst friends, to whom I innocently asked: “So, which bands that are still unsigned have slapped you in the face, lately?” I seize the opportunity to thank warmly Richard, Xav and Dom, from the Facebook group “Black Metal addicts”, who shared an unanimous opinion on this band. Just as LADLO’s roster is far from limiting itself to Post-Black (despite what many people think!), GRAVE CIRCLES is one of our bands that are the closest to the original genre, without restricting itself to it. The band might not be revolutionary, but it has managed to find its own identity through a variety of influences and created a Black Metal as tortured as the topics depicted in its lyrics. “Tome II” is an intense and varied album, with often complex structures and brutal but nagging and melodic riffs, aerial and occult atmospheres. It is a subterranean, crawling and dissonant beast, cadenced by unerring drums and almost ritual incantations. From the first to the last note, I can’t get tired of this mature and unflagging work. I am very proud of this achievement, and I hope you’ll enjoy heabanging on it as much as I do.