The sound of Under Eden is defined by a double onslaught of blackened death thrash guitars (courtesy of brothers Ryan and Christian McAtee), brutal percussion from drummer Josh Fetzek, and thick guttural vocals expunged from the throat of Eric Thon. I hear a strong similarity to Epoch of Unlight: sometimes black metal, usually death metal, often thrash metal, with a bit of melody but always remaining dark, technical, and heavy as hell. On occasion Under Eden will drop into lighter, more emotionally introspective passages. And once or twice vocalist Thon will present some semi-spoken word or even clean vocals. But rather than melodic death metal, I would consider Under Eden to be in the vein of brutal death metal, albeit with some melodic and thrashy elements.

The production of "The Savage Circle" is raw but certainly not muddy or sloppy. Rather, the album is gritty, organic, and lacks any sense of overproduction. I definitely think that some studio production and a cleaner sound would benefit Under Eden. Technically proficient metal always deserves a crisp, clear sound. More than once, I find myself thinking that the guitars or vocals were recorded in an empty room with a slight echo. But again, the sound quality here is not terrible. It just isn't the best.

Song-wise, "The Savage Circle" has a few strong tracks but plenty of "good-but-not-great" pieces. The opening "Six Feet Under Eden" has a catchy title, a bit of an intro, and kicks off the brutal sound prevalent through the rest of the disc. "Zealot" is amazingly fast and thrashy, though it does drop into a thick death metal groove for a few moments near the end. "Veil of Twilight" has a cleanly-sung harmonized "chorus" making the track stand out, although the actual quality of this clean singing leads a little to be desired. In general, there is not a huge difference in sound between tracks, save the instrumental "Bitter Revelation," so while the music is almost always good, "The Savage Circle" tends to blend with itself rather than challenging the listener with a diversity of sound.

Throughout it all, I am amazed by Fetzek's skill behind the kit, as well as the brothers McAtee on guitars. Thon is a good vocalist, though not anything special (his 'clean vocals' are a nice try, but sound too forced, and not very good). Right now, the biggest thing going against Under Eden is their songwriting - musically they are almost as skilled as the aforementioned Epoch of Unlight, and a few more years of playing and recording could turn Under Eden into a powerhouse of brutal death thrash.

For the time being, though, I am impressed by Under Eden, but not completely blown away. Yet. "The Savage Circle" is certainly a strong album, and I expect it will appeal to most fans of extreme metal. Not quite there, so to speak, but pretty damn close for a debut album by four metal scene newbies. Here's to looking forward to their next album.