CIRCLE OF DUST – Full Circle: The Birth, Death & Rebirth of Circle of Dust (DVD)
Full Circle chronicles the humble beginnings (including great photos of a young boy getting into music), the rise, the struggle and the demise of this innovative and killer musician. Some would say he was before his time, but in reality he was right on time, creating incredible and relevant tunes side-by-side with his peers (Trent Reznor, Skinny Puppy, Ministry, White Zombie) that only preceded him by a few years, putting him on par with the elite. The documentary, presumably shot indie-style with handhelds at times (edited cleanly and well), showcases his self-taught experimentation and fly-by-the-seat-of-his-pants DIY ethos. The dude’s a genius, but this documentary shows an almost aww-shucks everyday man personality behind Circle of Dust.
It’s no surprise that the limitations and goofy amateurism of the Christian music industry ran his band through a professional wringer, coupled with bad timing on the dissolution of the R.E.X. record label. While sad, there is redemption in his Celldweller career that bloomed after putting Circle to death. And buying the rights to all of his music back is a time period told with the expected enthusiasm that being able to remix albums properly and with today’s technology (mixed with old samples). It brings the feel-good emotions to a climax for the documentary film.
This gem of a two-disc DVD is the detailed look documentary called “Making the Music: The Gear & Production of Circle of Dust, where Klayton goes through what he did and what he used to make the Circle of Dust debut, Brainchild, Metamorphosis and Disengage albums. Musicians, songwriters and gearheads will absolutely love this inside peek at the mad scientist now known as Celldweller.
Also most excellent is to have music videos of “Telltale Crime,” “Deviate,” “Contagion,” “Machines of Our Disgrace” and “Alt_Human,” not to mention cool lyric videos of newer tunes. There’s also some old VHS concert footage from yesterdecade. (FixT)
