Ninth Circle – All or Nothing

Dennis Brown

The three piece band known as Ninth Circle is a powerful southern California melodic metal band that plays shows on a regular basis in their region of the globe. Dennis Brown, guitarist and vocalist for the band, met bassist and main songwriter, Frank Forray when they were 14 years old at Catholic school. They have been playing together consistently ever since. Dennis plays Ibanez Guitars exclusively and Frank favors Fender basses. The third member is drummer Jim Standerfer who recently replaced Dave Davis.

Frank Forray

They are generally opening for national acts that are travelling through the area. Hammerfall, Armored Saint, Y&T and Michael Schenker to name a few. Ninth Circle are Pure Rock recording artists and have 3 cd’s available, their debut released in 2009 followed by “Power of One” and their latest release “Legions of the Brave.” The vocals are clear, lyrics are well written and the chorus is catchy and easy to sing along to. Ninth Circle has carved out their own unique signature sound that is infused into each of their songs. The guitars sing with perfection, drums pound with precision and bass lines are solid. I’ve seen Ninth Circle perform a handful of times and their show is always top quality. They may be a local band but their sound is worthy of a world tour.

On May 12^th they played the Grove in Anaheim where they opened for Primal Fear and Rhapsody. Two European bands on a national tour. This marks the third time Ninth Circle has opened for Primal Fear. A group of dedicated Ninth Circle fans, many of them wearing bands shirts, were up front singing and rocking out to the performance. You could tell that these fans were loyal repeat visitors and not new to the music. I’m sure they also gained new fans at the show and their following will continue to grow with each show.

The band played several songs off of ”Legions of the Brave” including “All or Nothing” (Link Video) and “Grinding the Bastards Down”. They also did a cover version of the song “Warrior” from the band Riot. Riot by the way is a band that Ninth Circle has opened for locally. When asked if given the chance which band would they most like to go on a world tour with, both Frank and Dennis agreed that Riot would be their first choice. They played a brand new song for the crowd called “Forever More” and are in the final stages of writing material for a new album. Plans are to record by the end of the year and release the new CD in 2017.

Jim Standerfer

Check out their videos, cd’s and if you are southern California there will always be an upcoming IX Circle show to go to. Currently the band has a June 4^th show opening for Sebastian Bach in Corona, CA at M15 and another at Underground DTSA on August 5^th with Sorizon, The Approach and the Execution and Ed Force One . I definitely recommend you check them out. After they play, look around in the crowd you will likely see the members there watching the rest of the show and in between sets you might find them at the merch booth greeting fans. You can keep up to date at www.NinthCircle.us