Doncaster isn’t a city that gets mentioned enough in conversations about British rock, but Circle Of Origin are doing their best to change that. Watching The Walls, the opening track from their forthcoming sophomore EP Gallows, landed on 17th April and it hits exactly as hard as you’d want from a band drawing influence from Stone Sour, Foo Fighters, Shinedown and Aerosmith in the same breath.
The track is built on metal-edged riffs, pulsing rhythms and tension-building dynamics that give way to a colossal, modern metal sound with classic rock bones underneath. Lyrically it goes somewhere darker — exploring emotional struggle, a tainted inner life, the point where darkness becomes all-consuming and hatred starts to feel like the only thing that’s real. It’s heavy subject matter handled with the kind of finesse that keeps it from tipping into self-indulgence.
The band — founding members Danny Porter on vocals, Andy Wordsworth and Rick Williamson on guitars, and Scott Emery on drums — are joined on Gallows by new bassist John Heaver, adding another dimension to a sound that was already built for large rooms. Produced again by Matt Elliss at Axis Recording Studios, the five-track EP follows the positive reception of their 2025 debut Guilty Til Proven Innocent and pushes their cross-genre approach further — melodically-driven alternative metal woven through with stadium rock ambition and dual guitar work that earns its place in both worlds.
Gallows is out 12th June on all major digital platforms. On the strength of Watching The Walls, it’s one for the diary.
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