May 2026 Featured Release - The Sphere Edition

So just like that we find that a new month is upon us which of course means that we’ll be nominating a brand new monthly feature release for each clan. This essentially means that we’re asking you to rate, review & discuss our chosen features for no other reason than because we enjoy the process & banter. We’re really looking forward to hearing your thoughts on our chosen releases so don’t be shy.

This month's feature release for The Sphere, nominated by me (Shadowdoom9 (Andi)), is the sole 1992 album by New York-based industrial metal project Brainchild, Mindwarp. Another temporary project helmed by Celldweller's Klayton, it served as the basis of the second Circle of Dust album Brainchild, with all tracks included there, a few of which were re-recorded. While I prefer the Circle of Dust album by a slight notch, the original Brainchild album is underrated and in need of more attention in this site.

https://metal.academy/releases/67052

Here's my review summary:

For those of you not familiar with Circle of Dust, their best album Brainchild wasn't originally made under that moniker. In 1992, founder Klayton worked with Doug Mann on a different project Brainchild, releasing their sole album Mindwarp. The next year, R.E.X. wanted another album by Circle of Dust, but because most of the money was already used for the Brainchild project, Klayton decided to have Mindwarp re-released in 1994 as that second Circle of Dust release, with Brainchild becoming the album title. The original album Mindwarp is an excellent album that I love almost as much as the Circle of Dust one! The only differences are in 3 tracks. Two of them are better here, and the other one is not bad but could've been improved. As for the rest, they all sound as strong as in the Circle of Dust album. Klayton has done an amazing job combining the industrial metal and samples of Ministry with occasional Slayer-like thrash. Well I say it probably would've made more sense if Klayton re-recorded the entire album instead of just 3 tracks, because then the two albums would've sounded more like separate entities rather than one album credited as two artists. But since I absolutely love the Circle of Dust album, I can't really complain about this one. Though if "Prayers of a Dead Man" was made as metal as the Circle of Dust version, the Mindwarp album would've been perfect as well. Still it's worth checking out for all Klayton fans!

4.5/5

Recommended tracks: "Telltale Crime", "Course of Ruin", "Descent", "Deviate", "Aggressor (Regressive Mix)"

For fans of: Circle of Dust, Godflesh, Ministry