"Circle of Doubt" By Rosetta West : A Haunting Journey Through Inner Struggle

Released on April 29th 2025 to tie in with the Celtic festival of Beltane, "Circle of Doubt" is an intense new single from Illinois blues rock outfit Rosetta West. True to their record for blending mysticism, psychedelia and intense emotional undertows, the track is dark as well as euphoric.

Driven by hypnotic, looping blues guitar riffs that evoke a sense of heaviness and spiritual fatigue, the song immediately draws the listener into a world of turmoil and introspection. Layered over these riffs is a background of trippy, yearning solos, suggesting a persistent glimmer of hope or at least a desire to ascend beyond the shadows. The interplay between the grounded riff and the soaring guitar licks effectively mirrors the lyrical theme of breaking free from a “Circle of Doubt” following a spiritual breakdown.

Joseph Demagore's gravelly vocals deliver the song's message in unadorned honesty, and Jason X's bass and atmospheric keyboard lines contribute heavy, near-ritualistic texture. Band members' and shadowy figure Nathan Q. Scratch's percussion adds to the song's primal overtones, underscoring its themes of conflict as a cycle and final resistance.

The accompanying bonus track, “The God Who Made Me Cry,” dives even deeper into theological and emotional territory, contemplating loss of faith with haunting beauty.

Altogether, “Circle of Doubt” is a powerful expression of existential wrestling at once heavy, dark and strangely uplifting. It's another standout entry in Rosetta West’s uncompromising and consistently intriguing discography. Fans of psychedelic blues rock with spiritual depth would do well to seek this one out.