Gnarwhal Release New Single “Circuits,” a Doom-Soaked Dive Into Northern Sludge
Yellowknife heavy alternative fuzz rock band Gnarwhal release their new single, “Circuits,” alongside an official lyric video
Circuits finds the band digging deeper into their signature Northern sludge, where fuzz-drenched riffs, hypnotic grooves, and doom-soaked weight collide with themes of power, decay, and disconnection. The track pulses with synthetic life and raw emotion, blurring the line between man and machine in a storm of distorted truth. As haunting as it is heavy, Circuits is a cry from the wires, betrayed, rewritten, and burning at both ends.
Review
“Circuits” is a dark and hypnotic track that blurs the line between human emotion and machine logic. Its lyrics paint vivid images of wires, circuits, and code, tied to themes of love, betrayal, and longing. Lines like “Breathed life in your wires / Lost in desire” strike that rare balance between vulnerability and artificiality, giving the song both a futuristic edge and a deeply emotional core.
The refrain “Come waste away / Current your system wakes” pulses like a mantra, pulling you into its rhythm and evoking the sense of being consumed by something larger than yourself. When the line “Rewrite my code” arrives, it feels both like a plea for salvation and an admission of defeat — the desperate urge to be rebuilt after being broken.
Musically, “Circuits” leans into moody electronic rock, with atmospheric synths, heavy bass, and an industrial undercurrent that echoes the lyrical themes. It’s cinematic, immersive, and haunting — a track that doesn’t just play, but pulls you into the circuitry of a fractured heart.
First off, care to introduce Gnarwhal to our readers?
Gnarwhal was born in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, during the pandemic as a way to get together, drink beer, and play music while everything else in the world felt shut down. What started out as a way to stay connected in isolation quickly grew into a full-on band with its own sound and vision. Being from Yellowknife shapes everything we do—the extremes of the North, the isolation, and the wide-open landscape all find their way into the music. Sonically, we sit somewhere between doom and stoner metal, but we also pull a lot from psych, grunge, and punk, which keeps things raw, atmospheric, and unpredictable. Since those early days we’ve released a self-titled full-length in 2023 and the Altered States EP in 2024, and now we’re gearing up for our heaviest and most unapologetic record yet. We’re really excited for finally drop our first single, Circuit, and hope our fans and new listeners dig it.
Gnarwhal was born out of Yellowknife’s frozen edge—how has the stark Northern landscape shaped your sound and creative vision?
The North is more than just a backdrop for us—it’s baked into the DNA of the band. Living here means you’re constantly facing extremes. We get winters that are brutally long, with weeks of deep cold and darkness, and summers where the sun never really goes down. That contrast seeps into our writing: the crushing heaviness of winter becomes the riffs, the endless daylight becomes the sprawling jams, and the isolation becomes the raw emotion in the vocals. On top of that, Yellowknife is far away from the bigger scenes in Canada, so there’s a kind of freedom in not being tied to what’s trendy or expected. That lets us pull from everything we love—doom, punk, psych, grunge—without worrying if it “fits.” The landscape teaches you resilience, and I think that toughness, that ability to adapt, comes through in how we approach the music.
Your debut earned a Western Canadian Music Award nomination, and Altered States expanded your palette. How has your songwriting evolved between the self-titled, the EP, and this upcoming full-length?
For our self-titled debut, we were still figuring out our cohesive sound and style. We’re really proud of the songs, but at that stage, we hadn’t yet found our exact place in the genre or fully defined where we sat within it. Altered States came after that—through writing and performing, we’d gained more experience and had found our footing a bit more. That EP allowed us to expand the palette, experiment with dynamics, and explore the psych, grunge, and punk elements that are central to us.
Now, while writing our upcoming full-length, we’ve fully committed to a sound that reflects our shared interests and identities as a band. Touring and playing shows with other bands that have influenced us gave us perspective on how we wanted to grow, and we’ve taken all of that experience into the writing process. At the same time, we’ve stayed true to the influences that drew us to this music in the first place—doom, stoner, psych, grunge, and punk—all woven together to create something heavier, more confident, and distinctly Gnarwhal. This record feels like the clearest statement of who we are as a band yet, and the Circuits single is a good introduction to this next album.
You’ve promised the new album will be “heavier, darker, and more unapologetically your own.” Can you give fans a taste of what to expect?
This record is the most focused we’ve ever been. Fans can expect a sound that’s crushingly heavy, with low-end that rattles your bones, but also layered with atmosphere and texture. The doom and sludge elements are stronger than ever, but there’s also a rawness that comes from our grunge and punk roots. Some songs feel like storms rolling in—slow, ominous, and overwhelming—while others come at you with the chaotic punch of a hardcore set. And in between, there are moments of psych drift, where the music opens up into something vast and cosmic before crashing back down.
Lyrically, the album is conceptual. It explores the push and pull of technology and humanity’s place within it—the tension of our reliance on machines and the ethical, emotional, and existential questions that arise from that relationship. There’s a doomy, haunting undertone probing the line between machine and man: where does one end and the other begin? Within that main concept, there are sub-themes about finding strength in change and discovering purpose in the process of waking up or becoming enlightened. The tension and growth are reflected in the music through dynamic shifts, oppressive heaviness, and eerie atmospheres, creating an immersive journey that balances darkness with moments of revelation and transformation.
How do you balance experimentation with staying true to the sound your fans first connected with?
For us, it’s never about choosing between the two—it’s about making sure everything we do feels authentic. When we experiment, it’s not for the sake of being “different,” it’s because the song asks for it. Sometimes that means leaning into psych textures or pulling in a punk-influenced section that feels raw and unhinged. Other times, it means stripping everything back and just letting a riff crush you with no distractions. The core of Gnarwhal has always been intensity and honesty. If the music still hits that heavy, emotional nerve, then it’s true to what we’ve always been, no matter how much it stretches into new territory. Our fans get that—they want to see us grow, as long as the heart of the band remains the same.
If you could put together a dream tour lineup for Gnarwhal in 2026, who would be on the bill?
That’s a tough one because there are so many artists, we’d love to share a stage with and who have influenced us. From the doom and stoner world, having legends like Sleep or Fu Manchu would be incredible. A Kyuss reunion would be pretty rad too! We’d also want to include current torchbearers like Elder, and others that continue to push the genre forward. And since punk and grunge are big influences for us, throwing in someone like Melvins, would create a diverse, chaotic, and unforgettable lineup. Ultimately, it would be a wall of sound, with each band bringing its own energy, and we’d be proud to bring the Northern intensity and perspective into that mix.
Finally—what’s next after the March 2026 album drops? More touring, more videos, or something fans won’t see coming?
Definitely all of the above. The big priority will be getting this next package of music out into the world—we’re really stoked to get this first single, Circuits out today (or insert appropriate timeline depending on date posted). It really sets the tone for what’s to come with the rest of the releases. Next year we hope to take this record out of the north and show Canada (and beyond), what heavy music from our neck of the woods sounds like. We’d really like the opportunity to play more niche/heavy genre friendly festivals too. Growing up and creating in Yellowknife means you have to be resilient and resourceful, and that perspective fuels how we approach every show, every video, every release. There will definitely be more videos, because the visual side of what we do has become a really fun way to expand on the music’s atmosphere. Beyond that, we’re open to unexpected opportunities—collaborations, special projects, maybe even something outside the typical “album-tour-album” cycle. The North doesn’t always give us the same opportunities as bigger cities, but it pushes us to be creative and bold, and we want to bring that energy to every stage we step on. What’s certain is that we’re not slowing down—this album is just the next step, and we’re already thinking about what comes after it.