Imbued with a sense of mystical darkness, Purson conduct a psychedelic exploration of proto-metal with their first album, The Circle and the Blue Door. On her first album since the split of her last band, Ipso Facto, Rosalie Cunningham continues to bring a certain flair for the melodramatic to her songwriting that isn't quite goth, but definitely has a theatrical feeling about it. Given the over the top nature of the music, which combines some of the best parts of bands like Deep Purple, Cream, and Jethro Tull, her ability to throw herself whole-heartedly into a song isn't just welcome, it's essential. No matter how well you nail the right blend of swirling Wurlitzer organs and bluesy guitar riffs, it's total commitment that that can make or break a song like "Sapphire Ward." Fortunately, Cunningham and company deliver a performance that's more than capable of controlling the sorts of musical black magic that The Circle and the Blue Door is attempting to conjure. Though other bands are out there digging into the DNA of heavy metal, few of them deliver an experience as immersing as Purson, who still try to capture that Zeppelinesque sense of mystery in an era where the whole of human knowledge is just a click away. However, if you can disconnect for a minute and throw yourself into taking in the music in the same way the band has thrown itself into creating it, The Circle and the Blue Door won't disappoint.