Klayton formed Circle of Dust in New York City after the disbandment of his former late '80s thrash metal outfit Immortal.
president Doug Mann that same year to create Brainchild and release Mindwarp, which featured music more intense than Circle of Dust's debut and showcased dark cyberpunk-esque lyrics[3] that were largely political in nature, and harsher, more thrash-influenced metal guitars.
The live touring band, by this point, included Daren "Klank" Diolosa on guitars, Chris Donohue on bass and keyboard, and Jason Tilton on drums.
As a result, Klayton opted to disband the touring lineup and put Circle of Dust on hiatus while awaiting the outcome of R.E.X.
That same year, Klayton teamed up with friend Buka and began work on yet another side project, Argyle Park, under three pseudonyms: Dred, Deathwish, and Celldweller.
Argyle Park featured a vast collection of guest collaborators, including Tommy Victor of Prong, JG Thirlwell of Foetus, and Mark Salomon (Stavesacre, The Crucified), and would go on to attain notoriety equal to that of Circle of Dust, losing the distinction of being a mere side project.
In 1996, Klayton produced and programmed Still Suffering, the debut album of former Circle of Dust guitarist Daren "Klank" Diolosa.
The liner notes of Disengage contains excerpts of an interview in which Klayton explained why he had disbanded Circle of Dust and started anew with Angeldust.
Within two weeks of signing his contract with Flying Tart, the label was bought out and dissolved, ensuring the album saw extremely limited distribution.
[4] Circle of Dust, along with Argyle Park, are regularly cited as influences by modern-day Christian industrial, industrial-metal, and electronic rock bands.
However, Retroactive Records produced the re-issues without the creative input or supervision of Klayton, who has expressed his displeasure at the fact that his old works were marketed again without his permission and without him receiving any royalties.
[citation needed] As early as 1994, Circle of Dust (along with Argyle Park) had been criticized heavily by some Christian music press and by numerous fans for not having religious enough lyrics.
[4] These issues culminated in Klayton abandoning the Christian music industry entirely after the release of Disengage, a decision he explained at great length in a 1998 interview with HM Magazine.