CURSED IMAGERY: The Month(s) in Album Art — March/April 2024

DanLeave a comment
cursed imagery

Welcome back, friends! It’s been a minute since we did one of these. As you can probably surmise from the title, March… got away from us a bit, to put it as politely as possible. But fear not! When there is bad album art, there will be bad album art posts here at Nine Circles…at some point.

Now is that point. And boy, oh boy, did we have some bad album art in March and April. As a make good, I’m bringing you the best/worst from BOTH months here in this post. So let’s not waste any more time… here they are!

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The Nine Circles Playlist Vol. 333 (4.27.2024)

JoshLeave a comment
playlist - mixtape

Happy frickin’ Saturday and welcome to the 333rd edition of our weekly mixtape, aka The Nine Circles Playlist. It’s been an insane few weeks release wise so between that and the nearly infinite possibilities of music picks we’ve got a killer playlist for you here this week. I kick things off with 200 Stab Wounds because…hell yea and an acoustic version of a favorite Periphery song of mine. Spoiler here: I do miss Matt Halpern’s presence behind the kit but this track still rules. Elsewhere, our esteemed team of 9C writers have their own favorites to share which include cuts from Hail Spirit Noir, Alcest, YOB, Zeal and Ardor, Zelenaya, Darkthrone, and a ton more.

Get listening. Stay safe. See you next week. Oh, Chris will probably be back next week. He’s off doing metal stuff in case you were wondering.

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— Josh

CANTO: October Tide, Full of Hell, Deicide, and More

CoreyLeave a comment


Remember when we used to call these “quickies”? Well, I have places to be so that kind of applies today.

  • We’ll start with October Tide who premiered the video for “Unprecedented Aggression”. That track is taken from the band’s seventh studio album, The Cancer Pledge, which is available through Agonia Records.
  • Deicide dropped their 13th album today, Banished by Sin, which is out through Reigning Phoenix Music (RPM)… and somehow I missed that one. No matter. To celebrate, a video for the opening track, “From Unknown Heights You Shall Fall”, can be seen here.
  • Of Virtue unveiled some North American headlining dates throughout 2024, which follows a run supporting Imminence. Check out their full touring plans here.
  • Thy Will Be Done released a beast of a new track today titled “Prelude To Apostasy“, and a video for that premiered over at Metal Injection. That’s their first new material in four years so… that’s awesome. Let’s see what comes next.
  • Full of Hell released Coagulated Bliss to the masses today, through Closed Casket Activities, and they marked the occasion with a video for “Fractured Bonds to Mecca”. Give that a watch below and catch them somewhere on the road over the next few weeks.

“Ein Bier… bitte.”
– cmb

Album Review: Glassing — “From the Other Side of the Mirror”

HeraLeave a comment

For many years, I had heard about Glassing, but never had the chance to fully dive in. From my limited knowledge, they are a band rooted in harsh noise, a genre I did not like and avoided at all costs. However, over the years, the band evolved, placing their focus into post-hardcore and I felt the need to know more. Now, with their fourth full-length album, From the Other Side of the Mirror, it’s time to see what the fuss is all about.

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Album Review:  Zelenaya — “Folk Songs”

AngelaLeave a comment


Combining powerful harmonies of Eastern European polyphonic folk vocals with sludge, doom, and death metal, Zelenaya brings a unique and compelling debut album, Folk Songs. Songs are derived from Ukrainian village polyphony, southern Poland, the general Pale of Settlement, further east in the Balkans like Serbia, and even the Caucasus region. Not only are the songs diverse and impressive, but so are the musicians in the band. The bio of each person is inspiring and it is no surprise that this collection of individuals have found their way to each other and joined forces to create this magical album. Having roots in the arts, education, mysticism, non-profits, and more, these four individuals are making the world a better place with everything they do including sharing their gifts together as Zelenaya.

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