CANTO: Metallica, Destruction, Lacuna Coil, and More

CoreyLeave a comment


Whoa, Metallica gave us something new today…

  • But we’re kicking our week off with some German thrash. Destruction released a brand new music video for “Tormented Soul”, a track taken from Diabolical. That album dropped earlier this year through Napalm Records, and you can scoop it up here if you feel so inclined.
  • Lacuna Coil has announced a relatively brief run of shows on the West Coast with The Birthday Massacre, Blind Channel, and Edge of Paradise. Those dates are all in May, and tickets go on sale this coming Friday.
  • Satanic Warmaster has set December 30th as the international release date for Aamongandr, which will be out through Werewolf Records. Give “Bafomet” a listen here. Black metal… in all its glory.
  • Like I was saying, Metallica revealed a new track today titled “Lux Æterna”, the video of which is below. A new album, 72 Seasons, is slated for an April 14th release. I’m not sure if I was the only one completely caught off guard by this first track, but I definitely dig it. Fingers crossed for more good shit to come.

“Ein Bier… bitte.”
– cmb

Album Review: She Said Destroy — “Bleeding Fiction II: Child of Tomorrow”

D MorrisLeave a comment


There’s always a challenge writing a piece of music longer than the average length of a pop song for today’s listening audience. According to Vox.com, that average is anywhere from three to five minutes. That average is often run over in metal, where an artist or band stretches out to explore sonic territory, often building off a musical idea or using a through line based around jamming. Case in point: in 2012, She Said Destroy released an almost 30 minute long single track EP titled Bleeding Fiction. 10 years later the band has released a “sequel” in Bleeding Fiction II: Child of Tomorrow. Again, it’s a single track EP though it’s about half the running time of the original. This piece is full of ideas and that’s a bit of a problem. This song sounds like a band that had an EP full songs that mashed them into one sonic collage.

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Initial Descent: November 27 – December 3, 2022

JoshLeave a comment
Qrixkuor
Qrixkuor – images courtesy of Factotum Photography, Vika // Imago Mortis & Lukas Guidet

I’ll assume we all made it out of the holiday weekend with just a few pounds gained and no bodily harm due to drunken turkey frying or Black Friday. I did say assume, so there’s that. One month to go until we turn the page on 2022 and we’ve STILL got heaters landing; this week gives us frozen death from Qrixkuor, black metal of the avantgarde sort from Veilburner, thrash from Hammers of Misfortune, straightforward black metal from T.O.M.B., and more in the list that follows. So, go forth in your carb comas and pick up some of these. Happy hunting and see you here throughout the week.

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Rainbows in the Dark: Nytt Land — “Ritual: Blood of the West”

D MorrisLeave a comment

Russian group Nytt Land’s body of work tends to evoke frozen images of their Siberian home. Songs echo the icy landscapes of the tundra while vocals from Natalya Pakhalenko mirror the howling wind of a blizzard. Guitars and synths only add to the cold and empty feeling of their songs. Desolate is a word that frequently comes to mind listening to their music. On their new EP Ritual: Blood of the West though, the band changes their sound to visit a different barren landscape, the desert. On this EP, Nytt Land transform a few songs from their album Ritual into more traditional Western European and American song structures without losing their shamanic power.

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The Nine Circles Playlist Vol. 259 (11.26.2022)

ChrisLeave a comment
playlist - mixtape

For those of you who celebrate it, welcome back from the throes of mass turkey consumption, of stuffing annihilation, and of pie decimation. For the rest of you, simply welcome back. I got a huge Thanksgiving gift when I learned Elder released their latest album Innate Passage a day early on Bandcamp, and then it just kept coming when I finally got to hear the totality of the new Spiritworld album. Both albums are putting serious crimps in my already drafted end of year list, so let’s kick off with them for this, the 259th Nine Circles Playlist.

The rest of the gang managed to pry themselves off the couch and offer up the usual assortment of metal maladies to get your body in shape for the holiday rush. We’ve got Jade, Fvnerals, live Der Weg Einer Freiheit, new Nothingness and Shedfromthebody. We’ve got a big ol’ epic from The Otolith, tracks from Esquela Grind, Intranced, and Reeking Aura. You want a little more moody and a little less extreme? Okay: we’ve got you dialed in with some Kathryn Mohr, some Silversun Pickups, and for the countryheads out there even a little slinky funk courtesy of Paul Cauthen. And one of the best bands in the world to close it out.

Get listening. Stay safe. See you next week.

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– Chris