Album Review: Khemmis – “Desolation”

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Khemmis - Desolation

Denver’s Khemmis took the fast lane to acclaim on debut Absolution and quickly followed it with the ante-upper Hunted and now return with Desolation which will catapult the band into a stratosphere they’ve yet to see. And it should because it’s THAT good. Take everything that made those first two a success, split it, mix it, swirl it and make it, for lack of a better word, better and you have this album. Weird right? Not really, since in my opinion bands with any salt at all will do their best to better themselves and their craft. Khemmis are hungry and it shows time and again. Here they’ve topped themselves but more than that have truly entered the all exclusive hall of heavy metal legends and with three albums of top quality I can’t see this stopping anytime soon. Continue reading →

Profile: Humbaba of Saudi Arabian Black Metallers AlNamrood

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al-namrood

Folk metal has a tendency to be an insular, European-centric genre, particularly so at the intersection of folk and black metal.  But looking past the acts that have gained mainstream attention yields many and sundry iterations of folk metal as diverse as the cultures across the world that make them.  Since 2008, Saudi Arabia’s AlNamrood have blended black metal’s staunch anti-religion focus and dark aggression with the folk melodies and instruments of their native Middle Eastern home.  Ahead of the release of their newest album, 10 Years of Resistance, AlNamrood’s vocalist Humbaba was gracious enough to answer our set of Profile questions.  Read on below the cut.

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Nine Circles ov…2018: A Mid-Year Report

ChrisLeave a comment

2018 mid year report

We’re about to hit the mid-point of the year, and as ever the amount of quality releases seems to increase with each passing breath.  I’ve spent some portion of attention to 183 metal releases so far, and in a year where I find my personal tastes drifting more and more away from metal there’s always something that manages to pull me back in.  So far there doesn’t seem to be a particular genre or style pressing its nose against the Trend Window™ (unless you count the amount of sax going on I guess…) and I’ve been surprised at the sheer variety of music pulling at my nerve endings these past six months.

So similar to last year, consider this edition of Nine Circles ov… a snapshot.  It’s a measure of a point in time, personal to me and indicative as to where my head’s at halfway through the shitstorm that is 2018.  And since that’s probably all the justification I’m going to give, so let’s do this. Continue reading →

CANTO: Maryland Deathfest 2019, Behemoth, Steve Albini and more!

DanLeave a comment

MDF-2019

It’s gross outside. Let’s talk metal for a bit and forget about the moistness of this Monday afternoon. Here’s some news you might have missed from today:

  • Leading off, Maryland Deathfest announced the first wave of bands playing its 17th edition next Memorial Day. The highlights from this crop? Immolation, Pestilence, Mortician, Vomitory, Tomb Mold, Full of Hell and a bunch more. Peep the full list here — and maybe think about starting your anti-cancellation prayers ahead of time. Like, today.

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The Nine Circles Playlist Vol. 45 (6.18.2018)

ChrisLeave a comment

NINE-CIRCLES_LOGO-Light Background_SQUARE

In the next few days the solstice will arrive, marking the longest day of the year before making its inexorable tread back to darkness.  So why not listen to some of the music the Nine Circles staff have been blasting in an increasingly futile attempt to impose some semblance of order into our chaotic lives? There’s a mix of a number of different sounds this week, running from hardcore and black metal to country and whatever we’re classifying Zeal & Ardor these days (besides excellent).

Grab a beverage, make sure your sunglasses are snug, and don’t forget to subscribe to our channel here so you can treasure these playlists forever like a parent with severe attachment issues.  As a creepy dude on an island once said, “Be seeing you.”   Continue reading →