We here at Nine Circles have been inspired by a number of writers. In the near future, we will start doing writer profiles for some of them, for it was those writers that inspired us to join, and water down, their craft. With that in mind, we asked a preliminary question to a bunch of writers we intend to profile. Today we bring you everybody’s favorite Texan, Erik Highter!

“You’re a metal writer. And if you’re receiving this question in your inbox, then you are a good metal writer. As such, people probably assume that you spend your whole day (and night because metalheads never sleep) blasting your ear drums with the sweet sounds of blast beats. But we know that’s not true. So what are you listening to that isn’t metal these days?”

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Erik Highter (@EZSnappin) is a legendary writer who has since left the scene for real life, real jobs and Texas. He was unanimously voted (by me) as the single best purveyor of puns on social media. He’s also generally less grumpy than he look in that picture. Further, those are a pair of Grado SR-80’s he’s wearing. Thus, in my humble opinion, he’s a sound quality expert.

Six records in recent heavy rotation. Why six? Because five was too few and ten was too many.

Benoît Pioulard – Sonnet. Ambient, deconstructed songs made of layered guitar and pedals. There is something both familiar and at times unsettling about this album, like looking through a cracked and splintered mirror over your shoulder at where you’ve been.

Billie Holiday – Lady Day. I got the complete Columbia recordings box for a pittance earlier this year and am slowly luxuriating in her evolution as a singer. I’ve listened to Billie since I was a child but it’s impossible to tire of her voice.

The Time – What Time Is It? This has been my favorite album since I first heard it in 1983. Nothing even comes close. If I don’t listen to it regularly I don’t feel like myself. Side note: Morris Day made me buy baggies in 1985 and I’ll never live that down.

Bob Dylan – Shadows in the Night / Frank Sinatra – Songs covered on Shadows in the Night. I made a playlist of Bob’s and Frank’s takes on these songs and man is it a downer.

Jon Lewis – True Swamp: Nikolas Leads to Harder Things OST. Jon is a cartoonist and musician, and this is his soundtrack to a story in the upcoming volume of the True Swamp reprint series. It’s multilayered iOS synths and other mobile sound programs and I find it captivating. You can check it out on SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/jon-lewis-37/sets/true-swamp-soundtrack-vol-1-nikolas-leads-to-harder-things

Ultimate Painting – Green Lanes. I’m a sucker for sweetly low-key jangle rock. I blame the self-titled Velvet Underground album and the Feelies’ The Good Earth. This is top-notch softly jangling rock and roll. Hot summer night head-bobbing stuff.

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Thanks to Erik Highter for his very valuable time and opinions!

– Manny-O-War & Corey