Nine Circles

The weekend, FINALLY. For those of us who actually have weekends off you know it’s something we look forward to and for those of you that never get a weekend off my heart goes out to you, seriously. Whether you’re off or working or whatever, thank you for stopping by and we have a killer bunch of releases to get to so, shall we? In pole position this week is The Year the Stars Fell from Twilight Fauna and on this release black metal collides with emotional heft, Appalachian themes and astoundingly heavy atmosphere that transcends music in a general sense and goes straight for the heart and mind, give yourself over to this album completely and the reward will be monumental. Next up is Memoriam with For the Fallen and honestly this record gives me chills for a couple reasons: the tie in with Bolt Thrower and just how damn good it is, definitely recommend you seek it out (see below). Carrying on, Pallbearer hits us with Heartless, their third full length, and not only have they matured over their last album but they’ve incorporated progressive rock elements to better balance the mournful melodies the band has become known for — it’s early still but this may well be their best. Last but not least is the absolute skull crushing aggression Sloth Herder lays down on their debut full length No Pity, No Sunrise which combines black metal with grindcore and serves as a nice counterpoint to the albums we’ve already mentioned. And as usual, thats not all so take a deeper dive after the jump.

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Twilight Fauna – The Year the Stars Fell (Independent) – black metal [full review]

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Memoriam – For the Fallen (Nuclear Blast) – death metal

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Pallbearer – Heartless (Profound Lore) – doom metal

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Sloth Herder – No Pity, No Sunrise (Grimoire Records) – extreme metal

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Also on tap:

Alastor – Black Magic, EP (Twin Earth Records) – doom metal

ATTALA – Glacial Rule (Independent) – doom, stoner metal

Bokassa – Divide & Conquer (All Good Clean Records) – stoner punk

Brave Young – Misery and Pride (The Flenser) – post rock, drone

Cut Up – Wherever They May Rot (Metal Blade) – death metal

Damnations Day – A World Awakens (Sensory Records) – power metal

Fuck You Pay Me – Dumbed Down (Tankcrimes) – hardcore

Fucked Up – Year of the Snake (Tankcrimes) – punk, metal

Grá – Ramsvarta Tankar, Single (Carnal Records) – black metal

Gridfailure – Hostile Alchemy, EP (Independent) – experimental metal

GROG – Ablutionary Rituals (Murder Records) – brutal death metal, grind

Hell’s Coronation – Antichrist Devotion (Gods Ov War Productions) – black metal

Heretoir – The Circle (Northern Silence Productions) – ambient black metal

Illimitable Dolor – S/T (Transcending Obscurity) – atmospheric doom/death

Isenordal – Shores of Mourning (Eternal Warfare/Pest Productions) – funeral doom, neo-folk

Mountain God – Bread Solstice (Artificial Head Records) – doom metal, sludge

Naga – Inanimate (Everlasting Spew) – doom metal

Orm – S/T (Indisciplinarian) – black metal

Season of Arrows – Give It To the Mountains (Argonauta) – doom metal

Slugdge – The Cosmic Cornucopia, Compilation (Willowtip) – death metal

The Vicious Head Society – Abject Tomorrow (Independent) – progressive metal

Today Is the Day – Temple of the Morning Star, 20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition (The End) – violent noise, experimental

Various Artists – Heavy Psych Sounds Label Sampler Vol 2 (Heavy Psych Sounds) – fuzz, doom, rock

Various Artists  – The Second Coming of Heavy: Chapter 5 (Ripple Music) – stoner, doom, psych

– Josh