Nine Circles

If you’ve been following along, I talk about time a lot and mostly how fast it escapes us. On that theme, as of this month Nine Circles turns three years old. And it’s been an amazing ride thus far. To all writers and contributors, past and present, thank you sincerely. To our readers, thank you from the bottom of our blackened hearts for spending your time with us and being the best audience ever. And to the PR firms, labels, bands and venues we appreciate you. Now, we have metal to get to and truth be told that’s why you came so without further ado: Nameless Hideous Manifestations is a scorcher of a death metal debut from Chile’s Soulrot but also one that will have you rockin your headbanging skills like it’s 1990 again. Life of Agony have finally returned after 12 years with A Place Where There’s No More Pain and truthfully they haven’t missed a step since then and this album is a firm declaration of where they are now — a good place I might add. Buildings return with their third full length You Are Not One of Us (A+ for that title) and it’s a massively dynamic noise/punk/rock album that finds the band at their best yet. And rounding out the opening slots is Duel with Witchbanger, this band just gets better and better at their brand of doom by way of classic heavy rock — proto metal if you will, highly recommended. As usual we have much, much more to get to so jump in and stay awhile. Once more, thank you for spending time with us and we hope to be sending this message out again next year.

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Soulrot – Nameless Hideous Manifestations (Memento Mori) – death metal [full review]

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Life of Agony – A Place Where There’s No More Pain (Napalm Records) – hard rock, alternative metal [full review]

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Buildings – You Are Not One of Us (Gilead Media) – noise rock

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Duel – Witchbanger (Heavy Psych Sounds) – doom, hard rock

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Also on tap:

A-Sun Amissa – The Gatherer (Consouling Sounds) – experimental

Aborted Fetus – The Art of Violent Torture (Comatose Music) – brutal death metal

American Standards – Anti-Melody (Independent) – hardcore

Archivist – Construct (Halo of Flies) – post metal

Barathrum – Fanatiko (Saturnal) – black metal

Condor – Unstoppable Power (High Roller Records) – blackened thrash metal

Corpus Christii – Delusion (Folter Records) – black metal

Critical Solution – Barbara the Witch (Crime Records) – thrash metal

Cry Excess – Vision (Bleeding Nose Records) – metalcore

Crypt Rot – Embryonic Devils (Southern Lord) – blackened death metal

Cult of Eibon – Lycan Twilight Sorcery (Iron Bonehead) – black metal

Cursus – S/T (Artificial Head Records) – psychedelic sludge

Dead – We Won’t Let You Sleep (We Empty Rooms) – noise rock

December’s Fire – Vae Victus, Reissue (Arachnophobia Records) – metal

Dependentium – Itsetuhon alkeet (Via Nocturna) – black metal

Dødsritual – Under Sort Sol (Black Market Metal Label) – black metal

Elephant Bell – Gates of Dawn (Argonauta) – stoner rock

Fabio La Manna – Ebe (Via Nocturna) – progressive metal

Fin – Arrows of a Dying Age (Folter Records) – black metal

Fumigation/The Path to R’yleh – Invasion, Split (CDN Records) – death metal

Gridfailure & Megalophobe – Dendritic (Independent ) – ambient

Helsott – The Healer, EP (M-Theory Audio) – melodic death metal, pagan

Hideous Divinity – Adveniens (Unique Leader) – death metal

Ides of Gemini – Women (Rise Above) – doom, ambient

Jukebox Monkey – Grey Skies Red Planet (Independent) – stoner rock

Kenoma – The Tides Will Prevail (Translation Loss) – instrumental doom metal [full review]

Lucidreams – Ballox (Transcending Obscurity) – heavy metal

Mammoth Mammoth – Mount the Mountain (Napalm Records) – rock n roll

Martyrdoom – Grievous Psychosis (Memento Mori) – death doom

Mind Mold – S/T, EP (Sentient Ruin) – blackened doom metal

Mongol – Warrior Spirit (Independent) – folk metal

Morbid Flesh – Rites of the Mangled (Unholy Prophecies) – death metal

Morte Incandescente / Illum Adora – Remnants of a Flaming Past, Split (War Arts) – black metal

Mythra – Still Burning (High Roller Records) – speed metal

Nekroptikon – When the Plague Breaks Out (Via Nocturna) – black metal

Noumena – Myrrys (Inverse Records) – melodic death metal

Prayers of Sanity – Face of the Unknown (Rastilho Records) – thrash metal

Return to Void – S/T (Inverse Records) – prog rock, metal

Ruin – Drown in Blood (Memento Mori) – death metal 

Sarcasm – Within the Sphere of Ethereal Minds (Dark Descent) – death metal

Statiqbloom – Blue Moon Blood (Translation Loss) – industrial metal

Stellarvore – L’orgueil des drapeaux et des flammes (Via Nocturna) – black metal

Terror – The Walls Will Fall, EP (Pure Noise) – hardcore

Thy Worshiper – Popiół, Reissue (Arachnophobia Records) – black metal

Ungraved Apparition – Pulse O (Grimm Distribution) – dark metal

War Brides – Regrets (Triple Eye Industries) – heavy noise 

Warcrab – Scars of Aeons (Transcending Obscurity) – death, sludge

Wolfbrigade – Run With the Hunted (Southern Lord) – metal, punk

Wolfkhan – Cyber Necro Spirituals (Arachnophobia Records) – experimental, industrial

– Josh