Nine Circles

Best of 2021 season is in full swing around the metal world and we’ll be joining soon enough. Y’all keep doing y’all with slinging mud over who chose what and why or this album is much better than that album or this thing doesn’t even deserve it or this ain’t even a metal list, and so on and so forth. BUT, keep in mind no list is the end all be all and each serves as THAT person’s or THAT site’s favorites. Rock on anyway though, it makes it fun seeing all the vitriol but most of all it’s refreshing to see the dedication to everyone’s favorites. Anyway, we still have a couple weeks of new metal so do continue to pay attention especially seeing as this week we’ve got some excellent death metal from both Malignant Altar and Pyrexia, an enthralling combo of black and death metal from Vahrzaw, a gut punch black metal offering from Diablation, and many more hanging out just below these four. Go get some and scream to the highest peaks what your favorites are, word of mouth is a strong thing.

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Malignant Altar – Realms of Exquisite Morbidity (Dark Descent) – death metal

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Pyrexia – Gravitas Maximus (Unique Leader) – death metal

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Vahrzaw – The Trembling Voices of the Conquered Men (Transcending Obscurity) – black / death

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Diablation – Allégeance (Antiq) – black metal

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Also on tap:

Anatomy of Habit – Even If It Takes a Lifetime (Independent) – post-punk / doom

Andrew Lee – Heavy Metal Shrapnel (Nameless Grave) – metal

Black Cilice – Tomb Emanations, 7″ EP (Iron Bonehead) – black metal

Cadaveric Fumes – Echoing Chamber of Soul (Blood Harvest) – death metal

Carved In Stone – Wafts of Mist & The Forgotten Belief (Schwarzdom Production) – vikings

Crowen – Prophecy (Inverse Records) – folk / melodic death metal

Cruciatus Infernalis – Untot (Kvlt und Kaos) – black / death

Dark Sky Burial – Omnis Cum In Tenebris Praesertim Vita Laboret (Extrinsic Recordings) – metal

Dead – You’ll Never Know Pleasure…, 25th Anniversary Issue (Xenocorp Kvlt Series) – grind 

Detest – We Will Get What We Deserve (Emanzipation Productions) – death metal

Devil Cross – This Mortal Coil (Fighter) – heavy metal

Dinnamarque – The Darkeside of Human Nature (Independent) – metal

Djinn-Ghül – Mechalith (Vicious Instinct) – industrial death metal 

Dperd – Monsters (My Kingdom Music) – darkwave

Ethereal Shroud – Trisagion (Independent) – atmospheric black metal 

Final Coil – Somnambulant II (WormHoleDeath) – post-rock

Funeral – Praesentialis in Aeternus (Season of Mist) – doom metal

Furze – Black Psych Tormentor (Independent) – black metal 

Gods of Decay – Collective Psychosis (Sliptrick) – goth

Gore Brigade – S/T, EP (Redefining Darkness Records) – death metal

Hammerdrone – A Trinity of Rage, EP (Independent) – metal

HellgardeN – Rise of the Beast (Brutal Records) – symphonic black metal

Hogtooth – You Can’t Handle the Tooth, EP (WormHoleDeath) – metal

Inherits the Void – Monolith of Light (Avantgarde Music) – black metal

Intricated – Apocalyptic Metamorphosis (Comatose) – brutal death metal

Jackal’s Backbone – Red Mist Descending (Independent) – thrash

Joan Avant – Dies Irae (Red Masque) – goth

Lhaäd – Below (Babylon Doom Cult Records / Extraconscious Records / Fólkvangr Records) – industrial / ambient / black metal

Lifelost – Punitive Damnation (Onism Productions) – black metal

Madmess – Rebirth (Hassle) – psych rock

Malady – Ainavihantaa (Svart) – prog rock

Mordom – Cry of the Dying World (Transylvanian Recordings) – death / doom

Orsak:Oslo – Skimmer / Vemod (Kapitän Platte) – scandipsych

Otargos – Fleshborer Soulflayer (Xenocorp) – black / death

Perseide – The Only Thing (WormHoleDeath) – metal

Pornographic Sunset – Gold; Flesh; Dirt (Independent) – prog rock

Phrenelith – Chimaera (Nuclear Winter) – death metal

Psilocybe Larvae – Where Silence Dwells (Fono Ltd. / Red Rivet) – death / doom

Putrid Offal – Premature Necropsy: the Carnage Continues (Xenocorp) – death metal

Rat King – Santa Hipocresia (Within The Mind) – deathgrind

Restless Spirit – Blood of the Old Gods (Lifesblood) – stoner doom

Reveal! – Doppelherz (Sepulchral Voice) – metal

Rökkr – S/T (Chaos) – metal

Rope Sect – Proskynesis, 10″ (Iron Bonehead) – dark

Sgàile – Ideals & Morality (Avantgarde Music) – prog

Sinful Ways – Darkest Days, EP (Independent) – metal

Stabbing – Ravenous Psychotic Onslaught (Comatose) – brutal death metal

Superlynx – Solstice, EP (Dark Essence) – rock

Thalarion – Dying On the Scorched Plains (UPRISING!) – atmospheric death / doom

The Drippers – Scandinavian Thunder (The Sign) – rock

Thirty Fates – Circus Black (Rockshots Records) – heavy metal

Wolf – Mal Camino (WormHoleDeath) – rock

– Josh