Nine Circles

What is it in music that makes certain songs, albums, bands really hit that sweet spot for you? This is a question I think about a lot that I haven’t come up with a really good answer for, yet. Case in point: I was a casual listener of Periphery until Periphery IV landed and now I’m all in. That album hit me like a ton of bricks in the best of ways and I’d consider it a desert island album at this point. Anyway, moving on to new releases and speaking of; Periphery hits us with another stone cold gem of djent power that is fast approaching my feels on the last album. Then we’ve got some tech death from Gorod, avantgarde black metal from The Lovecraft Sextet, and delectable brutal death from Depraved Murder. But, as always, there’s a ton more to dig into just below these four so do that and let us know what hits you in the feels. Also, let us know if you have a genuinely good answer to the opening question and I don’t mean “because it’s good, dummy.” See you here throughout the week.

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Periphery – Periphery V: Djent Is Not A Genre (3DOT Recordings) – insanedjentmetal

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Gorod – The Orb (Independent) – tech death

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The Lovecraft Sextet – Black White, EP (Debemur Morti Productions) – avantgarde black metal

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Depraved Murder – Unethical Terrestrial Collapse (Comatose) – brutal death

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Also on tap:

Albert Witchfinder & Läjä Äijälä – Ordeal and Triumph (Svart) – electronic minimalism

As Light Dies – The Laniakea Architecture, Volume II (Darkwoods) – avantgarde black metal

Asphagor – Pyrogenesis (Independent) – black metal

Astriferous – Pulsations From the Black Orb (Me Saco Un Ojo / Pulverised) – death metal

Bastard Grave – Vortex of Disgust (Pulverised) – death metal

Bloodjob – Metastasis, EP (Lethal Scissor) – death metal

Common Wounds – S/T, EP (Protagonist Music) – post-hardcore / noise

Deludium Skies – Ichor (Trepanation Recordings) – drone / psych

Demons Down – I Stand (Frontiers Music s.r.l.) – rock

Dirge – S/T (Immersive Sounds) – post-metal

Exelerate – S/T (From The Vaults) – power / thrash

Fagus – Inter (Silent Future Recordings) – atmospheric black metal

For The Fallen Dreams – S/T (Arising Empire) – metalcore

Genocidal Rites – Exsanguination of the Gods (Hells Headbangers) – bestial metal

Giant Brain – Grade A Gray Day (Small Stone / Kozmik Artifactz) – electro-prog

Glitter Wizard – Kiss The Boot (Kitten Robot Records) – glam rock

God Disease – Apocalyptic Doom (Gruesome Records) – melodic death doom

Gorgonchrist – Fish In A Mountain (Independent) – blackgrindcrustsludge

Håndgemeng – Ultraritual (Ripple Music) – stoner

HolyRoller – Swimming Witches (Independent) – psych stoner

Ice Age – Waves Of Loss And Power (Sensory Records) – progressive metal

Ignominy – Imminent Collapse (Transcending Obscurity Records) – death metal

Ingraves – Human Abyss (Independent) – metalcore

In The Act of Violence – Parasitic Populace (Independent) – deathcore

Isole – Anesidora (Hammerheart Records) – doom metal

It’s Always Sunny in Tijuana – Say Nothing (Independent) – deathcore

Jolle – Wirtschaft Arbeit Technik (Crazysane) – rock

Judiciary – Flesh + Blood (Closed Casket Activities) – thrash

Kexelür – Llave a las profundidades… (Sun and Moon) – avant black metal

Koldvoid – Wilderness Retreat (Sun and Moon) – ambient

Lathebra – Angels’ Twilight Odes (My Kingdom Music / Sylphorium Rec.) – black doom

Marauder – Metal Constructions VII (Pitch Black) – heavy metal

Mass Crysis – Imposing Truck (THE GOATMANCER Records) – thrash

Minenwerfer – Feuerwalze (Osmose) – war

Nanowar of Steel – Dislike to False Metal (Napalm) – metal

Negative Prayer – S/T, 7″ (Carbonized / Seed of Doom) – d-beat

Noxium Ferus – Blasphemicon (Wormholedeath) – blackened death metal

Odinfist – Remade In Steel (Independent) – metal

Pääkallo – S/T (Svart) – psych

Plague Vacation – Extended Play (Independent) – doom pop

Rezn – Solace (Independent) – heavy psych

Seventh Crystal – Wonderland (Frontiers Music s.r.l.) – rock

Shrouded In Darkness – To Be None Of You (Kvlt and Kaos) – doom / death

SiR – Your Star Will Collapse (Sun and Moon) – doom rock

Skybaus – EP II (Total Deathcore) – deathcore

Starcrazy – Another Day, Another Squalor… (Independent) – rock

Straight Hate – Slaves of Falseness (Selfmadegod) – deathgrind

Suicide Silence – Remember… You Must Die (Century Media) – extreme

The Banishment – Machine And Bone (Frontiers Music s.r.l.) – heavy industrial

The Human Race Is Filth – Cognitive Dissonance (Independent) – deathgrind

The Lancasters – Standard Family Size (Retro Vox Records) – hard rock

Tribe of Pazuzu – Blasphemous Prophecies (Independent) – black metal

Weight of Emptiness – Withered Paradogma (Sliptrick) – prog death

Witchrot – Live In The Hammer (Independent) – psychgaze

— Josh