Too many albums, too few reviewers…that’s the problem with all the metal blogs, not just this one. What do you do? How do you get a sense of what’s out there if you’re only listening to a fraction of what’s getting released? How do you open yourself up to new music? I’ll tell you how: you jump into all the unpicked promos and each month devote a sentence or two giving a sense of what you gleaned from it.

That’s right: we’re back for another round of “The Month That Was…” so enough preambling…let’s dive into this edition of Nine Circles ov… and see what’s been cooking in February 2024.

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The California stoner/desert supergroup Big Scenic Nowhere have been churning out some serious mammoth riffing since coming forming like Voltron with their 2019 EP Dying on the Mountain. They’ve dabbled in hardcore punk, long stoner jams and everything in between but it really comes together on The Waydown. Slinky funk baselines cross with hypnotic fuzz and sun drenched reverb, and we haven’t even gotten to the sick Hall and Oates cover. No, that was not a typo. I’ve been a fan since the beginning and this feels like the culmination of a great run. I hope it’s not, but if it is I’ve got “Sara Smile” on repeat and a chunk of vinyl that won’t leave my turntable.

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Maybe it’s sacrilege, but I think this run of the past few Borknagar albums comprises some of the best music they’ve put out, period. I hope you didn’t crack your copies of Empiricism or Quintessence as you collapsed in a puddle. Color me crazy but the triple punch of Winter Thrice, True North and now Fall mark a new level in the band’s creativity, getting more progressive even as the icy slick black metal continues to lie just under the surface. ICS Vortex’s vocals have never been better, and the production is huge and robust. Opener “Summits” is quite frankly hitting notes I wish the latest Enslaved did, and the album only gets better from there.

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With only vocalist/guitarist Laurent Teubl left (he’s since put together a touring band) you’d be worried this could be a last hurrah for German progressive death metal outfit Chapel of Disease. If so they certainly put out a grower of an album I’ll be digging into for years to come. Echoes of Light moves further away from the “death metal by way of Dire Straits” euphoria that was ...And As We Have Seen the Storm, We Have Embraced the Eye and creates an almost spare, ethereal album that sinuously moves through post and progressive rock and metal, with more clean guitars and Teubl’s vocals much more pronounced and up front in the mix. Don’t fret, though: the guitar work is extraordinary, and the opening title track will immediately put your fears to rest about the Knopfler influence being cast aside. My first impression was lukewarm but subsequent listens have drawn me in and tracks like “A Death Though No Loss” and the alt-rock riffing on “Selenophile” have proven hard to shake off. A very good thing, indeed.

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Oh, surprise: another band Chris loves throwing off the shackles of genre and moving away into more progressive waters! It might be a cliche at this point, but damn if Farsot don’t continue to impress me…I loved what previous album FAIL·LURE did with the trappings of atmospheric black metal (it hit #12 on my 2017 EOY list) and Life Promised Death goes even further, with some truly lovely bass playing, more upfront vocals, and haunting melodies on “Buoyant Flames” and “Into Vertigo” mixed in with some really lovely production. The riffs roil against some stellar drum work, and I haven’t stopped playing the record since it arrived. Expect more come end of year on Farsot…

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Look at that album cover, people…this can only be one thing, and one thing only: speed metal/thrash as only the Spanish can do it. Iron Curtain come out of the Murcia region of Spain and Savage Dawn, their fifth full length doubles down on what made the late 80s so amazing. Songs like “Devil’s Eyes” whip past you at 100mph, and ends with a gong hit. That’s what I need in my life. More gong! The opening riff to “Gypsy Rocker” is gloriously retro and brilliant and razor sharp, recalling everything from Thin Lizzy to Overkill with shades of Motörhead and Accept. It’s fast, it’s unrelentingly heavy, and have I mentioned that album cover? It’s *chef’s kiss* perfect in capturing the sounds of Savage Dawn.

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Another retro rocker, and quite possibly my Discovery of 2024 so far, Mean Mistreater may or may not be named after the classic Grand Funk Railroad song, but their debut Razor Wire positively drips with the bluesy drive of 80s hard rock and metal. The album takes that formula and one-ups it with some killer vocals courtesy of Janiece Gonzalez who delivers supreme swagger and gut punching power throughout Razor Wire’s tight 27 minutes. There’s not a slow or undercooked song to be found on this thing, and the twin guitar attack deliver galloping riffs a plenty, locked in with the rhythm section like their lives depended on it. Every minute is a highlight, but currently I’m enamored with the NWOBHM leanings of “One By One” and the doom blues pace of closer “Bedevil”.

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Who’s up for some epic length instrumental psychedelic progressive hard rock? Anyone? Just me? Welcome to the Machine, the latest from Switzerland’s Monkey3 might change that. Modern and heavy, you get Dream Theater riffing mixed with more spacey, Floydian guitar and keyboard rumination on tracks like the 11 minute opener “Ignition” and the late album track “Rackman” which boasts a truly great second half head groove section. And then there’s closer “Collapse” which goes full-bore Floyd with a Gilmour opening lead and some serious The Wall vibes. I had heard about Monkey3 but never listened before Welcome to the Machine; that’s now changed and I’m a huge fan. Since there aren’t any lyrics I’ll buy the conceit of the promo which states the album was inspired by seminal SF films like 2001, 1984 and Solaris among others, and concerns itself with mankind vs. machines. Not sure that explains why the cover has a badass illustration of Hellraiser’s LeMarchand’s Box, but I’ll take it. Super cool cover, super cool music. I’m all in.

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What the hell is in the water in Australia? You would never know listening to Wastelands, the debut EP from Stellar Remains that it’s all the result of one guy: Dan Elkin. Stretching Elder God tentacles into swampy, technical death metal, otherworldly black metal, and deep dark pockets of progressive metal this is a revelation made all the more striking in that it’s a debut. “Weeping on the Shoulder of Memory” stops its breakneck pace for a sublime spacey guitar solo. “The Invisible Man” is a segue but hints as how easily Elkin could shift into ambient, cinematic music. Fortunately for us what he actually does is take those inclinations and weaves them into his longer, more epic compositions like the title track, easily the highlight of the EP for me. If this is only an EP, I can’t wait to hear what Stellar Remains does on a full length.

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Four years feels like a long time for the next Stygian Crown album to simmer (I actually forgot I reviewed their debut back in the doldrums of 2020) but you know when happens when you simmer something long enough? It comes out oh so sweet, and damn if Funeral For a King isn’t a monster step up in terms of songcraft and downright heaviness. The doom is more focused and coats all the traditional metal elements so you’re raging all the while you’re journeying to Hell. Comparisons will abound to bands like Candlemass and Sorcerer, but what Stygian Crown has those (admittedly excellent) bands don’t is the supreme bellowing of Melissa Pinion on vocals. “Bushido” is an early favorite, but the entirety of Funeral for a King is just one massive plummet to depths of what makes heavy metal such a vital force.

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There you have it. I could easily make a best of the year out of the first two months of 2024. This year is going to be killer for music.

Until next month, keep it heavy…keep it safe.

-Chris