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 each month and 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 carving the turkey when no one’s looking in November 2024.

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I thought I knew who Furze was, but the best I can conjure in my memory is that maybe I heard their 2000 release Trident Autocrat? No matter, because I can now say with certainty that I have heard the delightfully named Cosmic Stimulation Of Dark Fantasies, and have found its weird amalgam of black metal, doom, and brief psychedelic flourishes to be a thing I dig. There’s a rock and roll swagger to the nine minutes of “Beautiful Living On The Left Hand Path Of Death” that works with the cavernous reverb and echo effects on the vocals. This is simple, not gonna change your world second wave influenced black metal that sounds like it was produced in the basement of someone’s house, and that’s a plus for me. Plus no triggered drums…that’s been a real beef lately.

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Has it really been 13 years since The Wretch? There was a moment when The Gates Of Slumber were poised to be the titans of doom, with 2008’s Conquerer being the shot heard ’round the metal world. Then tragedy, with the death of Jason McCash and leader/founder Karl Simon calling it quits. Making The Gates Of Slumber an eponymous titled album was a clear indicator: the band means this to be their defining sound. Picking up right where The Wretch left off, the riffs are thick and majestic, and Simon’s voice has a weariness and aged quality that speaks to the decade of experience, hardship, and perseverance that help bring the band back together in 2019. The release doesn’t officially come put until the 29th, but based on the decayed regality of “Embrace The Lie” and the bedrock groove embedded in “Full Moon Fever” I’d say we should all be excited Simon is back and has all guns blazing.

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Speaking of having their gun blazing and coming back from over a decade of inactivity, Hail Of Bullets (kinda) return to the scene with their self titled EP, originally released as a CD-R back in 2007. Agonia Records is giving it a polish with new artwork and in various different vinyl configurations, and…it’s fine? I was a fan of the debut of this quasi-supergroup back in 2008, but the two follow-ups didn’t leave much of an impression. I supposed there’s something raw and a little more vital on the tracks here: I dig the crust and d-beat that permeates “Red Wolves Of Stalin” but without any solid news of whether the band is getting back together, I’d say this is something for completionists. For everyone else you’ll get more out of the debut.

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We’re doubling up on quasi-new releases for November, with the debut by Italy’s Lord Goblin having actually come out in March of this year. But now No Remorse records is releasing this wicked little slice of black metal stewed together with epic trad metal, some gothic doom, and 70s rock touches thanks to some keyboards on various physical media. I had no idea who these guys were, but there was an EP back in 2021 that based on this debut I need to listen to post-haste. Opening track “Northern Skyline” is basically everything I could want from this style of music. If you’re gonna go for it, go full out, and this things has great choruses, spooky organ flourishes, and a cover that reads like the best in 70s mystical rock and metal. Need more convincing? Jump to the two-part “Light Of A Black Sun” at the album’s end – you’ll thank me later.

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Did Molder change? Or did I? That’s the eternal question of music growth, whether it was the band or the listener that switched polarity. After having listened to, enjoyed, and then forgetting about the Illinois death metal outfits previous releases (despite actually having reviewed the last album), there’s something that sticks in the best way with Catastrophic Reconfiguration. It’s still the same sludgy, swampy death metal that keeps one reptilian foot in the genre’s prehistoric past, but the production’s simultaneously beefier and more clear, giving the guitars way more self and the drums way more resonance that 2022’s Engrossed In Decay which, as already mentioned I reviewed, enjoyed, and forgot about. The opening title track is fantastic, but I find myself getting drawn to the shorter, simpler couch of tracks like “Overdue Burial” and “Corpse Copulation” which is an amazing death metal song title I can’t believe hasn’t been used before now. I’m now back and fully engrossed in Molder’s particular approach to death metal decay.

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Where do you even begin with an entity like Paysage d’Hiver? When we talk about bands pushing the envelop in black metal, we typically mean pushing into new sounds, genres, and styles and then melting that into the original black metal sauce. For Paysage d’Hiver, founder and mastermind Wintherr becomes even more insular, drawing further and further into the bedrock of the genre. Which makes the title of his third “official” full length Die Berge even more fitting, as it translates to “The Mountains.” And for over 100 minutes the music pays homage to those immoveable monuments of stone. Starting with the 18-minute “Urgrund” the first thing that becomes apparent is how much stronger the production is without sacrificing any of the old school fire. Next it’s the song itself: melodies and layers wash over each other, creating these gorgeous swaths of sound that thanks to the drums still register as pure, unadulterated black metal yet carry an etherealness at the same time. But this isn’t Alcest, there’s no blackgaze to be found; just incredible, epic, and future-focused black metal, tricked out by finding footing so firmly in the past.

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Although the tragic career of Planes Mistaken For Stars ended 2021 with the terrible death of vocalist/guitarist Gared O’Donnell, it wasn’t until now that the book of this influential hardcore/emo band could properly be closed. Do You Still Love Me? is the post-script, completed by the remaining members of the band in 2021 (guitarist Matt Ballinger died by suicide in 2017), and it’s an emotionally harrowing experience. The plaintive cries for help on “Fix Me”, the almost boisterous major joy on “Further”, the psychedelic swirls that adorn “Punch The Gauge”…all build to this catharsis by the time the chiming ring of “Do You Still Love Me? No. 2” closes the album out. I wish we still had them, but this is a beautiful way to end.

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Rivers of Nihil are a band that confound me. They play some of the best technical death metal around, but so much of it fails to connect with me. With the exception of the more prog-leaning Where Owls Know My Name, their releases have impressed and then moved to the back in favor of other things. Maybe it’s the more concise nature of an EP, but Hierarchy for me is their best thing since that 2018 prog-metal classic. Four songs fly by within 16 minutes, and there’s not a bad one in the bunch. Opener “Chambers Of Civility” comes fast and furious but eases up on the back end just enough to let a ripping solo fly through around the 2:30 mark, while closer “Post-Mortem Prostitution” makes with the black metal rasps in key moments while the riffing moves to tech-death ecstasy.

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We didn’t want to leave without some power metal in this month, so Dan took keyboard in hand to bring us home:

This latest effort from Florida power metal quartet Seven Kingdoms is pretty solid, all told. I can really only count two things wrong it — and they’re both pretty small. The first issue is that The Square closes with a cover of Mr. Mister’s “Kyrie” that nobody particularly needed. It’s fine, sure! But it doesn’t particularly elevate the source material at all. And that’s just a bit disappointing, given the band’s spent the rest of their time here elevating the shit out of each other. Guitarists Kevin Byrd and Camden Cruz trade tasty riffs across a range of styles: from straightaway power metal (“The Square”) to groovier fare (“Through These Waves”) or even power ballads (“Wilted Pieces”). And then, of course, there’s Sabrina Cruz, whose soaring, powerful vocals tie each and every room together. The four original tracks here offer an impressive display of versatility and growth for the band. Which brings me to Issue No. 2: The Square is only an EP. I mean, I guess I can wait ‘til next year for a new full-length, but the quality on display here is really making that a tough ask.

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We’re nearing year end, so I’m excited to see what pops up just in time for already-completed year end lists. As always the surprises and discoveries continue to pile up, so let me know what we missed and what we should be on the lookout for.

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

— Chris