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 correct the egregious error of missing a month and dive into this edition of Nine Circles ov… and catch up on the loud and heavy from July AND August 2025.

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Featuring a who’s who of Norwegian prog superstars (I’ll listen to anything Jonas Reingold plays on), Kay Olsen’s Agropelter (profiled here) offer an interesting mix on the current progressive rock scene, fashioning largely mellow hybrid of atmospheric synths and keyboards that owe as much to classical music as it does rock. The Book of Hours can feel a trifle sedate at times, but once the 32-minute, four-part title track kicks in there’s more than enough instrumental prowess to rattle the bones of any prog nerd. Plus, have you HEARD Reingold’s bass solo on “Burial Mound”? Holy cow…

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Germany’s Desaster give you exactly what you’d expect judging by the old school wood-carved cover of Kill All Idols: this is blasphemous blackened thrash and death that wallows in the dirt and filth with some truly evil vocals. The hooks aren’t lacking either; opener “Great Repulsive Force” does anything but repulse on the riff front, and later tracks like “Towards Oblivion” and “Throne of Ecstasy” show a razor sharp production touch that was lacking on 2021’s Churches Without Saints. Desaster have been around for decades at this point, and it’s good to see that 30 years on they’re crafting some of the strongest material of their career.

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It was no fluke, ladies and gentlemen: Helloween have not only continued in their expanded, 3-vocalist configuration but have released their second album and I’m happy to report that Giants and Monsters delivers on all aspects of the hallowed band’s legacy. Not only do you get ripping tunes like “Savior of the World” that stand proudly next to classics from the Seven Keys years, but you also get some of the more uplifting melodies and tongue-in-cheek humor that was always a part of their sound. I can do without the AOR pomp of “A Little is a Little Too Much” but everything else? Pretty much exactly what I want from Helloween.

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Every time I put on Heather & Hearth, the sophomore full length from Phantom Spell, I have to shake my head and admonish myself for not discovering this hot bed of hard rock and prog sooner. The creative outlet of Kyle McNeill who writes and performs everything, this is so much in my particular wheelhouse it’s alarming. Lyrically there’s the thread of fantasy and folklore, but it’s set against some ripping vintage rock: lots of keyboards, solos, and acoustic interludes give a sense of grandeur to tracks like “The Autumn Citadel” and the title track, while shorter songs like “Evil Hand” bring the rock in compact form. Love this album, and can’t wait to dig into McNeill’s other works ASAP.

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Truly, no one sounds like Ritual. The Swedish progressive rock band turned out one of my favorite records of 2024 with The Story of Mr. Bodg Part 1, and while I wait for Part 2 Karisma records have reissued the band’s 2007 album The Hemulic Voluntary Band on vinyl and CD. Patrik Lundström has an incredible way with vocal melodies, and with the rest of the band crafts a set of tunes that veer into far off lands creating rhythms that are singular and beautiful and like nothing else out there right now. The opening title track is a great primer for what to expect from Ritual, and if you’re on not on board by the time the massive 26-minute “A Dangerous Journey” ends we probably can’t be friends. My only regret is (so far) not finding the vinyl in the US – this whole tariff thing is going to really suck, you know?

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My first thought on hearing “Martef” the lead off song from Ate’s Alchemist was “what if Slayer but with killer bass and less Kerry King, more Jeff Hanneman?” But then the vocals come in, the tempo slides into a slippery groove and the fact that Ripple Music have released the latest album from Sheev becomes instantly apparent. This is thrashy stoner rock of the highest order, and if nothing really gets harder than the opener the German band gets real close on “Cul De Sac.” Elsewhere everything roars and tears, with “Henry” and the big closer “Sabress” being standouts. Another one I’m really digging and keeping in the current album rotation.

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I didn’t mean for this to be a lovefest for Ripple Music, but the black metal album that was going here was actually released in May, so a last-minute change brings another killer example of album art done right (this month is loaded with great album art) by Supernaughty, an Italian band whose Apocalypso has been a constant companion in my listening. Their third full-length since hitting the scene in 2017 is another slab of Sabbath-inspired stoner rock, with vocalist Angelo Fagni channeling a desert-swept Ozzy while the rest of the band hits the low-end fuzz with aplomb. I love the opening track “Poseidon” and the riff in “In (O) Culation;” the rest ain’t too shabby, either.

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All respect to Unleashed, one of the granddaddies of the Swedish death metal movement. Johnny Hedlund and the gang have been releasing their particular brand of double-kick mayhem since 1991’s Where No Life Dwells – an undisputed classic of the form. Fire Upon Your Lands is album #15, and with a lineup that’s pretty much been intact for 30 years it’s more of the same. Which isn’t a bad thing when “more of the same” is 11 tight, thrashy death metal tracks that comes in under 40 minutes and has a souped up modern guitar attack from longtime producer Fredrik Folkare. No HM-2 here, the guitars have a crunch and bite on songs like “Left For Dead” and “War Comes Again” that straddle the line of black metal at times, but always return to that specific vibe Unleashed helped create in the first place.

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Listen to that bass on “I Lament” the opening track on V: Lamentations from Lancaster U.K.’s Wytch Hazel, a band whose only prefix in the genre of metal is “heavy” – these guys traffic in sweet, sublime hard rock and metal that could easily have come out in the late 80s instead of now. The hooks are sharp and the melodies righteous, with “Run The Race” being another rocker and “Elixir” mixing things up acoustically. Late track “Heavy Load” reaches back to the early 70s and Wishbone Ash, and there’s not a weak track on this thing. One more band I can’t wait to dive deeper into.

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A lot to catch up on when you’re looking at two months, and as we head into autumn I know things are going to heat up with new releases. 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