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 catch up on the loud and heavy from March 2026.

—

What if Thy Catafalque, but Tamás Kátai was from Brazil? And tipped the scales heavily in favor of that country’s musical heritage, with black metal only peeking in unobtrusive corners? Oh, and was the brainchild (or moondaughter) of Lua Viana, a transgender artist who under the name Antropoceno is crafting some of the most progressive, provocative metal in a dog’s age with No Ritmo da Terra — the second in a loose trilogy of albums tied to the works of Ailton Krenak and centered around the concept of realigning with the planet via a concept called “Ancestral Future.” Heady stuff to be sure (there’s an accompanying essay here), but the good news is the music manages to embrace the heavy with a truly joyous mix of sounds. Yeah, even black metal. I love it.

—

In the Year of Our Fuzz Lord™ Two Hundred and Twenty-Five, the mighty Clouds Taste Satanic (who weirdly I just discovered are I think based like 10 miles away from where I’m typing this?) started a new “Live in the Studio” series, with the stellar Birmingham 2024, recorded live to tape in – you guessed it – Birmingham. I had no idea that was happening until I stumbled across the second volume, aptly titled Berlin 2023. I immediately ordered both on vinyl, hence the parenthetical anecdote related above. Bow your heads and offer yourself to crushing stoner doom that veers from psychedelic to experimental and electronic, always returning to thick, syrupy riffs you can hang your hat on.

—

I am making zero apologies for the amount of stoner metal on the list this month. Especially when a debut comes out of nowhere and hits this hard, with a killer piece of SF-inspired artwork to ensure anyone coming across Desert Collider for the first time is prepared for what’s within. And even the grand dramatic majesty of a title like Generation Ship: Endless Drift Through Infinity can’t get you ready for how round, warm, and absolutely squishy the fuzz is on this thing. Or how fantastic the arrangements are, with massive grooves running serpentine through opening track “Orphans of the Sky Pt. 1: Generation Ship” and they do not let up for a moment until the closing moments of “Nebuchadnezzar” remind you that yes, that was a song inspired by The Matrix; yes, it did absolutely kill, and did I forget to mention these guys are from Italy? Oh, and it’s easily one of my favorite releases this year.

—

Okay, let’s get into it. The whole of where Gaerea are now musically can be found on “Stardust”, the final epic song from Loss. Do you like Sleep Token and Linkin Park, with just a little bit of Gojira? Welcome to your new favorite band. For the rest of us who really were feeling the direction albums like Mirage and Coma were pointing to — well, I think you can find some riffs scattered throughout; I can still get down with “Luminary” to a degree, and “Uncontrolled” has a nihilism I appreciate along with the hardcore vocal delivery. The rest? Eh, you’ll have to listen and see where you stand.

—

Goddamn, Hellripper… I had kind of written you off after forgetting I even wrote a positive review of Warlocks Grim & Withered Hags, the schtick feeling fine but tired by this point. You know what I mean? One less band to worry about collecting everything from. But nooooo, you had to go and release Coronach — an album so confident and brazen in its musical direction, so stuffed with riffs and solos and some of the best production the whole “blackened ________ genre” has ever had. “Kinchyle (Goatkraft and Granite)” is one of the best, most rockin’, “F- it we’ll go Maiden if we want to” songs to ever hit my ears, and reminds me that the best things in life – like corpsepaint – go better with leather and denim.

—

Last year I discovered Kal-El through the Blues Funeral Postwax series and immediately got caught up in the whole cosmic-stoner fuzz opera the tones and the fabulous cover art inspired. Little did I know the band would be back again just a year later with the just as groovy Astral Voyager, Vol. 2. The tone that emanates out of the bass and guitar within the first few seconds of “Juno” should allay any fears as to how juicy and sweet the perfectly sized 42 minutes are going to pass by. And hey, if you’re not into the whole narrative concept, just create your own story, staring deep into the galaxies contained in the hoods of those figures, letting the storm of the instruments gradually unfurl their majesty around you, thick plumes of green rising toward the sky…

—

I just read somewhere that apparently Këkht Aräkh is big on TikTok. And that he’s getting blowback for singing about gothic emo stuff. Oh, and just to be sure (as if there hasn’t been a DSBM movement for decades): this is coming from fans who worship guys in make-up and costumes who make up D&D names for themselves? People, can we not all revel in this wonderful genre and just admit that in the end it’s all made by a bunch of dorks just trying to communicate something of themselves? Meanwhile, the one big knock I’ll put against Morning Star is Crying Orc didn’t go with the awesome label maker tag for the album title, tying the three full lengths together. Also, “Three Winters Away” is killer. I wanna cover it.

—

HOLY. JESUS. HELL. What else can you even say? I’m sure there are folks out there leeching off the energy with claims of “Oh I’ve known for ages…” but for the rest of us not only was the news of a new Neurosis album a shocking surprise considering the last decade of silence for…reasons, but my God, man… who else BUT Aaron Turner could have stepped into the void, crafting in An Undying Love For A Burning World not only the comeback of the decade, but the best thing Neurosis have put out this century. There; I said it. I take nothing back, and hold up as evidence literally every single second of this beast of a record, but if you’re looking for specifics, how about that whopper of an intro track from Turner announcing his presence in the most amazing way? Or the incredible 1-2 knockout of “First Red Rays” followed by “Blind?” Or literally anything else from this thing?

—

The debut from The Silver slipped by me upon its release in 2021. That’s weird because I own it as part of the now (sadly) defunct Gilead Media and their vinyl subscription club. Despite being a fan of both Horrendous and Crypt Sermon, the music on Ward of Roses felt mired in the cavernous production of the time, not really standing out despite the pedigree and songs that, in their best moments, reached the crossroad where metal meets Sisters of Mercy. That is not the case with the stunning Looking Glass Hymnal Blue, which comes charging out of the gate with a clearer sound and vision in the songwriting. The clean vocals are way more confident in themselves, and the crystal clear sound allows every solo to soar and every nuance of the technical riffing to reveal itself. Give me the two eight-minute epics all day long, but everything on here is super-charged, a fantastic sendoff for the label and a huge lift for the band.

—

Honestly, between us at least a third of this list is AOTY-worthy. If the rest of the year follows the suit of the first quarter’s releases, we’re in for a seriously great year in music.

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

— Chris