Here we are, already back in Album of the Year season. And what a year it was! For heavy music at least, I shouldn’t have to tell you about everything else. Yet again I am not simply putting the next set of albums that would follow my main list but albums that have not been covered elsewhere here at Nine Circles. Also in case you missed it, check out my mid-year recap as that might as well be part one of this list. Let’s dive in and examine some of the many hidden gems this year had to offer.
If you’re not familiar with the name Charlie Anderson by now, it’s best you get acquainted. Already known by those with great taste as the missing ingredient to Panopticon’s live sound — bringing the band from great to top-tier with his incredible violin playing, as well as being a major contributor to nearly every Panopticon release since …and Again into the Light — the Houston native is finally at the helm of his own solo project in Weft. His debut album The Splintered Oar is an exquisitely crafted fusion of black, death, and prog metal made whole with Anderson’s own violin playing and a range of folk influences. The end result is both a tremendous metal record on its face, and an authentic experience in both sound and composition that already puts Weft close to some of the best acts in truly American metal.
A micro-genre/movement/what have you that I’ve been doing my hardest to champion this year at Nine Circles is “castle metal”; melodic black metal rooted in the sound and aesthetic of Obsequiae while incorporating a multitude of other influences. There is an ever-growing roster of bands that have taken up the banner in similar yet distinct ways, and three released full-length albums this year: Morke with To Carry On, Veytik with Carmina Aerea in Aetate Ferrea, and Weald + Woe with Far From the Light of Heaven.
In Dante’s Inferno, the second circle begins the proper punishment of Hell, a place where “no thing gleams.” It is reserved for those overcome with Lust, where carnal appetites hold sway over reason. In Nine Circles, it’s where we do shorter reviews of new albums that share a common theme.
Black metal may be what I’m listening to year-round, but of course the dark, icy-cold nature of the genre is intrinsically suited for winter. My last Second Circle of the year focuses on two new albums, each featuring a very prolific musician in the genre (who have themselves collaborated on more than one occasion). Let’s plunge into the night with majestic atmosphere and chaotic dissonance with Greve and Martröð.
Despite the huge amount of great metal albums released this year, I’ve had my top pick locked in since all the way back in April. Otherlike Darknesses is a three-track monolith of extreme metal that transcends genre and eschews standard songwriting conventions with long-form, linear compositions that take the listener on a veritable saga through dark, mysterious realms with jagged riffs, eerie atmosphere, and polyphonic arrangements. If this album slipped under your radar amongst everything else that came out this year, this should serve as a great introduction to its creation. Felgrave‘s sole member M.L. Jupe was kind enough to answer my questions regarding the making of this incredible album, his musical background and influences, and what he hoped to accomplish with this album. Read about this and more after the jump.
Continuing to punish myself with extra writing during Album of the Year season, welcome back to my annual retrospective on black metal albums celebrating their 30th anniversary this year! While not quite as jam-packed as 1994, there were still plenty of all-time greats released in ’95, and this time I will be opting to cover most of the big ones you can probably think of off the top of your head (Darkthrone didn’t make the cut once again, sorry Chris!). Black metal was no stranger to experimentation early on, but this year saw the furthering of unique sounds that carry clear throughlines to some of the most highly-regarded bands of today.
Last year I decided to split this into three parts, and will be doing that once again for the sake of article length. For a genre that already has too many characters dedicated to it by the standards of certain heavy music fans, who really wants to read a single 3,500 word monstrosity about it? Once again Norwegian bands take center stage at five out of nine entries (and the entirety of this first part alone) but a few other European countries will also be featured, including one for the very first time. And in another first for this series I was able to nail down at least the month that each album was released in 1995, rather than having to guess based on any recording info I could scrounge up… so I can affirmatively say it will be a chronological journey this time around! Let’s take a look at the black legends 1995 had to offer.
