Second Circle – Nine Circles

Second Circle: Thanatotherion and Mythraeum

June 11, 2024June 10, 2024ColinLeave a comment

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 (ish) albums that share a common theme.

For today’s edition we’ll dive in with two albums advertised as black metal influenced by the likes of Emperor, Dark Funeral, and more, but ultimately present prominent death metal influences; one in the form of chunky, crushing riffs and the other in a more melodic, flashier way. Some interesting synths and impeccable soloing also round these albums out, so let’s descend and see what the new material from Thanatotherion and Mythraeum have to offer.

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Second Circle: Four Stroke Baron and Haunted Plasma

June 4, 2024June 9, 2024ZykloniusLeave a comment

In today’s edition, we will dive head first into two new albums from bands that hail from the leftfield fringes of metal and push the proverbial envelope through a shredder. Did I mention that the aforementioned envelope you just held in your hands was drenched in a cocktail of psychedelic drugs? Better fasten your seatbelts as we are about to venture into some wild territories, with Four Stroke Baron and Haunted Plasma as our intrepid guides.

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Second Circle: Bruce Dickinson vs. Judas Priest

April 9, 2024April 9, 2024ChrisLeave a comment

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 (USUALLY) reviews of new (ish) albums that share a common theme.

When two titans of the heavy metal world release long-awaited albums at roughly the same time, it’s inevitable that comparisons will be made. Gauntlets will thrown, favorites will be chosen, and and ultimately a winner will be crowned in whatever small circle of geeks care about this. Hell, one of my own favorite YouTube channels did just that with this matchup. And for a few weeks I wanted to do the same, match these giants of the genre and see who would reign supreme. But reality is a fickle thing, and as the weeks went by and I delayed writing and continued to listen I noticed chinks in armor I though was unassailable; instances of power and creativity where once was murk and indifference. In the end my journey with the latest from Bruce Dickinson and Judas Priest may not change any minds or even be all that surprising, but all the same it’s worth noting that after five decades of making some of the most influential music in heavy metal, there are things still left unsaid, and that’s maybe my favorite thing about this ridiculous music we all love.

Time to descend.

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Second Circle: Cognizance and Exocrine

January 25, 2024January 25, 2024ZykloniusLeave a comment

In today’s edition, we will explore two new albums that represent different facets of technical death metal and the richness and excellence the genre can offer as we head into a new year. UK’s Cognizance and their new album Phantazein and Legend by France’s Exocrine. Buckle up, as things are about to get intense.

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Second Circle: Valdrin and Nornír

November 30, 2023November 30, 2023ColinLeave a comment

We’re closing in on the end of 2023 and it’s starting to get chillier here in the northern hemisphere, so there’s no better time to highlight a couple more new black metal albums before years’ end. Also, despite the stress of the holiday season and needing to go through all of the music I’ve already discovered this year to put an AOTY list together, I’ve decided to keep checking out new music. Valdrin and Nornír take clear inspiration from Swedish and Norwegian black metal of the ’90s respectively, but manage to throw in more than enough surprises to make their mark on black metal of the here and now. Let us descend and find out whether or not these albums are worth checking out this late into the year.

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