Second Circle

Second Circle: Spirit Adrift and Kneel

JoshLeave a comment
Second Circle

Heavy is a state of mind and today’s Second Circle is a tale of heavy from two different ends of the spectrum. Spirit Adrift’s Enlightened In Eternity is a tale of modern day, straightforward heavy metal and Kneel’s Ailment is a tale of jagged heavy that comes out of society’s current level of pain and anguish. This piece aims to find the common ground between two albums and this common ground is the ‘heavy’ but these are vastly different albums from vastly different corners of the universe. So, without further ado, let’s discuss.

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Second Circle: The Glorious Dead and Eave

IanLeave a comment
Second Circle

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.

As I scanned over our list of promos and wondered what I should take for a review this week, I was put into a predicament.  Both Eave and The Glorious Dead came highly recommended, I had listened to singles from both Phantoms Made Permanent and Into Lifeless Shrines (respectively) and really enjoyed them, I’m a sucker for both of the genres these albums fall into and they’re both Bindrune releases, which is synonymous with extremely high quality in my mind.  How, then, to choose which one to review?  As a now infamous taco commercial suggests, “¿Por qué no los dos?”

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Second Circle: Magni and Forêt Endormie

VincentLeave a comment

Second Circle

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.

Ian and I had a ton of fun working together to write up the latest Misery Signals album, which you can and should read about here.  So much fun, in fact, that since we both have albums that fall loosely (and I do mean loosely here) under categories like “blackened” and “folk” we decided to combine our powers again for a Second Circle.  Today, we look at Magni‘s self-titled new release and Forêt Endormie‘s Une voile déchirée.   Continue reading →

Second Circle: Of Wolves and IRN

Chris VossLeave a comment

Second Circle

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.

It’s been a while since we put one of these out, huh?  I always like to use Second Circles to check out artists I’ve never heard of before, or explore genres or styles that are relatively unfamiliar to me.  In this case I took a look at the promo list and picked two bands I had no exposure to that carried in their promo the label of sludge, since I’ve been so gung-ho over the latest from -(16)-.

Do these bands help scratch that sludge itch?  This edition of Second Circle aims to find out with new releases from Of Wolves and IRN… Continue reading →

Second Circle: Takafumi Matsubara and No One Knows What The Dead Think

Zyklonius1 Comment

Takafumi Matsubara - Strange, Beautiful and Fast
No One Knows What the Dead Think - No One Knows What the Dead Think

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.

In today’s edition of Second Circle we take a look at the latest releases from grind legends, who happen to share a magnificent collaborative past (Gridlink, Hayaino Daisuki) and have now reached stunning creative apexes with their respective new albums. Whether it is pure serendipity or part of a divine plan that these albums are released on the same day only adds to their allure. So let’s dive head first into the unhinged brilliance of Takafumi Matsubara and No One Knows What The Dead Think. Continue reading →