a pregnant light

The Nine Circles Playlist Vol. 284 (5.20.2023)

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Another Saturday, another playlist. The difference this time is the sheer amount of killer releases that came out Friday, from the covers EP by Ghost to the new blast of OSDM from Frozen Soul, to the welcome return of Yakuza and the fuzzed out mayhem of Gozu. The 284th edition of the Nine Circles Playlist is a good one, so strap yourselves in and let’s do this.

What else do your ears (and eyes for those who actually watch the videos) have in store with this week’s playlist? Well, we’ve got a bunch of surprises but how about new music from Mutoid Man, Lucifer, Blackbraid, the return of King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard making metal and the Cavalera brothers reliving the early days of their former band? All that and more await just a click away.

Get listening. Stay safe. See you next week…

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– Chris

The Nine Circles Playlist Vol. 283 (5.13.2023)

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playlist - mixtape

I’m not sure what the Venn Diagram looks like for metal fans, video game fans, and zealots fawning over the just-released new chapter in the Zelda franchise, Tears of the Kingdom but I know for a fact we have staff firmly in that cross section, which is why I am kicking off the 283rd edition of the Nine Circles Playlist not with my picks, but with Dan K’s. You’re welcome, Dan. I hope you’re playing your heart out today.

From there we kick things off proper with new music from Danava and a quartet of “S” bands: Sunrot, Shodan, Sisyphean, and Sarmat. Then it’s brutal fun from the likes of Werewolves, Jesus Chrüsler Supercar, A Pregnant Light, Spectral Wound, Body Count, new music from Blackbraid, a classic Opeth track finally brought to life live, and of course the new Paul Cauthen. Plus more than a few surprises.

Get listening. Stay safe. See you next week…

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– Chris

The Nine Circles Playlist Vol. 276 (3.25.2023)

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playlist - mixtape

I tell you what, man. All this fawning over mediocre pastiches and pale imitations of older, better music is slowly killing me. I am just not hearing what others are in some of the big names getting all the buzz out there. Sure, that’s a “me” problem but since I write this weekly thing I’m entitled to a) bitch when I want to and b) kick it off how I want to, so this, the 276th edition of the Nine Circles Playlist is going to rip with a new Ihsahn track because that’s where my soul is musically right now. Then the new one from Immortal because with or without Abbath, Demonaz knows how to craft a gnarly tune, and finally the latest from Mork, who frankly ran circles around the other popular black metal release that came out this week.

Fight me.

Don’t worry. If you don’t give a crap about my whingeing, the rest of the staff has some metal to offer up, and sone of it is even good! There’s awesome new music from Gozu, Dødheimsgard, and The Ocean which you KNOW we’re most likely gonna ramble about. Plus new tracks from Harboured, Heretoir, Blaze of Sorrow, A Pregnant Light, Foretoken, and Acid King. Plus music from Powerwolf, Estoner, and since I screwed our own Dan Morris by missing his picks last week, we’re going to close with the astounding Roxy Music, because this week marks the 50th anniversary of For Your Pleasure, and that’s a fucking album for the ages.

Get listening. Stay safe. See you next week…

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– Chris

The Nine Circles Playlist Vol. 262 (12.17.2022)

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December is largely a reflective time for me. And one of the things Iw as reflecting on this was how massive an influence the great Angelo Badalamenti was for popular music. His scores, particularly his collaborations with David Lynch was a huge impact on a ton of heavy music, whether you (or the bands themselves) realize it or not. So we’re kicking this edition of the Nine Circles Playlist with one of his most memorable themes. Is it also a meme? Sure, but if anything those memes show just how adept Badalamenti was at evoking an entire mood with just a few notes.

Elsewhere we have the latest video from Megadeth, and Rocky and the Sweden covering…Cheech and Chong? The rest of the staff kicks in the usual great tracks, including new music from Sanguisugabogg and Insomnium, a monster of a new Enslaved track, a live cut from The Armed as well as fresh music from A Pregnant Light, Tithe and Ashen. We have classic tracks from Baroness and Mogwai. There’s a Christmas track from Majestica, and some moody music courtesy of Bauhaus, Dashboard Confessional, and an epic closer from Jane’s Addiction.

Get listening. Stay safe. See you next week.

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– Chris

The Nine Circles Playlist Vol. 253 (10.15.2022)

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playlist - mixtape

For the last five days I’ve been trapped, sequestered in this tiny 9’X12′ space not because I’m sick, but because I’m the only one not sick. After more than two and half years my entire family have fallen ill to the COVID, and I attribute my still (reasonably) healthy body to the massive amounts of metal sliding into my brain pan. May this, the 253rd edition of the Nine Circles Playlist, keep you free from illness as well.1

We’re kicking things off with some Rhythm of Fear, whose brand of thrash has my old man bones quaking with nostalgic joy. From there we have a cut from the recent EP by Asarhaddon which hits that atmospheric black metal button I thought I had tucked away for a while now. Elsewhere the crew is pushing some great stuff, including new cuts from a slew of great bands, including Lamentations, Lost in Kiev, Exhumed, Distant, A Pregnant Light, Woods of Desolation, Envy, and frickin’ Blink-182, which is a big ol’ blast of fun. There’s even more surprises in store, but I don’t want to give away the whole store, you know?

Get listening. Stay safe. See you next week.

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– Chris

1 Listening to copious amounts of metal shouldn’t be the only thing used in the fight against disease. Use your brain, get vaccinated, and maybe wash those hands a little more often, ya filthy animals.