alcest – Nine Circles

The Nine Circles Playlist Vol. 212 (1.1.2022)

January 1, 2022January 1, 2022ChrisLeave a comment

Welcome to the future, everyone. I spent the last day of 2021 applying beauty masks and drinking champagne with my wife and son because you know what? That shit felt NICE. Even the boy admitted it it was cool, although I suspect his favorite part was the horror of peeling the mask off like dead skin. Yes, we had Slayer playing in the background…couldn’t resist.

To kick off 2022 and the 212th edition of the Nine Circles Playlist I put on my metal playlist and hit random to see what came out, so you’re getting the year off to a brutal start with some Unanimated and Chapel of Disease, as well as some classic Katatonia. Josh comes into the year guns blazing with some Wommbath, Barghest, and Everclear before finishing up with the ripping live Corrosion of Conformity. Vincent changes the mood a bit with The Hotelier, Alcest, and King Woman before Jon comes out of the snow to go full tech death, blasting some new Allegaeon, Spawn of Possession, and Archspire. Anton continues to play the left field choices, bringing in some choice cuts from his AOTY band Code as well as tracks from Eschatos and Fleshvessel. Bringing up the rearguard this time is Buke, and as awakes he’s ready with the classic of the genre, from Ahab, Death, Manowar, Saviours, and even a little Trivium.

That’s it. We’re officially in the new year. Let’s see if we can make it better than the last two, huh?

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– Chris

The Nine Circles Playlist Vol. 205 (11.13.2021)

November 13, 2021November 13, 2021ChrisLeave a comment

We’re kicking through November, and I’m here with my usual: a steaming cup of coffee in a cup big enough to swim in, and a playlist of all the metal I’ve listened to in 2021 to start sorting out end of year stuff.

It’s a loooong list.

So to make it easier OF COURSE I’m going to kick it off with some Darkthrone. But the rest of the crew is definitely going to bring you to some uncharted corners for Volume 205 of the Nine Circles Playlist. I don’t know who Thangorodrim are, but they’re bringing the dark vibes on their debut. Jon just has a birthday, so he’s letting loose with some faves like Dethklok and Strapping Young Lad. Josh is over the moon over the news that Death Breath are coming back, and The Halo Effect, aka In Flames 2.0 seem to be moving in a good direction with their debut single. Vincent crosses the border into pop with some good good CHVRCHES but quickly hops back over with the long awaited new song from Nechochwen. And Ian closes us out this week with some Spiritbox, Owen, and Coheed and Cambria. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg in this week’s list, so settle in and give your ears a workout.

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– Chris

The Nine Circles Playlist Vol. 204 (11.6.2021)

November 6, 2021November 6, 2021ChrisLeave a comment

The cold weather’s finally kicked in. I’ve got a steaming cup of coffee so big I need two hands to bring its caffeinated goodness to my lips, and I’ve spent the past hour fiddling with parametric EQs to kick my headphones into high gear while listening to newest single by one of my favorite guitarists on this great glob of a world, Wata from Boris. Wherever you are I hope you’re finding some kind of aural and chemical comfort (feel free to pick your own poison; I’ll stick with coffee) right now.

Of course that’s not the only thing we’re blasting in Volume 204 of the Nine Circles Playlist. After thinking they were done Porcupine Tree is back in the saddle and released a new single which feels like Steven Wilson bringing his pop sensibility into the band and the band fighting back, and I love it. Josh brings the filthy death metal with Under the Church and Concrete Winds, while Vincent splits his time between the grace of Alcest and the brutality of Atræ Bilis. Anton revels in the swirling symphonic chaos of Dessiderium, and Buke? Buke is living in the glory his (and my) youth with classics from Twisted Sister, Down, and even some Spinal Tap. Finally, Angela brings it all home with the latest from 9C favorite Emma Ruth Rundle and some new stuff from Monolord. In other words it’s a stacked house, so settle in and enjoy the tunes.

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– Chris

The Nine Circles Playlist Vol. 179 (5.1.2021)

May 1, 2021April 30, 2021VincentLeave a comment

Greetings, fellow travelers of the path, and welcome to another Nine Circles Saturday morning mixtape. This time around, we’ve got a slew of death metal tracks, BIG|BRAVE’s noisy, glorious sludge, a little Alcest, and some classic Tom Waits & newer Steve Von Till to round things out. Check it out below.

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– Vincent

CANTO: Soilwork, Amorphis, Baest, and More

January 29, 2021January 29, 2021CoreyLeave a comment

Ok, fine. One more roundup for the week. Might as well make it a clean sweep.

You may recall the release of A Whisp Of The Atlantic, the latest effort from Soilwork, last December. Well, today they revealed that a feature film will be released in conjunction with the EP. That video will premiere on their Youtube channel on February 3rd.
I missed this, and perhaps you did as well, but Amorphis just released a picture/shape vinyl for “Brother And Sister” and “As Mountains Crumble”. And oops, perhaps it’s already sold out. Anyway, those are from the Queen of Time sessions, of course. Check out the lyric video for “Brother And Sister” here.
Alcest have officially released an instrumental, acoustic version of “Protection“, a track taken from 2019’s Spiritual Instinct. And I’m not gonna lie to you, it’s a very different take, but one I’m not against, either. Give the music video a watch as well.
And lastly, the new music video for “Necro Sapiens”, the title-track from the upcoming new album from Baest. That album is set for a March 5th release through Century Media Records. As usual, I’m gonna give you the pre-order link, too.