ashenspire – Nine Circles

The Nine Circles Playlist Vol. 266 (1.14.2023)

January 14, 2023January 14, 2023ChrisLeave a comment

The beginning of the year always rekindles the flame of metal for me. Excitement for what’s coming, for what already has been comes faster, easier. I’m still going through the latest CD and vinyl acquisitions and it’s been pretty much non-stop Celtic Frost (seriously that Danse Macabre box set is killer), Wayfarer, and – thanks to Fearless Editor™ Josh – the new Misþyrming, so let’s kick off the 266th edition of the Nine Circles Playlist with what you can hear if you pass by my place right now.

As per usual the rest of the gang has plenty of the tunes pouring through their speakers for you to get down to (in a total, like, metal way of course). So let music from the likes of Sanhedrin, Black Magnet, Ulthar, Days of Desolation, Moonlight Sorcery, Inherits the Void, Periphery, Night Demon, Sanguisugabogg as well as cuts from Nile, Rotten Sound, Big Black, and a small tribute to guitar legend Jeff Beck (RIP) take you away for the week.

Get listening. Stay safe. See you next week…

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– Chris

Best of 2022: D. Morris’s List

January 5, 2023January 4, 2023D MorrisLeave a comment

2022: The Year I came back… to writing about music that is. When the year started, I had no plans to write about anything and now I’m writing for Nine Circles. It feels good to write about music again, especially heavy music. Putting together a best of list felt like cramming for an exam, especially since I just started here. There’s excellent albums, not on here, that I purposefully left off because my fellow Nine Circles writers would mention or because they were similar to albums I simply loved more. Here are 15 heavy (and heavy adjacent) albums I loved in 2022 in alphabetical order.

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The Nine Circles Playlist Vol. 264 (12.31.2022)

December 31, 2022December 31, 2022ChrisLeave a comment

That’s it. So long 2022, don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out. I just posted my end of year list, and yeah: the #1 pick is a crossover hardcore punk album that incorporates free jazz and noise and everything under the sun…what else did you expect? So let’s kick off the last edition of the Nine Circles Playlist with the mighty OFF! and see what else will help us close out the new year.

To paraphrase The Outer Limits, I will control the horizontal. I will control the vertical. So that means I’m also going to front-load this with the 80s metal I picked up on vinyl and cassette this week. Which means you’re getting dosed with some classic Accept and Satan…you’re welcome. Elsewhere in the Nine Circles universe we’ve got plenty of heavy to ring in 2023, including music from Angerot, Shores of Lunacy and Leper Colony, a blast of bangers from Yob, Mizmor + Thou and Nechochwen, more killer music from Predatory Light (I really need to revisit that) and Moonlight Sorcery, not to mention D. Morris BRINGING IT with some classic Harvey Milk. There’s a ton more, including God Mother, Windhand, Asunojuokei (for once not added by me, so thanks Ian!), and Morrow, among others.