When it comes to folk inspired black metal, there’s not many bands better than West Virginia’s Nechochwen. And, on their fourth full length, Kanawha Black, they’ve managed to pull themselves to the front of the pack and widely eclipse their past work. This album has become a fast staff favorite here at Nine Circles for a myriad of reasons, but plainly put, no one out there is doing it better right now. Buke recently sat down with Aaron (aka Nechochwen) to discuss the new album and how it came to be, how the band are fans of French Indian warfare and Native American history and how those topics were lacking in heavy metal when the band formed, how the band got its start, their relationship with Panopticon‘s Austin Lunn and with Bindrune Recordings, the fact that Aaron is a classically trained guitarist, and so much more. We now bring you this conversation in its entirety so grab your beverage of choice, a seat, and enjoy.
Continue readingbindrune recordings
Second Circle: Nechochwen and Predatory Light
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.
Black metal continues, as it has from the first time I got my ears around it, to be my favorite genre of metal. For all the trappings and headaches it can offer, there is truly nothing like black metal when it is at its best, so I’m always happy to talk it up when I find stuff that speaks to me, and today we’re having yet another two-for-one sale on this here website. Nechochwen‘s Kanawha Black and Predatory Light‘s Death and the Twilight Hours are very unlike each other in style and ethos, but bound together under the sign of the black mark.
Continue readingCANTO: Anomalie, Brand of Sacrifice, Abhoria, and More
After this, I get to write about music and alcohol at the same time!
- Brand of Sacrifice dropped a reissue of the title track from their most recent album, Lifeblood. The album was released back in March originally, and this version of the track features Will Ramos of Lorna Shore. Give it a listen here.
- Prosthetic Records have added a new name to their roster in Abhoria. Their self-titled debut album will be out on February 4th. Check out their first single, “Mountebank”, right now.
- Updates from Bindrune Recordings are always notable. Nechochwen have returned with the title track from their next album, “Kanawha Black”. Give it a listen here. That album should be out sometime next year, so keep your eye out for more updates.
- I’m a really big fan of the new Anomalie album, Tranceformation, so we’ll close with the new video for the third single from that. Check out “Trance I: The Tree”, and remember to pick that album up, which is out November 26th through AOP Records.
“Ein Bier… bitte.”
– cmb
CANTO: Insomnium, Panopticon, Helloween, and More
College basketball: still a sport!
- We’ll start with news of high importance. Pre-orders are up for …And Again into the Light, the latest LP from Panopticon. …Oops! Those pre-orders are now sold out! But because Bindrune Recordings is awesome, you can still snag a vinyl bundle which includes that album, plus Tvaer’s Uvaer and the self-titled Nemorous album. Solid.
- Helloween are wasting no time dropping major updates lately. Following the new album news, they’ve recently announced a 2022 tour with Hammerfall. Those European dates run through March, April, and May next year. On top of that, we also got a glimpse of the new album art in the past week, which is as entertaining as you would hope for.
- Serj Tankian is up to stuff! Check out the new single and video for “Electric Yerevan”. That track is taken from a brand new EP, Elasticity, which is available through Alchemy Recordings/BMG. Vinyl copies will be available on April 30th, if physical media is your thing.
- Insomnium semi-surprised us with a new single and video, titled “The Conjurer”. That’s available through Century Media, and it’s as epic and impressive as you would expect. Insomnium continues to do no wrong. Pick up the single here, and watch the video below.
“Ein Bier… bitte.”
– cmb
CANTO: Gaerea, Panopticon, Emptiness, and More
Much to share today! So let’s get right to it…
- Gimme Metal TV has announced it’s first ever livestream event, featuring Gaerea. That event takes place on February 5th at 3:00 PM EST, and tickets can be scooped up on the Gimme app for $10.00. I’ve wanted to see Gaerea live for awhile now, so I definitely plan on checking this out.
- More good news! We get new Panopticon this spring! Austin Lunn announced And Again Into The Light, as well as the new track “Know Hope”, in this interview with No Clean Singing. That album will be available through Bindrune Recordings, as always.
- Cattle Decapitation shared a new video for “Finish Them”, which features live footage from their shows in Melbourne, Australia last year. That track, of course, is from Death Atlas, which dropped back in 2019 through Metal Blade.
- Another new track (and video) that came our way today is from August Burns Red. The new single, “Standing In The Storm”, is available now through Fearless Records. Just make sure you catch the animated music video.
- This new Emptiness track is dark, trippy… and incredible. Check out “Vide, incomplet” immediately below. As a reminder, Vide is out on February 12th through Season of Mist.
“Ein Bier… bitte.”
– cmb