Best of 2022: Dan K.’s Favorite Heavy Stuff

Best of 2022

Woohoo! I actually recognize some of the albums in that picture!

Yyyyyyep, I’m still here, y’all. And hey! I actually made a good amount of time for heavy stuff this year. I think the phrase “heavy stuff” is pretty key, here. Not all of the stuff on my entry* will be “metal,” per se. Is that in keeping with the site’s general aesthetics? Perhaps not. Do I care? Also, perhaps not.

* It’s not a ranking. You know how I feel about rankings.

For, uh… almost as long as this site has existed, if we’re being honest… I’ve been putting together these end-of-year recaps and kinda struggling for things to say in any of them. I mean… I love the team we’ve got here at Nine Circles. I like metal (I think). I’m neutral on making-sure-I-listen-to-all-the-important-albums-in-a-given-year. Most of the time, I don’t like justifying my opinions on said albums. And of course, I fucking hate ranked lists.**

** Now you really know how I feel about rankings.

So, where does that leave me? And why do I keep bothering with these kinds of posts?

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The Nine Circles Playlist Vol. 223 (3.19.2022)

playlist - mixtape

Another day, another dollar, another death…I just came back from a wake, poured myself a whiskey and left the bottle nearby even though I know it’s going to kill my numbers tomorrow (hello diabetes my old friend) and turned the music up. In other words I’m feeling the crush of life a little more than usual tonight, and that means the music needs to be loud. Loud and unapologetic in its intent. So whether that’s some classic Venom to kick off the 223rd edition of the Nine Circles Playlist or new music from blackened trad metal powerhouse Nite which I’ve been playing nonstop the last few weeks, it’s going to have to work overtime to get the job done.

As always there’s a lot more on deck to satisfy all metal cravings. Anton once again gets the early ticket with tracks from Defect Designer, Au-Dessus, and Sum of R. Josh comes in hot with what has become one of my most anticipated albums of the year in the form of the new Cave In, but he follows it up with some equally devastating music in the form of new music from Dead Register (back after far too long), Wormrot (JFC!) and a banging classic from The Red Chord. Leave it to Vincent to brings things to a darker, warmer place as he spins some Midwife, Ulver (you can never have too much Ulver), Orville Peck, and a double dose of Alexisonfire. Angela gets on a roll this week with a ton of new music, including Darkher, Konvent, Corpsegrinder, Holy Fawn and a little something from Jonathan Hultén. And finally Buke races in with some killer picks. He’s got Carpenter Brut right up front, and tags it with some new music from Witchcraft’s Magnus Pelander. Man, I wish I had some new rockin’ Witchcraft but I’ll take this…for now. Buke also throws in some classic Nailbomb, some killer neo old school metal with Merciless Law, and some tight new trad metal courtesy of Greyhawk.

Get listening. Stay safe. See you next week.

Chris

CANTO: Revocation, Ministry, Tales Of Gaia, and More

ministry al jourgensen 2017

Rainy Tuesday.

“Ein Bier… bitte.”
– cmb

The Nine Circles Playlist Vol. 30 (2.26.2018)

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It’s been a minute since we’ve done one of these so hopefully you missed it? Whether you did or didn’t here we are with the 30th edition and another good selection of tunes we’ve been jamming on for the last couple of weeks. Look at it as a pick me up, a wake up call or just a playlist to get you through Monday. You’re welcome. Don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel here and we’ll be seeing you throughout the week. Until next time… Continue reading