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Premiere: Handful of Hate – “Carved In Disharmony”

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Handful of Hate - Adversus

One year removed from Handful of Hate’s silver anniversary as a black metal wrecking crew, code666 and Aural Music will be handling the release of their seventh full length, Adversus, on May 10 and lucky for you, that’s next week. For now though we are pleased to bring you the premiere of third track, “Carved In Disharmony.” As you’ll hear immediately below, this track is relentless and hateful which are two things the band has had plenty of time to hone into a sharp point. Take a listen and get prepared. Continue reading →

Receiving the Evcharist: Carpe Noctem and Blood Junkie

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Receiving the Evcharist

Receiving the Evcharist is our weekly feature where we pair choice albums with our favorite libations.  Drink from the cup of heresy. This week’s offering: Carpe Noctem’s Vitrun and Three Weavers Brewing Company’s Blood Junkie.   Continue reading →

Premiere: Piah Mater – “Solace In Oblivion”

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Piah Mater - The Wandering Daughter

With a Profile appearance and a top slot in Initial Descent, Brazil’s Piah Mater have made a big impact, with their forthcoming The Wandering Daughter, here in the halls of Nine Circles. Their truly progressive approach to death and black metal is robust, forward thinking and memorable. Now, I know progressive is a term that gets thrown around a lot these days but when a band actually favors or promotes change and innovation within their music as this trio does they’ve earned the right to flaunt the tag with impunity. Today, we are extremely pleased to bring you a premiere of the album’s second track “Solace In Oblivion” which is an excellent example of everything just mentioned and furthermore is an ambitious statement for a relatively young band. Head directly below to hear and experience it for yourself. Continue reading →

Initial Descent: September 30 – October 6, 2018

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Behemoth 2018

October, finally. The best month of the year is upon us which is a cause for celebration. ‘But, it’s Monday’ you say – hogwash, it’s the first day of October. Moving on, metal is celebrating another release week and we’ve got your fix for all things shiny and new. What’s in store? Keep reading…

The world is pretty dark and Behemoth loves us as noted from the title of their eleventh full length I Loved You At Your Darkest. What can I say? Behemoth is still Behemoth and even though it’s not a great album it is a good one, if you dug their last handful you’ll dig this one as well. Based on the lead off single, High On Fire is back sounding better than ever with Electric Messiah which should come as no surprise – galloping riff thunder from the riff lord, color me excited. The ever chaotic and apocalyptic brand of black metal that Carpe Noctem debuted back in 2013 is even more upfront on Vitrun but more than that, this thing is an absolute beast that towers over their debut – highly recommended. Last up top is Brazil’s Piah Mater with a truly progressive death / black / rock effort on The Wandering Daughter and when I say this thing impressed the hell out of me I mean it wholeheartedly. They strike an outstanding balance of Opeth and Enslaved but turn it into something wholly their own and show off some outstanding chops in the process. Just go buy it already.

Enough chat, there’s a long list to get to down there so have at it. Continue reading →

Profile: Kalki Avatara of Piah Mater

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Piah Mater
Piah Mater

In metal, when I see Brazil as a band’s locale my brain automatically goes to blood curdling death metal or chants of ‘ROOOOOOTS.’ And because of that I’d never associate it with a powerfully progressive death metal band sporting a hint of black metal and veiled in rock regalia but Piah Mater have officially changed my reaction on this matter. If you’ve listened to their solid debut Memories of Inexistence I’m sure you’re already aware of their proximity to Opeth and Enslaved (not a bad place to be). On their upcoming second album, The Wandering Daughter, they won’t be shedding those comparisons but as much as they’ve grown musically since 2015 they can stand tall as a band that ACTUALLY pulls this marriage off. And does it extremely well I might add. Comparisons alone don’t tell the real, or whole, story but the thought provoking and ingenious songwriting, extremely talented chops, and impressive vocal range do – and a beautifully memorable story it is. Just ahead of the October 5 release date, we had the chance to ask drummer Kalki Avatara our set of Profile questions, read on to see what he had to say and don’t miss the links contained within to grab your copy. Continue reading →