cult of luna

Best of 2022: Zyklonius’s List

ZykloniusLeave a comment
Best of 2022

Huzzah, good riddance to another weird year, not only on both personal and professional fronts which basically prevented me from engaging in music writing, but also in terms of metal itself. Weird in the sense that multiple previous EOY luminaries released albums that failed to resonate, while bands that had not clicked for me on earlier albums decided to surprise me. Amidst all the oddity, there was thankfully a degree of cosmic justice and continuing reliability, as old favorites released their best work to date while relative newcomers delivered on the promises and potential for greatness that were teased on their initial releases. Without further ado, here are my 15 favorite metal albums of 2022.

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CANTO: Fallujah, Dawn of Ouroboros, Final Light, and More

CoreyLeave a comment

I know, I know. I’m late for these more often than not. Deal with it.

  • Dawn of Ouroboros have signed on with Prosthetic Records, and have promptly unveiled a new music video for “Sorrow’s Eclipse”. That track is taken from their debut album, The Art of Morphology, which dropped back in 2020.
  • Mörk Gryning, the Swedish black metal project that dates back to 1993, are about to embark on their first U.S. tour. The dates run from April 28th through May 9th, and they’ll be joined by Arsantiqva, The Noctambulant, and Promethean Horde on select dates.
  • A new project formed from the minds of Perturbator and Cult of Luna‘s Johannes Persson, titled Final Light. The one-time project are releasing their self-titled album on June 24th through Red Creek. Listen to “In The Void” right now.
  • Blackened doom trio Behold! The Monolith are releasing a new album, From The Fathomless Deep, on July 15th through Ripple Music. Check out a new single, “Crown/The Immeasurable Void” right now.
  • Closing out our Wednesday, we have new material from Fallujah, which is something I haven’t been able to say in awhile. The video for “Radiant Ascension” is below, a track taken from Empyrean, their new album set for a September 9th release through Nuclear Blast.

“Ein Bier… bitte.”
– cmb

The Nine Circles Playlist Vol. 219 (2.19.2022)

ChrisLeave a comment
playlist - mixtape

Third week in a row where February continues to just pummel us with great music releases. The latest from Australia’s Neptune Power Federation brings the heavy rock and roll swagger my body craves, and then Immolation just wrecks with their signature menacing take on death metal. Good way to kick off the 219th edition of the Nine Circles Playlist, I’d say…

Elsewhere in the ether Vincent slays with some Madame Germen, Battle of Mice and Amenra. Josh shares my joy at the news of new Somali Yacht Club forthcoming, and bridges the old (Dangerous Toys) with the new (Undeath). Ian only has one thing on his mind, and that is the new single from Amon Amarth. Anton is all about Transcending Obscurity this week, bringing both Dischordia and Sisyphean into the playlist. Angela always plays the game hard, and this week is no exception with Health X, Nothing, and Cult of Luna while Buke is always reliable for a wide range of music: this week he throws in Hath, Nuclear Assault, Nails, and ends us with some classic epic prog courtesy of Yes, of all bands.

Get listening. See you next week.

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– Chris

Initial Descent: February 6 – 12, 2022

JoshLeave a comment
Amorphis
Amorphis courtesy of Sam Jamsen

This winter weather is relentless. Maybe spring will start early. Anyway, new release time and this week knocks off a handful of my early 2022 most anticipated albums and preorders. A mailbox full of preorders does indeed make me happy despite the cold weather, so there’s that. Moving on, Amorphis just get better with age and Halo finds them lean just a tad harder on the heavier side but still in excellent melodic form, pretty much one of my favorites from them in a long time. As we all know, when Zeal & Ardor hit the scene they shook all the foundations of metal and beyond and with this week’s effort, they throw caution completely to the wind and offer up their best, and wildest, yet. Following those we’ve got epic post-metal from Cult of Luna, wrecking ball grind from Napalm Death, and a long list of other releases worthy of your time. Jump in there and get cracking, tons of goodies to discover this week. 

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CANTO: Cult of Luna, Celeste, Abhoria, and More

CoreyLeave a comment

I believe the dust has settled on the misery that has been the last week.

  • Wake have a run of shows coming up in March with End, Portrayal of Guilt, and Yashira. The tour kicks off on March 3rd in Philadelphia, and wraps up on the 26th. Here’s the full story, for those interested.
  • Godflesh & Lustmord revealed the first single from The Others (Lustmord Deconstructed). Check out “Ashen” here, and pick up the compilation through Pelagic Records here. There are a ton of awesome names attached to this effort so… have at it.
  • New Cult of Luna is always worth sharing. Check out “Into the Night”, a track taken from their upcoming new album, The Long Road North. That one drops on February 11th through Metal Blade Records. I know a lot of Nine Circlers have already pre-ordered that one.
  • Abhoria premiered a new single from their upcoming self-titled new album. Check out the clip for “Sunless” over at Decibel. That album is out on February 4th through Prosthetic Records, and can be purchased here.
  • Let’s wrap up with the new music video from Celeste for “Le Cœur Noir Charbon”. The avant-garde black metallers are releasing Assassine(s) on January 28th, and you can pre-order that here.

“Ein Bier… bitte.”
– cmb