doom metal

Rainbows in the Dark: Great Dismal Swamp — “Virginia”

IanLeave a comment

I can’t say I’m overly familiar with harsh noise, especially considering the harshness of said noise is not something that I’m always in the mood for.  It’s different than listening to extreme metal, despite what some might say.  You have to be willing to put yourself into something that throws out any sense of musicality in favor of pure atmosphere.  However, picking up this column last year did me well in terms of broadening my horizons, and Great Dismal Swamp have the kind of name that immediately draws me in, so I took a chance on Virginia.

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Premiere: Gargowitch — “Les doigts de lampée – De la merde, lacustre – Cannibal troten”

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On April 9th, Gargowitch will release their first two demos, Avidee and Cannibal Troten, on physical format for the first time. The French atmospheric black/doom/noise hybrid project has teamed up with Devoted Art Propaganda to release 100 copies of each on CD. Today, Nine Circles is excited to premiere the first track from Cannibal Troten, titled “Les doigts de lampée – De la merde, lacustre – Cannibal troten“. Give the mind-numbing 20-minute ride a listen immediately after the jump. I promise, it is an absolute trip.

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Album Review: Oldblood — “Arms to the Sky”

Angela BlockLeave a comment

A blinding flash of light scans across the sky, arriving with it, an explosion of heat so intense that destruction ensues immediately, leaving only smoke in its wake.  London’s Oldblood released their debut EP, Arms to the Sky which is themed around the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in 1945.  There is most certainly a dark, crushing, heaviness to this album given the subject matter that is reflected both in the lyrics and music.  Arms to the Sky is a skillfully done production that is powerful, moving, gritty, and brings so much intense blackened doomy goodness to one four-track EP.

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Album Review: Empress — “Wait ‘Til Night”

Angela BlockLeave a comment

It seems a lot of metal bands these days enjoy playing with subgenres and creating hybrid sounds.  I love the creativity of these groups and their courage to explore the space and make something unique.  Australia’s Empress is one of those experimental bands and their latest release, Wait ‘Til Night, is an alluring combination of shoegaze, doom, indie, post-metal, and black metal.  This album is dark yet delicate, haunting, and dreamy.  The band’s signature sound is fine tuned in this, their sophomore album.

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Album Review: Pallbearer — “Forgotten Days”

Angela Block2 Comments

Pallbearer - Forgotten Days

In this house we respect Pallbearer.  Pallbearer is one of our favorite bands that we have enjoyed since their debut.  When we saw that the Nine Circles inbox was blessed with the latest from the band, Forgotten Days, we decided to co-author a review instead of fighting each other to the death for who would do the honor.  We decided to sit down and listen to the album and write this review together as a singular cohesive piece.

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