eight bells

Best of 2016: Vincent Martinek’s List

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Nine Circles Best of 2016 Standard

Hey all. This has been a great year for music, made better because I got to share so much of my thoughts about what I was hearing with you, alongside the rest of the Nine Circles crew. It’s been a pleasure to work with some of the most talented people I’ve had the honor to know. Thanks to Dan and Corey for getting me started, to Josh Stewart for being a phenomenal editor, and to all the amazing people I do this with whose writing inspired me to better my own. Here’s to many more. And now that the sap is out of the way, on to the tunes.

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Profile: David Rodgers of Battleground Records, Godhunter, Feral Tongue, Southwest Terror Fest and Laconic Creations

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David Rodgers Battleground Records
 David Rodgers has been rolling around in the muck of the music industry for long enough to know better. Whether it’s playing in bands (Godhunter, Feral Tongue), organizing Southwest Terror Fest, working at 1709 Records, running and building things with Laconic Creations (which is some beautiful stuff) or working to get the best promotion possible for his bands, he’s not one that’s afraid to get his hands dirty. And, as you can see, as a guitarist, those hands are his livelihood. And with the upcoming release of Eight Bells on his Battleground Records label, what better time than the present to sit down and learn a bit more about the guy behind the guy behind the label.

Nine Circles Ov… February 2016

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Photo courtesy of our Dæmoness of Design, Jaci Raia. For more of her beautiful work follow her on Instagram.

It’s not just rumor that I listen to an asinine amount of music. Previewing almost every single promotional album that comes through the door fits in with my obsessive personality. February 2016 really tested me. No less than one hundred and forty-two albums came through our rotating doors. And one hundred and forty-two is the number of albums I clicked play on to test them and suggest for review. So I’m a bit tired in an auditory sense. But I digress. In today’s post we will run through a bunch of larger releases that I hope no one missed and then feature nine smaller releases that are top notch. February was a great month. And another sign that 2016 is headed in very much the right direction. Continue reading →

Album Review: Voivod – “Post Society” EP

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postsociety-large

I am far from being Nine Circles resident attorney, however, I am going to make an opening statement. Voivod are fucking interdimensional robots. They were developed by coders. Over the years, the operating system has been tweaked but the fact remains. How else can you explain the death and/or decommissioning of Piggy, only to have his trademark sound transferred and downloaded into the new Chewy unit? You can’t. It doesn’t fit. I’m also assuming that when Target Earth was in the beta testing phase, they decided that users weren’t adjusting well to the new system and they implemented a rollback to v2.0. And this isn’t the first time, remember when Blacky and Snake were both assimilated into E-Force? Exactly.

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Initial Descent: February 12, 2016

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rotting christ band

Hey kiddies. Another Friday is upon us. And unlike last week, I don’t have much to say about this one. That’s not to say that there isn’t some good stuff coming out — Rotting Christ, Eight Bells and Magrudergrind are all worth your attention, to name just a few — but rather that my main focus is on making it through the work day and getting into a long weekend. Can you blame me? Anyway, enough words — here’s what’s on tap for Friday, February 12:
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