entropia

The Nine Circles Playlist Vol. 272 (2.25.2023)

ChrisLeave a comment

playlist - mixtape

Yeah…sometimes life just comes up and not only bites you in the ass, but grabs a hold and throws you down in the ditch, pisses on your head and laughs as it walks away. So this week’s edition – the 272nd – of the Nine Circles Playlist is coming a little later than it should, and that’s all on me. So I’m gonna make the preamble short and just get right into the meat of the matter, starting with a doozy from the new Venomous Concept album. I love the more punk and post-punk elements on it and hope you will, too. Looking through my recent vinyl acquisitions we’re also gonna drop a pair of 90s classics from Eucharist and Amorphis so you can all feel that weird snare and the cold ice blue of Finnish metal.

The rest of the staff will keep things on par with the usual varied insanity. So get your ears ready for music from the likes of Usnea, Klone, Polymoon, Grave Pleasures, Birdflesh, Lotus Eater Machine, Gravpel, Ulthar, Leander Kills, Dååth, Botanist, Big|Brave, Anatomy of Habit, and the newest from VoidCeremony. But that’s not all: you get some old emo from Marietta, some more In Flames love, older tracks from Opeth, Spectral Lore and Madder Mortem and a few more surprises, not to mention the ALWAYS appropriate Joy Division to close things out.

Get listening. Stay safe. See you next week…

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– Chris

The Nine Circles Playlist Vol. 261 (12.10.2022)

ChrisLeave a comment

playlist - mixtape

End of year is almost here. I’ve been spending the day clearing out all the albums from 2022 I know I’m not going to listen to again. It’s hard: some of those albums were pretty damn good, but I know my mind by now, and it’s the rare record that sticks around long enough to make a permanent addition to my collection. And while I was doing that I was finding some weird and fun music I’d collected over the years I hadn’t heard in a long, long while, so let’s make some room on this the 261st edition of the Nine Circles Playlist for some weird and loud noises thanks to bands like Ex Eye, Grip Inc., and New Keepers of the Water Towers.

You won’t need to bear my indulgence for long. The 9C crew brought the heavy down for you, including Jesus Piece, Conjureth, Hour of Penance, and Moonlight Sorcery. There’s some slightly older fare with the likes of Obsequiae, King Woman, and some crushing Godspeed You! Black Emperor. We go off the beaten path with Emma Ruth Rundle, Chapterhouse and New Order, but come back with some new Zeal & Ardor and much more.

Get listening. Stay safe. See you next week.

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– Chris

CANTO: Mörk Gryning, Predatory Light, Swallow The Sun, and More

CoreyLeave a comment

Apparently April is officially the month of four day work weeks for me. Not gonna fight it.

“Ein Bier… bitte.”
– cmb

Best of 2018: Zyklonius’ List

Zyklonius2 Comments

EOY 2018 Header 9C

Ah, 2018. What an absurd, exhausting and often infuriating ride you were, with death as my ubiquitous companion and co-pilot. You entailed on one hand a near-cataclysmic series of loved ones dying around me in rapid succession, while on the other, an ever-flowing stream of metal that helped make that maelstrom somehow survivable and acceptable for yours truly.

As you, the well-informed reader, likely noticed during the course of the year, and will see again when you read further below, 2018 was a banner year for death metal of all colors and shapes, but most and especially for the boundary-pushing kind that redefines and reconfigures the entire genre. Another type of metal that really resonated with me was one of transcendence and catharsis, of dreamlike journey, cosmic marvel and triumphant rebirth. Overall, the vast array of diverse evolutionary pathways, latest career pinnacles, and dazzling artistic growth and achievement in the field of metal was a compelling sight to behold and a wondrous thing to experience.

As further proof of the excellent and exciting state of metal today, albums worthy of inclusion in the below list continued to be released until the very final days of the year, resulting in perhaps the strongest December release-wise in recent memory.

With this succinct backdrop in mind, I offer the following 23 releases as a tribute to goddess Eris. Continue reading →