goth

RETROCUTION: Perturbator returns with new album, “Lustful Sacraments”

DanLeave a comment
Perturbator - Lustful Sacraments

I’m not gonna lie, it feels kinda weird to resurrect my Retrocution column for the first time in more than a year… with an artist who, by his own account, has been actively trying to move away from “conventional” synthwave for a while now. But for James Kent, I’ll make an exception.

After all, Kent’s work as Perturbator was one of my earliest exposures to synthwave. I wouldn’t be anywhere near as big a fan of this music — maybe a fan at all — if not for Dangerous Days. So even though my tastes within the genre have since shifted a bit more toward the pop end of the spectrum, I tend to listen whenever Kent drops something new — conventional or otherwise. And in the case of his latest effort, Lustful Sacraments, the listen proved to be quite an excellent one.

Continue reading →

Profile: Anthony Quinn Carpanzano of Hosemen

ninecirclesadminLeave a comment

Hosemen

Saturday Nite Conformity, debut full length from Hosemen, has been out since April and in case you missed out, here’s your chance to get in on the ground floor of a band that finds unique ways to bend and smash genre boundaries further than they already are. Seamlessly covering 90s alt-rock and grunge with a fleeting nod to the old NWOBHM guard and even the kind of goth that newcomers Idle Hands blew up with as well as a strong The Cure vibe. A mouthful for sure but Hosemen make it sound easy throughout this amazingly cohesive set of seven tracks. Awhile back, we reached out to mastermind, guitarist and frontman Anthony Quinn Carpanzano with our set of Profile questions and he was gracious enough to respond with some deep insight into a lot of things. Head directly below to see how it went down and don’t forget to grab your own copy from the embedded links. Continue reading →

Profile: M. Chvasta of Dead Register

ninecirclesadminLeave a comment

Dead Register
Dead Register

When Atlanta GA’s Dead Register released their full length debut Fiber last year it was a runaway hit that literally no one saw coming. It’s an amalgamation of doom, goth, rock and new wave that hits hard and leaves an instant impression. It landed on many ‘best of 2016’ lists and was covered in these very pages, so it definitely resonated across the board. As of last month the band released a black vinyl version and Throne Records released a translucent sea-blue with sea foam speckles version — with that this album finally gets the treatment it so deserves. With this physical issue just in the rearview mirror we got the chance to ask M. Chvasta (vocals, bass) our set of Profile questions and as you will see he was straight to the point with his answers. Continue reading →

Album Review: Alaric – “End of Mirrors”

Manny-O-War3 Comments

alaric end of mirrors cover
Cover artwork by Kevin Gan Yuen

British punk rock, which was built from American blues, soul and early R&B, gave birth to many forms of music. For children of the 80s across the pond in rural America none were more important than post-punk, goth and, eventually, industrial and metal. Even saccharin pop acts like Spandau Ballet started out as aggressive, groove-oriented bands playing dancehalls in London. Thus, the goth movement is built on more than just pale faces and platform boots. The bands are not only talented and compositionally sound but also inspirational and, for the most part, they sound happier than their genre would imply. Alaric lean heavily on the post-punk school of British goth-tinged rock for their sound and on End of Mirrors they achieve a rebirth of the genre not seen in America since 1980s Christian Death or 1990s Switchblade Symphony. Continue reading →

Retrospective: Sisters of Mercy – “First and Last and Always”

Manny-O-War1 Comment

the sisters of mercy first and last and always

Last week Dan talked about The Sisters of Mercy’s (hereinafter “Sisters of Mercy” because…come on) second full-length album, Floodland.  Long before Floodland was a reality, before the members began openly filing lawsuits against each other and before Sisters of Mercy became a sort of German leaning industrial-goth band there was their beautiful debut album. Draped in all the British dark wave crowns possible. And that album, in all its glory deserves a day in the sun. As the senior statesmen here at Nine Circles, the task was handed to me to talk about Sisters of Mercy’s first album, First and Last and Always. Continue reading →