heavy rock

Profile: DJ Scully of Forward Thinkers Dead Empires

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Dead Empires
Dead Empires

Dead Empires fans are going to be in for a treat with Designed to Disappear, the bands third full length since forming in 2009. Waiting in Waves and Secret Snakes / Silent Serpents were instrumental atom bombs of progressive metal with a strong lean towards the sludge palette. But with the addition of vocalist Jason Sherman (Torrential Downpour) the band takes on a new persona. And it’s one of a heavier ilk, steeped in hardcore and death metal but with the balls to still be able to pull out a reggae jam (“A Summertime Song”) and pop melodies (“Ergot”). The hues painted with this album are some of the deepest the band has mined to date and they pull it off with an ease befitted of only the most seasoned vets in the game. It is an absolute must to experience the feelings encountered throughout Designed to Disappear and it’s nearly impossible to put it down once you’ve made this journey. Just ahead of the album’s release we had the opportunity to ask DJ Scully our set of Profile questions so head inside to see what he had to say. Continue reading →

Profile: Francis Roberts of Old Man Wizard

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Old Man Wizard
Old Man Wizard

Old Man Wizard is a progressive heavy rock band based out of Southern California and have been around since 2011. This week will see the release of their 7″ single “Innocent Hands” which will include a B side. Today is the last day you can catch them on the road for a bit so if you’re in San Diego, CA make a stop at Soda Bar and pick up a copy of for yourself but hang around to hear the band’s amazing chops. What you’ll find on this single is a cross between Mastodon and Baroness with a heavy dose of uplifting ambience and honestly uplifting is something we could all use right now. Just ahead of this single’s release we got a chance to ask Francis Roberts (guitar, vocals) our set of Profile questions so read on to see what he had to say. Continue reading →

Profile: Taylor Iversen and Zach Amster of Abrams

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Abrams
Abrams
Last month Denver’s heavy rock trio Abrams released their sophomore album Morning and it was an immediate hit here at Nine Circles. We covered the album in full here and more recently it made Chris’s mid 2017 list. The band’s combination of rock, doom and well-rounded songwriting not only shows how much they’ve matured in a short amount of time but that they are truly in it to win it. And based on the positive feedback they’ve been getting from around the horn we’d say that’s an accurate statement. We recently got a chance to ask Taylor Iversen (bass/vocals) and Zach Amster (guitars/vocals) our set of Profile questions so read on to see what they had to say.

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Profile: Zack Hembree of TORO

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Toro
TORO

Atlanta, Georgia based TORO self-released their debut EP, Departure, back in March and in case you missed it, today you can rectify that. If you count the heaviness of Anciients, the prog approach of Crack the Skye era Mastodon and the crushing weight of doom metal as some of your favorite things then this EP should be in your ears, pronto. If anymore persuasion is needed, Matt Bayles manned the mixing. The doom/prog/rock concoction this five piece has put together is nothing short of amazing for a debut and truthfully the sky’s the limit moving forward. We recently had the opportunity to ask Zack Hembree (vocals) our set of Profile questions, read on to see what he had to say.

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Exclusive Stream: Opusculus – “N”

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opusculus

On July 21st Opusculus will see a reissue of their debut full length album titled Consonant and today we are thrilled to bring you a fresh sample from this release titled simply “N“. The original version of this album dropped way back in 2011 (and you can check it out here), so there’s no doubt that a reimagining of this work is something to look forward to. But it’s not simply just going to be a fresh take on old songs, there will certainly be more to it than that. Check out all the details after the jump. Continue reading →