New Katatonia arrived today… let us rejoice in gloom!
Starting off, we have a co-headlining tour to talk about with Municipal Waste and High On Fire. Additional support will be in the form of Gel and The Early Moods. Those North American dates are in early December, and tickets can be found here.
Entheos are back with a video for a new single titled “Absolute Zero”. That track marks their first material through their new label, Metal Blade. Give it a listen and watch here.
Decibel Books has announced the publication of Amorphis: The Official Story of Finland’s Greatest Metal Band, a fully authorized biography of the legends, in English for the first time. Pick up your copy here.
Closing out, like I said, we got new Katatonia. Sky Void of Stars will be out on January 20, 2023 through Napalm Records. Check out the video for the first single, “Atrium”, directly below.
And today we drink stouts and red ales at a slightly higher rate than usual.
Psycho Las Vegas has announced a fresh wave of artists, and holy crap is this thing stacked. Emperor, Mayhem, Mercyful Fate, Carcass, High On Fire… I mean the list goes on and on. Get the full scoop, plus tickets options, here.
Wardruna have released a new video for the live version of “Skugge”. Check it out here. First Flight of the White Raven is out on April 22nd, and can be pre-ordered here.
We’ll wrap up with some Swedish folk metal, in the form of Månegarm. The new video for “En snara av guld” is available below, the second single taken from Ynglingaättens Öde. That album is out on April 15th through Napalm Records… a label that owes me an email and two albums I ordered last year. Casual FYI.
Friday night. I have the usual going on: new music in the cans and some nice whiskey (currently the Redbreast 12, a recent turn-on after being largely ignorant of Irish whiskeys)within easy reach. I need it because next week I start the three-week odyssey that is my annual End of Year round up but…great stuff just won’t stop coming out (seriously: wait until you all hear the new Ustalost). And 2022 is already off to an INSANE start. I’m listening to our early pick for January’s AOTM and…well, you’ll just have to wait to and see what it is. It’s damn good though – I can tell you that much.
But seeing as there’s a few weeks left in 2021, let’s kick off the 209th edition of the Nine Circles Playlist with some killer tracks. The stoner gods have been shining their bloodshot eyes down on me, so my contribution this month kicks off with some classic High on Fire and a killer live track from Crown Lands, a band that has me scrambling to find opportunities to tell everyone how good the peculiar mix of Rush and stoner prog they’re putting out in the universe is. Josh picks up the baton for both the old and the new, mixing up some vicious death metal out of the Transcending Obscurity bullpen with Paganizer and Hellfrostand Fire but also some razor sharp Christmas hair metal courtesy of Dokken. Anton shows just how strong the early part of 2022 is shaping up to be with new tracks from Hath and Celeste, while Vincent strikes my heart with the wonderful toe and keeps it crazy heavy with the latest from Succumb. Hera raises her head from the abyss to provide some evil delights in the form of Eisbrecher, Khôra, and…and…(checks to be sure) yup, something called Infected Mushroom.
All that and Buke bringing us home with some classics from Rainbow, Savatage, Nevermore, and the newest single from Voivod. So what are you waiting for?
Not gonna lie, I’ve already done a lot of damage this Bandcamp Friday. And there are still so many hours left!
Wode are releasing their third album, Burn In Many Mirrors, in early April through 20 Buck Spin. Yet another awesome release announcement this week. For a preview, check out “Vanish Beneath” right now. Physical pre-orders coming later this month.
Korpiklaani released their latest album today, titled Jylhä, through Nuclear Blast, if you somehow missed that memo. In addition to that, however, they also dropped a new video for “Tuuleton” today. So give that a peep when time allows.
Southern Lord has announced a limited edition reissue of The Art of Self Defense. The repressing of the High On Fire studio debut will be out at the end of March, and can be pre-ordered through Bandcamp or Southern Lord.
Bewitcher released a new video for “Mystifier (White Night City)”, a track taken from their upcoming new album, Cursed Be Thy Kingdom. That album drops on April 16th through Century Media Records, and can be pre-ordered here.
These days are slowly (quickly?) killing my sanity.
Alright, so you all need to start your evening by watching members of Spirit Adrift, Mutoid Man, and High On Fire cover Steely Dan’s “Reelin’ In The Years”. I would like to thank Two Minutes To Late Night for bringing us that absolute gift.
Canceled or postponed tours don’t only hit bands hard financially, but also their road crews. To help support the folks that make the killer In Flames shows happen year in and year out, the band has decided to drop a new shirt to benefit them. 100% of the proceeds go directly to their crew. Solid stuff, In Flames, solid stuff.
Speaking of canceled things, Hellfest is the latest festival to bail on 2020. Scheduled for the weekend of June 19th, this year was supposed to mark the 15th anniversary of the festival, and feature the likes of Faith No More, Judas Priest, etc. Instead, for obvious reasons, the organizers will try again in 2021.
And we’ll close with a new lyric video from Witches of Doom for the track “Sister Fire.” That track is taken from Funeral Radio, which is out now on My Kingdom Music. Do what ya gotta do.
Nine Circles 