Initial Descent: April 2 – 8, 2017

EXTREMITY - photo_by_Jehnifer_Mickalacki_Sublett_
Extremity – photo courtesy of Jehnifer Mickalacki Sublett

What a week right? We’ve had hot, cold, snow and downright nasty weather but hopefully everyone is ok and ready to get this week behind us in hopes that next week might bring better things. But, hold that thought as we have a stellar week of metal releases to get to before we move on. Lets get after it: first up is Extremity with their debut Extremely Fucking Dead which is, simply put, fun death metal for fans of straight ahead, no frills death metal, plus the band features a deep lineup so get on it ASAP. Next up is the blackened hardcore debut A World Within Flesh from Hellkeeper, this is the kind of album that pulls you in and refuses to let go while it batters your ears to a bloody pulp, tasty. Moving along we have Sigil‘s debut Kingdom of the Grave and honestly if this crusty piece of d-beat driven death metal doesn’t make you move or start a pit in your living room you’re already dead. Last but not least is Azarath with their sixth full length of Behemoth meets Krisiun strain of death metal, In Extremis. This band just gets better with each album and considering their first full length was ridiculously good and theyre six albums in, that’s saying something. You know the deal, we have many more after the jump so clear the rest of your weekend and enjoy. Continue reading

Initial Descent: September 25 – October 1, 2016

Winterfylleth
Winterfylleth

Here we are at the dawn of October. One of the finest months of the year, obviously. What better way to kick it off than with a stacked list of metal that is as varied as the many horror movies you need to watch over the next 31 days. Anyway, Initial Descent knows you need it so, this week we have the amazing new album The Dark Hereafter from Winterfylleth, a jazzy avant-garde self titled debut from Brain Tentacles, Okkultokrati‘s Raspberry Dawn that is satan rock at it’s finest and of course Sorceress from everyone’s favorite target Opeth. For everyone still mad about the whole no death metal thing, news flash, they’re still great. Also Veilburner returns with their third full length of inherently evil and challenging black/death/experimental The Obscene Rite and Halshug cracks the earth in half with their brutal new album Sort Sind. Plenty here for you to enjoy so without further delay, get busy after the jump. Continue reading

Profile: Brian Rush of Mountain Grave

We here at Nine Circles always appreciate blackened death metal. So when Horror Pain Gore Death dropped Mountain Grave on us, we were stoked. Fortunately, Brian Rush (who plays vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards, drums, programming) was able to take some time to join us for a profile. Brian is a sweet guy who is currently very busy with his band as well as running his own fledgling label Pale Magus (where you can pick up a few older Mountain Grave releases). When he’s not swamped with that stuff he even does some audio engineering for video games! Be sure to check out their new album, Massive Structural Collapsehere. Continue reading