i am – Nine Circles

The Nine Circles Playlist Vol. 248 (9.10.2022)

September 10, 2022September 10, 2022Chris1 Comment

My work is cut out for me this week. Ladies and gentlemen, today the Brothers Martinek™ celebrate a birthday. Which makes this playlist for them. Which means you’re going to get more Mountain Goats and Broken Social Scene and indie sad alt goodness than either you or I expected or intended.

Don’t worry, though. The others are still around with more extreme offerings…although who’s to say which is more extreme in the context of a metal site’s playlist? Bloodbath or My Bloody Valentine? Rotborn or Ride? Anyway, expect that as well as tracks from A Pregnant Light, Blackbraid, Judicator, Holy Fawn, Cloudrat, Black Anvil, Whitespade, Psionic Madness, Spitpool, Lamentations, as well as a slew of other tracks to kick your weekend off right.

Get listening. Stay safe. See you next week.

—

– Chris

Album Review: I Am — “Eternal Steel”

September 6, 2022September 5, 2022JoshLeave a comment

In recently describing third full length Eternal Steel from Texas based I Am, “angry music for angry times” rolled right off the tongue in that conversation. And simply put, that’s exactly what it is. The world’s a dumpster fire of epic proportions, greed and deceit are at the highest level ever, governments are a joke, everyone’s dollar has been reduced to mere pennies, and we’re one step away from a bomb going off on a scale none of us can even imagine. Eternal Steel feels like that moment just before detonation, that second when shit gets real, and the destructive aftermath. All rolled into one very pissed off album.

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Initial Descent: September 4 – 10, 2022

September 5, 2022September 1, 2022JoshLeave a comment

It’ll officially be Fall later this month which means spooky season is right around the corner. I can’t think of a better way to get in that mood than the trio of death metal new releases that lead this week’s list; Revocation return with an album that after a few spins really hits a sweet spot for me, and even more so than anything they’ve done to date, then we’ve got Bloodbath who are on the forefront of every death metal fan’s mind, next up is I Am with a groovy bruiser (and killer album art to boot), and rounding out the top slots is Abrams who are not death metal but are favorites around this back office. Now, these four will definitely keep you busy, but don’t forget about the long list of other new stuff that follows as there’s a ton of good stuff out this week. Happy hunting and we’ll see you here throughout the next several days. Until next time…

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CANTO: Rivers of Nihil, I Am, Catalyst, and More

August 8, 2022August 8, 2022CoreyLeave a comment

Mondays don’t tend to be particularly interesting, but let’s see what I can find…

As part of their extensive North American tour supporting The Contortionist, Rivers of Nihil have also worked in eight headlining dates spread through September and October. They’ll still be performing The Work in full, but with a special encore.
If you haven’t familiarized yourself with Texas death/thrash outfit I Am yet, here’s another opportunity to do so. They’re streaming a new video for “Surrender to the Blade” over at Decibel, a track taken from Eternal Steel. That album is set for a September 9th release through MNRK Heavy.
Moving to the technical side of death metal, Catalyst are preparing an October release for their second album. A Different Painting For A New World will be out through Non Serviam Records, and I recommend pre-ordering that one here.
And we’re rounding things out with some black metal. Skare are releasing their self-titled debut on vinyl through Amor Fati Productions on September 12th. Naturally, we have a track from that album below. Give “Threshold Into Death” a listen right now.

“Ein Bier… bitte.”
– cmb

CANTO: Crown The Empire, Anthrax, Black Label Society, and More

April 18, 2022April 18, 2022CoreyLeave a comment

Coming at you really late tonight because there was just that much going on today.

There were a lot of tour announcements today, so we’ll share a few at random. Up first, we have Crown The Empire, who have announced the 10th anniversary tour for The Fallout. Those U.S. dates cover May 30th through July 3rd, and support is in the form of D.R.U.G.S., The Word Alive, and Before I Wake.
From there, we have a fairly massive tour featuring Anthrax, Black Label Society, and Hatebreed. Those are July and August dates, and tickets go on sale this coming Friday. They can be picked up here, or here.
And the third of three new tours we’ll drop in here features The Acacia Strain, with Malevolence, I AM, and 156/Silence. Those are June and July dates, and tickets will be available here.
Rounding out with a couple non-concert things, we also have a new single from Luminous Vault, titled “Ancient North”. Animate The Emptiness is out next month through Profound Lore.
And finally, a new video from Valley of the Sun, for “Devil I’ve Become”. The Chariot is set for a June 17th release through Ripple Music and Fuzzorama Records, and can be purchased here.