In case you were wondering, American democracy and voting are still a broken piece of shit. But, as some blues artist said: “no, I’m doing alright” and that is basically a good way of saying all my fucks to give are long gone. ANYWAY…we’ve got some good metal in store for this new release Monday which is why you came so…-(16)- are back with a barnburner of sludge and rock and metal and…just all that good stuff, Scars of the Flesh put forth what might be their best effort yet, deathsludgers Foehammer drop the damn hammer in a big way, Skythala get the black and death metal juices flowing like a blood spurt from an arterial vein, AND there’s a ton more that follows these four. So, you’ve got your investigative work cut out for you this week. Happy hunting and we’ll see you here throughout the week.
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Initial Descent: November 7 – 13, 2021
It got colder. And rainy. And the time changed. Make it stop. But, enough of my discomforts. New metal is why you came and we definitely can oblige with another long list this week: 200 Stab Wounds are coming in hot with their long awaited full length that’s an open love letter to the kind of gory death metal that struck fear in parents back in the day, next up is Dold Vorde Ens Navn with a black metal effort that’s an excellent combination of its members (do your research), then we’ve got an off kilter death metal outing from Vertebra Atlantis, a physical edition of cosmic black metal from Mesarthim, and a whole grab bag more that follows. As usual, something for every taste here so jump in and get some.
Continue readingAlbum Review: Sermon of Flames — “I Have Seen the Light, and It Was Repulsive”
I don’t know why I don’t pick up more promos from I, Voidhanger. I have never been even remotely close to disappointed with anything in the past I’ve reviewed from them, and they are home to some of the most unstoppable titans in the metal scene right now, bands who are not at all afraid to push the boundaries of metal as far as they can possibly go. With all that in mind, I took on I Have Seen the Light and It Was Repulsive, the debut full length from Sermon of Flames, purely on a whim, and I have to say, the tradition of not being disappointed holds.
Continue readingAlbum Review: Spectral Lore — “Ετερόφωτος”
Ετερόφωτος is part of a category of words that I personally adore that have deep, profound meaning but no direct translation from Greek into English. Literally meaning “Different light,” the closest approximation is “one whose light comes from others,” and it is this concept that Ayloss, aka Spectral Lore, seeks to explore on a very long-awaited full-length release. Not only does this album explore deep philosophical concepts, it also continues the running build-up in Ayloss’ releases that lay out a full-on personal manifesto for radical self-discovery and fighting back against the entrenched powers that seek to hold us in our place.
Continue readingAlbum Review: Mare Cognitum — “Solar Paroxysm”
My review of Mare Cognitum’s 2016 album Luminiferous Aether was one of the earliest pieces of writing I published when I first started writing for Nine Circles. As such, they are a band that occupies a special place in my heart, not just because I think they are one of the best names in black metal today, but because each album that I have a chance to engage with is a chance to see how both I and they have grown. It feels much like checking in with an old friend, even though Jacob Buczarski wouldn’t know me from Adam, a way to mark the passage of time and the distance we’ve come on our respective journies, and on Solar Paroxysm, it seems the passage of time has left both of us with no patience for fucking around.
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