ivar bjornson

CANTO: Fire In The Mountains, Abbath, Faith No More, and… More

CoreyLeave a comment

enslaved.2.17.18.80

It’s a holiday week. I suppose.

“Ein Bier… bitte.”
– cmb

Donuts & CANTO: Corrosion of Conformity, Enslaved, Slayer and more!

DanLeave a comment

coc

July 11, 2017

Good morning, it’s time to metal. Here’s some news you might have missed from yesterday:

    • Leading off, Corrosion of Conformity have just about wrapped up their first album with Pepper Keenan since 2005’s In the Arms of God. Get excited, folks.

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Donuts & CANTO: Enslaved, Ghost, Metal Church and more!

DanLeave a comment
enslaved
Enslaved

April 24, 2017

Good morning, it’s time to metal. Here’s some news you might have missed from over the weekend:

    • As usual, a whole bunch of bands dropped new albums on Friday, including Night Demon and Artificial Brain. For a full breakdown, check out Josh’s recap.
    • Enslaved are hard at work on what will be their 14th studio album, which guitarist Ivar Bjørnson says will take “more risks than ever before” and a whole bunch of other standard-issue PR speak. Either way, color us excited!

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Donuts & CANTO: Ulver, Morbid Angel, Danzig and more!

Dan1 Comment
ulver band photo 2017
Ulver

March 17, 2017

Good morning, and a happy St. Patrick’s Day to you all. It’s time to metal. Here’s some news you might have missed from yesterday:

  • Ahead of the release of their upcoming album The Assassination of Julius Caesar, Ulver released a new track called “Nemoralia.” It’s wildly fine.
  • Morbid Angel frontman Steve Tucker tried waaaaaaay too hard to appease alienated fans, using “death metal” three times in a single sentence to describe what the band’s new material sounds like. When asked for a follow-up comment, guitarist Trey Azagthoth simply kept banging hardcore and radical. (I’m assuming.)
  • Remember how lame Danzig‘s covers album, Skeletons, was? Well, good news! The legend’s dropping a new album of original material in May. It will probably suck less?
  • Against overwhelming odds, it appears the Nachtmystium train’s building up steam once more. The band’s been booked for the invite-only (WTF??) Carnis Festum Open Air in California. We shall see.
  • I’m sure there are some symphonic metal fans among our readers here at Nine Circles, right? Maybe? Well, if so…good news for y’all: Xandria has announced their first-ever North American headlining tour.
  • Ivar Bjørnson of Enslaved and his ambient side project, BardSpec, have announced their debut album, Hydrogen, which drops June 23. I’m excited for a couple of reasons: first, the band cites both Tangerine Dream and Godflesh as influences; and second, that cover art kicks an ass.
  • And finally, Kvelertak released a video for “Bronsegud,” off last year’s Nattesferd. You can check it out below:

Not sure why a 2:57 song had to turn into a 6:22 video. BOLD STRATEGY, COTTON, LET’S SEE HOW IT WORKS OUT FOR ‘EM. Anyway, that’ll do it for now — check back this time on Monday for our next edition!

Keep it heavy,
Dan

Album Review: Skuggsjá – “A Piece for Mind & Mirror”

Corey3 Comments

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Ivar Bjørnson and Einar Selvik’s Skuggsjá is a musical collaboration that came together as a celebration of the 200th anniversary of the Norwegian Constitution. In 2014. But after positive reception at the Eidsivablot festival in Norway and then later at Roadburn 2015, it was decided that the piece needed to be recorded; to be made available for a the masses. And am I ever grateful this… experiment, I suppose, reached this point. Centered around traditions and tales of their Norse background, with A Piece for Mind & Mirror, Skuggsjá have created what is undoubtedly the most mesmerizing collection of sounds so far in 2016. Nestled somewhere in the intersection of folk, black metal, and post metal, it is a true masterpiece that is capable of enticing audiences of all genres. Continue reading →