Is that it? Am I the last one? Dang. Again. Wait, maybe one more to come… Anyway, I guess I’ll start this off on my soapbox as always, by noting that I truly cannot comprehend where we are as a society. Well, I suppose I can, which is even more frustrating. If 2020 wasn’t a brutal enough year (not in a good way), 2021 seemed to serve as an appropriate encore. Seemingly everything we experience in life has been weaponized for political gain in one way or another, a global pandemic has been widely accepted as an endemic thanks, in part, to widespread misinformation, and, just as bluntly, climate disasters resulting from human activity are on the brink of running rampant for the duration of humanity’s remaining existence… however brief that may be. And those are just my three favorite, non-personal, items to discuss in our corner of the universe. It sucks, and I’m burnt out. Optimism has completely faded at this point, and I’m ready to run screaming into the woods. But hey, cheers to 2020, right?!
Continue readingkataan
The Nine Circles Playlist Vol. 187 (6.26.2021)

Saturday. Finally. What a shit week. No matter though as we’re back with our mixtape of stuff we’ve been jamming this week and guaranteed there’s something here that’ll fit whatever you have going on today. We’ve got some newish Sanguisugabogg, fresh Thy Catafalque and tons of Suidakra, a demo track from Crypticus, a slappin’ death metal beast from Diabolizer, Kataan, Withered, and many more. Basically the perfect playlist to massacre some lawns with or light up an early party with, or just…whatever the hell you have on tap. Good times. Let them roll via the play button below.
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– Josh
Album Review: Kataan — “Kataan” (EP)
If you were dismayed when Vattnet Viskar began their slow dissolution, I have good news. Nicholas Thornbury, one of the creative forces behind that band has teamed up with Brett Boland (Astronoid) for what I can only call an epic success. If you like blackened death metal that’s firing on all cylinders: melodic, engaging, and full of riffs and hooks, then put Kataan’s self-titled EP in your cart immediately.
Continue readingCANTO: Light The Torch, Kataan, Lamb of God, and More
This was one long fucking week.
- I’m really excited about the debut from Kataan, so naturally I have to include the latest single from Processor in this roundup. This one is titled “Abyss”, and it is predictably awesome.
- A couple fun covers to toss in the mix today, the first coming from Lamb of God. This is their reimagining of the Bad Brains track “I Against I”. I’m ready for this pandemic to be over, but these quarantine videos have been really well executed over the past year, this being no exception.
- And the other cover of the day comes from Carnifex, who released a cover of Korn’s “Dead Bodies Everywhere”. This isn’t a quarantine video, but the visualizer for it is pretty damn wild. Check it out here.
- And the video of the day comes from Light the Torch, the Howard Jones-fronted trio. They have a new album, their second full-length, set for a June 25th release through Nuclear Blast. It will be titled You Will Be the Death of Me, and you can check out the video for “Wilting in the Light” immediately below. Oh, and pre-orders are available at this location.
“Ein Bier… bitte.”
– cmb
The Nine Circles Playlist Vol. 173 (3.20.2021)

Welcome to another Saturday morning mixtape playlist from your friends at Nine Circles. This week, we’ve got new videos from Svalbard, Wristmeetrazor, The Lion’s Daughter, and a whole lot more. Plus, we have a smattering of St. Patrick’s Day appropriate content for you. Take a listen down below.
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– Vincent