katatonia

The Nine Circles Playlist Vol. 267 (1.21.2023)

ChrisLeave a comment

playlist - mixtape

I’m still recovering from the drunken mayhem that was our first ever Album Ramble – I hope you dug it, we plan to punish our livers monthly for your entertainment. Anyway, as if a new GREAT Katatonia was enough to drop this week, we have the second single from the mighty Metallica’s 72 Seasons, so we’re kicking off with that – and the newest video from Katatonia backing it up.

After that it’s a gaggle of new and classic heavy hitters, including cuts from The Ocean, Bodyfarm, Polymoon, Turbid North, Ulthar, Nite, Asunojokei, Coheed & Cambria, Full of Hell, Cäina, Black Country New Road, Fvnerals, and Miserable.

Get listening. Stay safe. See you next week…

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– Chris

CANTO: Ihsahn, Katatonia, Heathen, and More

CoreyLeave a comment


I feel like I got hit by a bus and my favorite Red Wings blog might be shutting down. Terrible day, and fuck Vox Media.

  • We got Ihsahn updates to share this Friday. The Fascination Street Sessions EP will be out on March 24 through Candlelight Records. Check out “Contorted Monuments” here.
  • Heathen and Arrival of Autumn are touring North America in March, starting on the 9th in Providence and wrapping up on the 26th in Philly. Here’s the full schedule.
  • Horizon Ignited released a new single titled “Carry Me”, which was previously only included on the vinyl version of Towards The Dying Lands. Give that a listen here.
  • I’m currently listening to Sky Void of Stars on vinyl as we speak, so it makes sense to celebrate the release date of Katatonia’s latest with the video for “Opaline”. Give it a watch below. As I mentioned, that album is out now through Napalm Records.

I’m sure there’s a lot more going, but I’m spent. Catch ya next week.

“Ein Bier… bitte.”
– cmb

Album RAMBLE: Katatonia — “Sky Void of Stars”

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For Katatonia‘s 13th full length, Sky Void of Stars, we (as in the Top Brass, Benevolent Overlords, etc: Corey, Dan K, Chris, and Josh) decided to capitalize on something we’ve done so many times with this band’s discography; get together over a chat, pour way too many drinks for ourselves, and talk Katatonia. This time around, it only felt right to share that experience with all of you: the first ever Top Brass collaborative review ramble, as it were. If you’ve been following along, our love of all things Katatonia is not subtle. We’ve featured them many times over the years, photographed them, and generally love everything they’ve done from their early death / doom days to their ever-evolving gloom-goth-progressive-metal-rock that seems to only get better the longer they exist. We won’t give too much away ahead of the ramble you’re about to dive into headfirst, but suffice it to say, Sky Void of Stars is the album we needed right now. And let’s be real, this will probably be the first of several drunken nights we spend discussing this album’s place in the Katatonia pantheon. But for now, without further ado, we present our rambles…

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Nine Circles ov… 2023 Albums the Top Brass are Excited About

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metallica - 72 seasons
enslaved - heimdal
lamp of murmuur - saturnian bloodstorm


Since we somehow managed to complete another trip around the sun recently, I’ve seen a lot of those anticipatory posts flying around where people share what albums they’re looking forward to in the year ahead. And I get it. Lists are clickbait-y, and there actually is a lot of stuff to look forward to in Metal: 2023. Being one to regularly cave to peer pressure, I figured we could jump on that train as well. And by “we”, I mean your Nine Circles editing staff, also known as the Top Brass, and also known as the Benevolent Overlords to at least one person. See, I personally didn’t want to write up on nine different albums that don’t even exist yet. It’s hard for me to explain why I’m looking forward to something beyond simply saying “I like that band, so I hope the new album doesn’t suck”. But two or three albums? I can bullshit my way through that, no problem. And wouldn’t you know it? Other members of the editing team were willing to drop some words on a couple albums of their choosing, as well. That, my friends, is how we got here. So without further delay, starting with my picks, here are nine albums the Nine Circles Top Brass are looking forward to in the year ahead.

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Initial Descent: January 15 – 21, 2023

JoshLeave a comment
Katatonia – image courtesy of Mathias Blom

In this, the third full week of new releases, if anyone thought Katatonia wouldn’t be at the top of said third week list, you have been hiding under a rock. This will sound weird but Sky Void of Stars is the most current Katatonia sounding album ever, and I mean that in the best possible way. However, there are more excellent releases that need your attention in the form of death metal from Nothingness, deathdoomgrind deliciousness from Turbid North, and melodic black metal from Inherits The Void. Speaking of knowing us or not; what am I going to say next? Yep, you guessed it…and there’s many more in the list below that are definitely worth seeking out. Ok, ok, trivia time is over. Happy hunting and see you here throughout the week.

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