kiss

The Nine Circles Playlist Vol. 222 (3.12.2022)

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Weird random though for the morning: although we’re often nostalgic for things from our youth, sometimes the things from our youth are not things from our youth, you catch me? I don’t know; I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately. Maybe it’s the music, so many new albums coming out that capture so succinctly the signatures of the sounds that came before it (*cough* Ghost) I’m caught in a revelry of the past. Don’t fear, though: I won’t let it influence the 222nd edition of the Nine Circles Playlist too much…

…but I will a little, kicking it off with a certain massive popular band who finally went all in on the hard rock/pomp of the 80s (*cough* Ghost). But man, if you haven’t also heard the latest from Drug Church get thee to a computer and rectify that post-haste. Hits the 90s indie hardcore rock so good, and they’re from my old stomping grounds of Albany, NY to boot. Elsewhere Anton brings up Siberia, Vital Spirit, and Autarkh III to get the nasty flowing. Vincent continues to champion site favorite Absent in Body and throws in some new music from Devil Master and Egregore as well as Bootblacks. Josh takes a break from his non-stop listening of Impera to get down with the OTHER site favorite Zeal & Ardor but also manages to make room for Corpsessed, King Dude, and a pair of outlaw country tunes, including the latest from Paul Cauthen. Buke can always be counted on with some choice classic cuts, and he does not fail this week, serving up some vintage KISS and Rainbow, but also hits with new cuts from Rammstein and Deathwhite (there’s some Anvil in there, too). And Angela comes in to remind that if the first quarter of 2022 was already stacked tooth gills with great music, we just got the new Messa, a new single from Conjurer, and the latest from Chelsea Wolfe.

Get listening. Stay safe. See you next week.

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– Chris

The Nine Circles Playlist Vol. 205 (11.13.2021)

ChrisLeave a comment
playlist - mixtape

We’re kicking through November, and I’m here with my usual: a steaming cup of coffee in a cup big enough to swim in, and a playlist of all the metal I’ve listened to in 2021 to start sorting out end of year stuff.

It’s a loooong list.

So to make it easier OF COURSE I’m going to kick it off with some Darkthrone. But the rest of the crew is definitely going to bring you to some uncharted corners for Volume 205 of the Nine Circles Playlist. I don’t know who Thangorodrim are, but they’re bringing the dark vibes on their debut. Jon just has a birthday, so he’s letting loose with some faves like Dethklok and Strapping Young Lad. Josh is over the moon over the news that Death Breath are coming back, and The Halo Effect, aka In Flames 2.0 seem to be moving in a good direction with their debut single. Vincent crosses the border into pop with some good good CHVRCHES but quickly hops back over with the long awaited new song from Nechochwen. And Ian closes us out this week with some Spiritbox, Owen, and Coheed and Cambria. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg in this week’s list, so settle in and give your ears a workout.

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– Chris

The Nine Circles Playlist Vol. 204 (11.6.2021)

ChrisLeave a comment
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The cold weather’s finally kicked in. I’ve got a steaming cup of coffee so big I need two hands to bring its caffeinated goodness to my lips, and I’ve spent the past hour fiddling with parametric EQs to kick my headphones into high gear while listening to newest single by one of my favorite guitarists on this great glob of a world, Wata from Boris. Wherever you are I hope you’re finding some kind of aural and chemical comfort (feel free to pick your own poison; I’ll stick with coffee) right now.

Of course that’s not the only thing we’re blasting in Volume 204 of the Nine Circles Playlist. After thinking they were done Porcupine Tree is back in the saddle and released a new single which feels like Steven Wilson bringing his pop sensibility into the band and the band fighting back, and I love it. Josh brings the filthy death metal with Under the Church and Concrete Winds, while Vincent splits his time between the grace of Alcest and the brutality of Atræ Bilis. Anton revels in the swirling symphonic chaos of Dessiderium, and Buke? Buke is living in the glory his (and my) youth with classics from Twisted Sister, Down, and even some Spinal Tap. Finally, Angela brings it all home with the latest from 9C favorite Emma Ruth Rundle and some new stuff from Monolord. In other words it’s a stacked house, so settle in and enjoy the tunes.

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– Chris

Visions ov Hell: Quarantined With Nine Circles, Part 2

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Coronavirus bah

Two weeks removed from Part 1 and we’re not out of the woods. And, quite to the contrary, we’re in the thick of it. Threat level 100….I guess. So much uncertainty, so much unknowing, so much virus, so much panic, so much hoarding, so much of all the bad stuff. We’re all tired of the ‘so much’ and it seems this thing is just getting a head of steam. Anyway, we’ve got a nice set of tunes to help push back the virus scares and bring forth the headbang; we’ve got Death, Obituary, Eyehategod, WASP, Katatonia, KISS, Mortician, and so much more. Indeed, all the bands you’d hold dear when trying to exorcize some demons and/or some asshole virus. So, jump inside that play button immediately below and try to forget, for just a second, what’s happening outside our windows. Maybe, just maybe, you find some sort of normalcy for a fleeting moment.

Wake Up and Smell the Satan – May 11, 2018

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wake-up-and-smell-satan

A 1989 Chicago police document, which captured the essence of 1980s’ hysteria over Satanism, went viral this week. The document itself is quite a read,

The Satanism hysteria, called the “Satanic panic” in the popular press, found Lucifer seemingly everywhere. Here is the New York Times looking back at fears the roleplaying game Dungeons & Dragons conjured the Dark Lord. And, of course, bands like Motley Crue, Kiss and others were considered by some to be the ambassadors of Hell. Continue reading →