lamp of murmuur

Initial Descent: March 26 – April 1, 2023

JoshLeave a comment
Allfather
Allfather

This week comes to a halt on April Fools Day so get all your hijinx ready to roll and be prepared. With that said, there’s no fooling in this week’s batch of new releases that we kick off with the bearded bashers Allfather and their newest collection of violent and deadly anthems, then we’ve got black metal from Blaze of Sorrow, serrated grindcore from Rotten Sound, and more black metal from Lamp of Murmuur. As always though, there’s a ton more hiding out in the list below that are sure to make all of you happy, mad, sad, want to tear down the walls, or whatever you need to do so get to digging and we’ll see you here throughout the week.

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Album Review: Lamp of Murmuur — “Saturnian Bloodstorm”

Colin1 Comment

Over the past decade there’s been a number of fantastic extreme metal bands creating music that’s clearly a tribute to some of the pioneers of a particular subgenre, while simultaneously pushing that style forward — notable examples include Stormkeep, Spectral Voice, the very recent Majesties debut, and my personal favorite, Caladan Brood. Adding to this list of devotees is Lamp of Murmuur, who have abandoned the lo-fi black metal and gothic rock influences of previous releases in favor of late ’90s Immortal worship with their third full-length album, Saturnian Bloodstorm. If there’s a fine line between homage and imitation, this album tends to fall on the opposite side of the aforementioned bands.

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The Nine Circles Playlist Vol. 269 (2.4.2023)

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playlist - mixtape

Thanks Fearless Editor Josh™ for holding down the fort last week! I’m back to traveling again for work which means not only was I away in Dallas which was colder than New York last week, but I also picked up the convention crud. But they say nothing cures the crud like a nice whiskey and some metal, so let jump into this the 269th edition of the Nine Circles Playlist, kicking off with some of what kept me entertained while I was away: WuW, which might be in the running for my favorite release of 2023 so far. Their new album L’orchaostre just came out so be sure to jump on that post haste, whodoncha?

From there I’m gonna be generous and let the staff take over. We got some classic prog-infused Enslaved, new music from Fredlös and Lamp of Murmuur, a fossil from Grouper, some classics from Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne to honor the man upon the news of his retirement from touring, and then just a ton of metal, including Boris, Yob, Burial Hordes, Atonia, Maggot Crown, Siege of Power, Terrestrial Hospice, Black Math Horsemen, Thrice + Holy Fawn and a ton more.

Get listening. Stay safe. See you next week…

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– Chris

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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