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I have awakened from the deep slumber that can only come from a combination of massive post-Thanksgiving tryptophan dosing and an ill-timed COVID booster to bring you, the discerning public the 207th edition of the Nine Circles Playlist. And it comes on the birthday of the greatest guitarist to ever light his guitar on fire, so of course we have to open with some classic Hendrix.

Once you’ve picked yourself up after that blistering performance of “Killing Floor” we of course have some more the more extreme music for your ripe and eager ears. Prepare to have your mind expanded when you come to the realization that Troy Sanders should sing ALL the songs when Two Minutes to Late Night cover Metallica’s “Blackened.” Then Josh brings the heavy with cuts from Atræ Bilis with whom we just released a killer interview with, Diablation, and Hate. Vincent finally listens to Marriages featuring Emma Ruth Rundle after being reminded of their greatness on our latest AOTM podcast, and sprinkles in some vicious Yellow Eyes and Sun of the Sleepless as well. Anton has gone deep with Transcending Obscurity Records, laying his soul bare to the attack of both The Last of Lucy and Dischordia. Finally I wrap things up with some of the metal I’ve had on repeat lately, including the latest from post-metal crew Daxma, the newest single from supergroup Lock-Up now featuring both Tomas Lindberg and Kevin Sharp on vocals, and the classic trad metal of Tower.

I can’t believe next week is December. End of Year lists edge ever closer. See you next time, hopefully more awake than I am now!

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– Chris

EOY 2018 Header 9C

* SPOILERS: it’s gonna be 20 albums…buckle your seat belts.

I told myself this year I was going to take it easy – do the Honorable Mentions, get the final list out, and put 2018 to rest. On a global, national, and personal front the year’s been pretty much a disaster from the start, and the quicker I can put it in my rearview mirror the better. But the more I tweaked and played with my end of year selections (thank you Trello for making that shit so easy) the more I realized that – like always – music was the thing that propped me up and made every setback if not better, at least tolerable. And when the dust cleared from all the list building I found a huge excess of albums that didn’t make my lists but easily could have on another day. Everything is interchangeable; we are not the people we were even a moment ago, and those experiences constantly inform our perspective on the world, metal albums included. Continue reading →