morbid angel

The Nine Circles Playlist Vol. 225 (4.02.2022)

ChrisLeave a comment
playlist - mixtape

We’re back, and it feels like Spring is really starting to take a hold. I’ve been re-organizing my vinyl collection the past few days, figuring out just where the hell everything is going to fit and how I’m going to explain to my wife why I need to take over another room before the next stack arrives. First world problems to be sure, but that doesn’t mean I can’t use it to kick off the 225th edition of the Nine Circles Playlist, you know?

We’re gonna kick things off with some of the surprises I’ve discovered the last week, starting with new music from Michael Romeo, who brings the heavy prog I crave from Symphony X on his new solo joint. Anton ups the tech factor with some ripping new Inanimate Existence and follows it up with Luminous Vault and Lustmord collaborating with The Ocean. Josh digs into the dank earth of death metal to give light to Analepsy, Visceral Explosion, and Flesh Configuration before shaking things up a bit with Downcross and Real Steel. Vincent goes wide as usual with the newest single from Devil Master, Tzompantli, Falls of Rauros and deep cut from the Pieces of April soundtrack by Stephin Merrit. Hera returns to the playlist and brings Ibaraki, Ghost, Terzij de Horde, Playgrounded, Sadist, and something I’m assuming is called You May Kiss the Bride? I don’t know..it’s heavy though! Next up is Angela bringing some long awaited new music from Meshuggah as well as Frayle, Amenra, and Bhleg. Once again bringing up rear guard is Buke, and he’s chock full of great stuff, from the new Haunt single to some real old classic Opeth, Morbid Angel, Ripping Corpse, Autopsy, and finally some truly classic prog in the way of the might Emerson, Lake & Palmer.

Get listening. Stay safe. See you next week.

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– Chris

CANTO: Insomnium, Morbid Angel, Vastum, and More

CoreyLeave a comment

insomnium8.31.5

I think I only did one of these last week, yeah? Let’s fix that.

“Ein Bier… bitte.”
– cmb

The Nine Circles Playlist Vol. 70 (03.09.2019)

Vincent1 Comment

playlist - mixtape

Greetings once more, fellow travelers on the journey of life.  Too much?  Maybe.  I’m just glad it’s the weekend again.  Or it could be that I’m just hungry.  It’s lunch time when I’m writing this, and I’m lusting after some chinese food (I’m eating food from home though, and my wallet better thank me for this one).  Either way, it’s time to get this party started, and there’s no better way than our weekly playlist.  We’ve got lots of good tunes coming this time, and there’s a little something for every taste in there.  I personally included the CHVRCHES song I’ve been jamming on all week, because sometimes it’s nice to take a break from the bleak and the heavy, and CHVRCHES whip ass anyway.  I’ll catch you all next week.  Back to dreaming about chow mein…

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– Vincent

 

The Nine Circles ov…80s Death Metal

JAndrewLeave a comment

morbidangelearly

In any form of art, there’s something magical about the “early works,” those seminal points of origin that set the course for wider narrative. It’s like the moment when the archaeologist finds and examines the fossil that ties together the map of disparate species. Or like the literary researcher who finally reaches the shelf with all the old texts, dusts them off and sets to work. Early extreme metal is a lot like this. There’s that turn around 1985 when you hear bands start to pull away from classical heavy metal. The guitar and bass picking patterns change, the vocals begin to lose their pitch, and the double-bass drum steadily becomes more important. Certain records appear and you realize, “wait, this isn’t really thrash anymore is it?” Buckle up and ride with us through The Nine Circles ov…80s Death Metal. Continue reading →

Nine Circles ov…High Dynamic Metal

ChrisLeave a comment

nine circles ov high fidelity metal

Straight talk:  it doesn’t matter how you consume music.  Listen any way you want: use the earbuds that came with your phone, $1,000 studio monitors, a sound bar…whatever.  If you’re enjoying it, you’re doing it right.  I’m not here to tell you you’re doing it wrong.  That being said, there is a certain pleasure to be derived from tweaking and upgrading, searching for the right combination that takes the music you love to the next level, shorting your synapses and inducing a synethetic delight.  So after numerous discussions with our resident Finn and audiohead Zyklonius I slowly began to improve my at-home listening experience.  I invested in a modest pair of planar magnetic headphones and a headphone amp (the ones above, actually: the HIFIMAN HE-400i and the Schiit Magni 3) and took my first steps into the murky world of the metal audiophile.     Continue reading →