My work is cut out for me this week. Ladies and gentlemen, today the Brothers Martinek™ celebrate a birthday. Which makes this playlist for them. Which means you’re going to get more Mountain Goats and Broken Social Scene and indie sad alt goodness than either you or I expected or intended.
Don’t worry, though. The others are still around with more extreme offerings…although who’s to say which is more extreme in the context of a metal site’s playlist? Bloodbath or My Bloody Valentine? Rotborn or Ride? Anyway, expect that as well as tracks from A Pregnant Light, Blackbraid, Judicator, Holy Fawn, Cloudrat, Black Anvil, Whitespade, Psionic Madness, Spitpool, Lamentations, as well as a slew of other tracks to kick your weekend off right.
Hello you filthy bastards. I’m listening to metal again. Mainly metal that gatekeepers and other nitwits like to complain about, like the new Ibaraki project from Matt Heafy. So here’s a hearty middle finger to them, and to naysayers that have written off Cradle of Filth who (though sadly losing guitarist Richard Shaw) are 3-for-3 with killer records since signing to Nuclear Blast. And to the folks who continue to bitch about the second phase of Opeth: they’re going to HATE Mikeal Akerfeldt‘s soundtrack to the Swedish crime series Clark. I love it, so let’s kick off the 30th edition of the Nine Circles Playlist with some.
Elsewhere in the 9C realm Anton kicks us off with a triptych of lengthy killer tracks, including In Twilight’s Embrace, the newest tracks from Bedsore off their split with Mortal Incarnation, and Haunter. Josh has been raving about Scars of the Flesh, so we have some for you in here along with a bevy of new music including Vølus, This Is Oblivion, Candy, and Morbid Cross. Vincent provides a brief respite with his beloved Mountain Goats, but quickly pulls you back under the waves with some righteous Wolfbrigade, Au-Dessus, and the first single from the upcoming Wake album. Ian reaches into the past with tracks by In Flames, Dawes, and The Bouncing Souls while Angela somehow channels my inner spirit (must have been in the cards) with some Black Sabbath, followed up by Electric Wizard, some BongBongBeerWizards, and Citizen which, as far as I can tell, is bereft of wizards, electric or otherwise. Finally Buke wraps us up nicely with a host of classic metal cuts, including King Diamond, Whiplash, Forbidden, Sodom, and Sabbat.
Seasons Greetings and Happy Holidays folks. We’re gonna keep this short: please stay safe and healthy if you’re planning on spending time with family and friends. Life is too short.
My brain’s been scattered lately so why not swing the pendulum wide to kick off the 211th edition of the Nine Circles Playlist: we’re kicking things off with some classic Judas Priest followed by some classic avant-garde black metal courtesy of Fleurety. Anton chimes in with some new music from Blockheads, E-L-R, and a favorite from his forthcoming EOY list, Code. The ever-dependable Buke gives us some Christmas cheer with King Diamond and Savatage, then as a chaser throws in some Fates Warning and Sentenced, among others. if you’ve read Josh’s Best of 2021 post you know how much death metal nourished him this year, so bands like Shub Niggurath and Antichrist Siege Machine shouldn’t be a surprise. Vincent welcomes the darkness with the latest from Ustalost but also lights a candle for his patron saint John Darnielle’s health (dude is currently ripping up Twitter as he isolates due to COVID) with some Mountain Goats. And Angela closes us out with some festive greetings courtesy of Damian Masters and Type O Negative.
That’s it. Stay safe. Think of others. Take care of yourself and we’ll see you in 2022.
Nine Circles 