new order

End of year is almost here. I’ve been spending the day clearing out all the albums from 2022 I know I’m not going to listen to again. It’s hard: some of those albums were pretty damn good, but I know my mind by now, and it’s the rare record that sticks around long enough to make a permanent addition to my collection. And while I was doing that I was finding some weird and fun music I’d collected over the years I hadn’t heard in a long, long while, so let’s make some room on this the 261st edition of the Nine Circles Playlist for some weird and loud noises thanks to bands like Ex Eye, Grip Inc., and New Keepers of the Water Towers.

You won’t need to bear my indulgence for long. The 9C crew brought the heavy down for you, including Jesus Piece, Conjureth, Hour of Penance, and Moonlight Sorcery. There’s some slightly older fare with the likes of Obsequiae, King Woman, and some crushing Godspeed You! Black Emperor. We go off the beaten path with Emma Ruth Rundle, Chapterhouse and New Order, but come back with some new Zeal & Ardor and much more.

Get listening. Stay safe. See you next week.

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– Chris

As I write this it’s a few short hours until the next Record Store Day. I’m not normally the type to burst to my LRS in the dawn light just to snag an overpriced variant, but when you have sweet reissues from Opeth and Voivod, plus the debut of The Lord from Greg Anderson, well…you know I have to set the alarm for that, right?

So yeah…we’re gonna kick off the 228th edition of the Nine Circles Playlist with what you can expect from those heavyweights, but we got more of the concrete coming straight for your head. Anton welcomes new music from Exocrine, Misanthropic Rage, and Ufomammut to the playlist while Josh doubles down on the brutality with Black Braid, Crypticus, Paganizer, Butchers Burial and a killer new track from site favorite Spirit Adrift. Vincent is knee-deep in his Pyrithe review, so he’s serving up some of their music along with Ultha, Orville Peck, and some classic New Order. Ian returns to the playlist with some Kardashev and Gojira, along with a healthy dose of the Pixies and some Planning for Burial. Angela is digging the latest from Tribulation and…wouldn’t you know it? For the first time, so am I! And she also has Mountaineer and Telekinetic Yeti bringing up the rear for this week.