Josh Thieler’s Favorite Records of 2018

36872013_1857075977647957_437081311132254208_n

2018 has been quite the year. It was a roller coaster personally, nationally, globally, and in the realm of metal. There are people that I loved that are gone now. There are people who are gone that I should have loved more. I failed a lot of people. I’ve struggled in so many ways. If you are curious about that, just listen to the last Slaves BC record or read any interviews I did during that release cycle. I got fatter, fitter, quit smoking, joined five or six more bands, did artwork for some bands, did PR for some others, and spent a lot (but never enough) of time with my wonderful wife and animals.

Anyway, I listened to a ton of music again in 2018. I didn’t get a chance to talk about any of it very much, but I listened to a ton. 2018 was another fantastic year for metal/hardcore/whatever. I’ve been altering this list for months and I had a real hard time narrowing it down as much as I did. Just like last year, I have compiled my favorite 50 full length metal/hardcore records, favorite 10 non-metal records, and my top 10 favorite EP’s/singles/etc.

I made this playlist with one track from each of the records that are on Spotify for you to listen to a sampling of everything below. Thank you for checking this out and here’s to a better 2019!

Continue reading

The Nine Circles Playlist Vol. 54 (9.30.2018)

playlist - mixtape

We could go on and on about how good metal has been thus far in the year or about how far the headlong spiral into the abyss we will go before it stops or even debate on what matters and what doesn’t (none of which I’m doing here by the way). The only thing that really matters at this moment in time is this piece of words and that we’re sharing another playlist of what we’ve collectively found that stuck with us in some form or fashion over the past couple weeks. Music has a tendency to allow its listeners a place to go where they can shrug and not give a damn and hopefully you’ll find that place here. Subscribe to our YouTube channel here and head directly below for a playlist tailor made for Saturday.

– Josh

The Nine Circles Playlist Vol. 53 (9.15.2018)

playlist - mixtape

By this point in the week we can all do with something to just hit play on and forget about everything. If that’s what you came for you’re in luck as we’ve got another playlist of gems we’ve been listening to throughout this past week and it’s perfect for queuing up while you’re doing whatever you do over the course of a weekend and of course, to forget about it all for awhile. Oh and following up on last week’s talk of upcoming releases, what are you most looking forward to from here on out to the end of 2018? Let us know in the comments section but first, subscribe to our YouTube channel here then head below for this week’s jam session.

– Josh

Best of 2015: Dan’s Honorable Mentions

Best 2015

If you listen to our podcast regularly, you’ll know I’ve already run down my Top 15 albums of the year. If you don’t… firstly, what the hell’s wrong with you? And secondly, you can find my picks here (Nos. 15-11), here (10-6) and here (top five). I try to avoid being redundant — thanks, journalism school! — so I didn’t want to rewrite these picks out here again on the blog. Instead, this post will cover nine honorable mentions for 2015. These may not have made the final cut, and they certainly aren’t the only honorable mentions I’ve got from this year, but they’re all well worth your time. Here’s what I’ve got:  Continue reading

The Horns Up Podcast: Episode 48 (April 18, 2015)

horns up podcast logo

It’s time for Episode 48 of The Horns Up Podcast, your weekly catch-up on all things metal!

This week, the guys examine Dave Mustaine’s utter ineptitude at crowdfunding and TOTAL aptitude for egotism, then chat about new releass from Outre, Bladecatcher and more. Plus, Dan gets a few #LOLKnicks jabs in because it’s been a while since we did sports!

All that and much, much more this week, so check it out!

Also available on:

Live. Love. Plow. Horns Up.