progressive death metal

Nine Circles ov…Recent Albums I Only Have Time to Review in One Sentence

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9C inbox

Sometimes you hit that point in your inbox where you just want to take the poor thing outside and put it out of its misery.  The glut of things unassigned, unread or untouched is a sight to behold.  We tread in fear of accidentally clicking on a link and having the whole thing fall in on our heads, Romanian hardcode tolling against the latest skate punk out of California busting heads with Australian progressive black metal and whatever the hell that weird buzzing sound is coming out of Europe.

It is, as they say in the parlance of the time, swole.

So for this edition of Nine Circles ov…. I thought I’d try to run through a few recent releases and give them a little space here on the site, and also ease the burgeoning hemorrhage our inbox is suffering.  But time is short, and I can already see the next wave of promos coming in, so we’re gonna make this quick and relegate each release to a single sentence.  Ready? Set? Go!   Continue reading →

Premiere: Piah Mater – “Solace In Oblivion”

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Piah Mater - The Wandering Daughter

With a Profile appearance and a top slot in Initial Descent, Brazil’s Piah Mater have made a big impact, with their forthcoming The Wandering Daughter, here in the halls of Nine Circles. Their truly progressive approach to death and black metal is robust, forward thinking and memorable. Now, I know progressive is a term that gets thrown around a lot these days but when a band actually favors or promotes change and innovation within their music as this trio does they’ve earned the right to flaunt the tag with impunity. Today, we are extremely pleased to bring you a premiere of the album’s second track “Solace In Oblivion” which is an excellent example of everything just mentioned and furthermore is an ambitious statement for a relatively young band. Head directly below to hear and experience it for yourself. Continue reading →

Second Circle: Horrendous and Revocation

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second circle horrendous and revocation

In Dante’s Inferno, the second circle begins the proper punishment of Hell, a place where “no thing gleams.” It is reserved for those overcome with Lust, where carnal appetites hold sway over reason. In Nine Circles, it’s where we do shorter reviews of new (ish) albums that share a common theme.

I’ve had technical death metal on the brain lately.  Mind you: not “tech-death” as in practically everyone on Unique Leader  (not that there’s anything wrong with that) but more in that sweet, sweet Death vein.  I watched the new documentary on Chuck Schuldiner Death By Metal this weekend and it all came back: the intricate riffing, odd time signatures but most importantly the hooks.  Damn but Chuck and co. could craft some major hooks to go along with the incredible chops.  So for this edition of Second Circle I decided to check out two new releases from bands putting their own spin on what Death did so well so many years ago: Horrendous and Revocation.  Both bands have been a bit of a mixed bag for me in the past; let’s dive in and see if that’s still the case.
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Profile: Kalki Avatara of Piah Mater

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Piah Mater
Piah Mater

In metal, when I see Brazil as a band’s locale my brain automatically goes to blood curdling death metal or chants of ‘ROOOOOOTS.’ And because of that I’d never associate it with a powerfully progressive death metal band sporting a hint of black metal and veiled in rock regalia but Piah Mater have officially changed my reaction on this matter. If you’ve listened to their solid debut Memories of Inexistence I’m sure you’re already aware of their proximity to Opeth and Enslaved (not a bad place to be). On their upcoming second album, The Wandering Daughter, they won’t be shedding those comparisons but as much as they’ve grown musically since 2015 they can stand tall as a band that ACTUALLY pulls this marriage off. And does it extremely well I might add. Comparisons alone don’t tell the real, or whole, story but the thought provoking and ingenious songwriting, extremely talented chops, and impressive vocal range do – and a beautifully memorable story it is. Just ahead of the October 5 release date, we had the chance to ask drummer Kalki Avatara our set of Profile questions, read on to see what he had to say and don’t miss the links contained within to grab your copy. Continue reading →

Profile: Randall Krieger and Robby Perry of Progressive Death Metallers Anisoptera

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Anisoptera

Progressive metal bands place emphasis on technical complexity and push the accepted standards for song structuring with each new effort. When this is done under the guise of death metal there’s a fine line of coming off too technical or pushing the envelope too far, results at either of those points vary from fair to midland. California’s Anisoptera manage this fine line surprisingly well on their recently released full length Spawn of Odonata. Spontaneity and creativity collide face first with melodicism and brutality across the eight songs contained on this debut effort – it’s hard hitting AND memorable, can’t ask for much more than that on a debut. Armed with our set of Profile questions we recently sat down with guitarist Randall Krieger and vocalist Robby Perry to gain some insight into the band so head directly below to see what they had to say. Continue reading →