satan – Nine Circles

The Nine Circles Playlist Vol. 264 (12.31.2022)

December 31, 2022December 31, 2022ChrisLeave a comment

That’s it. So long 2022, don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out. I just posted my end of year list, and yeah: the #1 pick is a crossover hardcore punk album that incorporates free jazz and noise and everything under the sun…what else did you expect? So let’s kick off the last edition of the Nine Circles Playlist with the mighty OFF! and see what else will help us close out the new year.

To paraphrase The Outer Limits, I will control the horizontal. I will control the vertical. So that means I’m also going to front-load this with the 80s metal I picked up on vinyl and cassette this week. Which means you’re getting dosed with some classic Accept and Satan…you’re welcome. Elsewhere in the Nine Circles universe we’ve got plenty of heavy to ring in 2023, including music from Angerot, Shores of Lunacy and Leper Colony, a blast of bangers from Yob, Mizmor + Thou and Nechochwen, more killer music from Predatory Light (I really need to revisit that) and Moonlight Sorcery, not to mention D. Morris BRINGING IT with some classic Harvey Milk. There’s a ton more, including God Mother, Windhand, Asunojuokei (for once not added by me, so thanks Ian!), and Morrow, among others.

That’s it for 2022. Get listening. Stay safe. See you next year…

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– Chris

Best of 2022: Chris’s Honorable Mentions

December 21, 2022December 20, 2022Chris1 Comment

I’ve been thinking about Honorable Mentions lately. We differentiate them from our main lists, but in the grand scheme of things every album we call out on the site is an honorable mention: there’s something about the music, about the power the chords and melodies hold over us that warrants notice, that deserves a voice to amplify the message to a wider, often preoccupied world. In a time when we too often use the tools of social media and the internet to confront, to argue, to parrot – even in the name of awareness – toxic behavior, I find myself moving steadily inward, barricading myself from the noise and burying my head in the sonic pulse of drums, guitar, bass, and vocals both sung and shouted, screamed and pitched in ways that insulate me from the static of the world.

But the music, dumbass! It calls for notice, deserves it. And like 2020 and 2021 this is just the start of a conversation, not the end. So once again: 15 records in alphabetical order. Any other day, any other minute from the time I write this it can change. Does that make it any less valid?

Does it matter if I got you to – even for a moment – consider the virtues of these fantastic records?

You decide. In the meantime, let’s do this.

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Nine (or so Heavily Qualified) Circles ov…2022: A Mid-Year Report

July 12, 2022July 12, 2022Chris3 Comments

Okay, so I may have only formally reviewed 11 albums by the mid point this year, but that’s one more than I was at last year, so victory! However, that doesn’t count the 30 other albums covered in earlier editions of Nine Circles ov (like the Stoner Metal one, or the promo pile one, or the non-promo pile one) or Second Circle. Not to mention my folders telling me I’ve listened to 151 metal albums so far this year. It’s scratching the surface, I know…but at least there are quantifiable metrics for you to assess whether or not I’ve met my acceptance criteria to mark this feature as Done.

And now that my work life has completely blended into this post, let’s talk about how massive 2022 has been so far. We’re once again turning this edition of Nine Circles ov… into a dozen and I’m even going to throw some bonus mentions into the mix. Are these my absolute favorites of the year? Kind of: I wanted to highlight some albums I haven’t seen a lot of coverage on as well as some definite big guns I really dig so far. So what I’m saying is, here’s a big list of stuff I love. Maybe you’ll love it, too.

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CANTO: Werewolves, Satan, The Devil’s Trade, and More

April 1, 2022April 1, 2022CoreyLeave a comment

It’s Friday, so I’m going to do my best to keep this short and sweet.

We’ll start with Werewolves, who announced details surrounding a new full-length. From the Cave to the Grave is set for a June 24th release through Prosthetic Records. Check out the lyric video for “We Are Better Than You” here.
Dark folk artist The Devil’s Trade shared a clip for “Dreams from the Rot”, from the 2021 Roadburn Redux performance. Worth mentioning, that full performance will be made available come April 15th. Also, if you still don’t have a copy of The Call of the Iron Peak… here ya go.
Inhuman Condition, the project featuring members of Obituary, Deicide, and Venom Inc, unveiled a new single titled “Recycled Hate”. Fearsick, their sophomore effort, will be out on July 15th, and can be pre-ordered over at Bandcamp.
Satan is celebrating the release of Earth Infernal with a new video for “The Blood Ran Deep”, and that’s exactly how we’re going to round out the week. That album dropped today through Metal Blade, and can be purchased here.

“Ein Bier… bitte.”
– cmb

Album Review: Satan – “Earth Infernal”

April 1, 2022April 1, 2022ChrisLeave a comment

Some bands evolve and adapt, morphing into forms that incorporate diverse and growing influences. And some band keep on keepin’ on. I have no idea how bands a band like Satan is able to continually harness that NWOBHM flame they first stoked on 1983’s Court in the Act and not only keep it alight, but keep it fresh and new and completely unique from other bands out there doing the same. All of which is to say that Earth Infernal, the band’s sixth album and fourth since their 2011 re-emergence is another standard bearer for the cause, 10 tracks of righteous rock signal another classic entry in the annals of traditional metal.

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