sigh

CANTO: Nightmarer, Pupil Slicer, Signs of the Swarm, and More

CoreyLeave a comment


I literally cannot stop listening to Terrasite. So god damn good.

  • Dissonant death metal entity Nightmarer unveiled a new single from Deformity Adrift. Stream “Brutalist Imperator” here. That album is slated for a May 5 release through Total Dissonance Worship in the US and Vendetta Records in Europe.
  • Black Tusk have a small handful of live dates coming up in May, which includes a performance at Hell in the Harbor Festival and a couple shows with Restless Spirit. Here’s the schedule.
  • Sigh have announced a new live album, Live: Eastern Forces Of Evil 2022, which will be out on June 23 through Peaceville. Here’s that preorder link, if you need it.
  • Ahead of their tour with Whitechapel, Entheos, and Archspire, Signs Of The Swarm dropped a new standalone single through Century Media titled “Amongst the Low & Empty”. Give that a watch and listen here.
  • Closing out, we have new material from Pupil Slicer. Check out the video for “No Temple” below, the second track taken from their upcoming sophomore album, Blossom. That’s set for a June 2 release through Prosthetic Records.

“Ein Bier… bitte.”
– cmb

The Nine Circles Playlist Vol. 277 (4.01.2023)

ChrisLeave a comment

playlist - mixtape

I toyed with the idea of just making this the 277th edition of the Nine Circles Playlist a Rick Roll and leave it at that, but damn if Metallica didn’t release their fourth single (and the title track) to the forthcoming 72 Seasons so we’ll just keep on keeping’ on, and give you some of the blasted tunes we’ve been spinning the past week. I’ve had the new remastered vinyl of Cave In’s Until Your Heart Stops on repeat ever since it hit the house (thank you Josh!) so we’re throwing that in as well as a track from the new Sermon, which is really scratching the Ulver/Junius itch I’ve been feeling lately.

Elsewhere the crew has you covered with all manner of blasphemous hymns. We’ve got new tracks from Calligram and Henget, killer cuts from The Hanging Garden, VOLA, and Kontinuum, not to mention some blasting heaviness from a resurgent Cloak, a revamped Nervosa, the nu-groove of OTTTO and the welcome return of Allfather. But wait! There’s also Soundgarden, Blaze of Sorrow, Arcturus, and a final dose of the metal from the likes of Gorguts, Sigh, and more. And since we welcome closure here, why not another dose of classic Metallica to close things off, huh?

Get listening. Stay safe. See you next week…

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– Chris

Best of 2022: D. Morris’s List

D MorrisLeave a comment
Best of 2022

2022: The Year I came back… to writing about music that is. When the year started, I had no plans to write about anything and now I’m writing for Nine Circles. It feels good to write about music again, especially heavy music. Putting together a best of list felt like cramming for an exam, especially since I just started here. There’s excellent albums, not on here, that I purposefully left off because my fellow Nine Circles writers would mention or because they were similar to albums I simply loved more. Here are 15 heavy (and heavy adjacent) albums I loved in 2022 in alphabetical order.

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Best of 2022: Chris’s List

Chris1 Comment
Best of 2022


We’re going to keep the intro brief on this one. Year after year I struggle to find the words to open this post, where I ostensibly count down my favorite 25 metal albums of the year. Typically the first thing I do is check out the previous year’s entry…read and see if the themes are still relevant, if there’s anything I want to refine or emphasize for the current year. And for the first time, I didn’t find anything worth changing. Yes…I may have finally nailed it with my 2021 Best Of introduction.

By now you’ve (hopefully) read my post talking about nine albums that didn’t make my but could have, and my 15 Honorable Mentions and how the very concept of an honorable mention seems to contradict itself when the music is so good. I would usually say that was all prelude to this, but that’s a lie. You know, and now I do as well. In the end, all we can do is recount the things we love, and hope it inspires something in you.

So if you will, a request: go back and read that intro to 2021. And then check out the albums listed below for this year. Don’t worry about rankings, don’t worry about omissions. Just check out the music, and let it hopefully inspire something in you.

All of these albums did that for me.

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The Nine Circles Playlist Vol. 261 (12.10.2022)

ChrisLeave a comment

playlist - mixtape

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