soilwork

The Nine Circles Playlist Vol. 274 (3.11.2023)

ChrisLeave a comment

playlist - mixtape

It was one of those weeks, folks. I’ve been heading back to the office more and more, and while the morning commute music starts light and lively at the beginning of the week, but the end I was blasting old school death metal just to fight the madness of the 45 minutes to traverse 6.7 miles and the anticipation of idiots and blow hards for another 10 hours. Man, I forgot how ferocious and full of ideas the old guard was, so we’re opening up the 274th edition of the Nine Circles Playlist with a trifecta of classics from Suffocation, Pestilence, and Nocturnus. Hope it gets your weekend off to a great start.

What’s the rest of the staff listening to? Well, there’s the triumphant return of Yakuza which instantly made my list of most anticipated albums, plus cuts from JAAW, Aphotic, Ihsahn and Ritual Mortis, more old school live from the likes of Kalmah, Sacramentum, and Soilwork, not to mention cuts from Barren Heir, Pharmakon, Gridlink, and Liturgy. More surprises lurk within (like holy shit maybe I’m crazy but this new Winger song ain’t half bad…), but we’re ending with a double-shot of classic Lynyrd Skynyrd. Rest in Peace, Gary Rossington…those early albums will shine forever.

Get listening. Stay safe. See you next week…

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– Chris

The Nine Circles Playlist Vol. 246 (8.27.2022)

ChrisLeave a comment
playlist - mixtape

This week Mastodon released a 90-minute documentary detailing the creation of our combined favorite album of 2021 (not to mention my personal favorite) so I’m leaving it to others to populate the playlist this week, lest you get nothing but the fearsome foursome in here.

(I might add a track or two, anyway. Prerogative of the writer, and all that)

Lots of good stuff on tap this week, including a new track from masters of metalcore Botch, new music from Tribal Gaze, The Halo Effect, Russian Circles, Devil’s Witches and Guapa (one to definitely watch out for). There’s also plenty of classics if that’s more your taste, including killer cuts from Twisted Sister, Running Wild, and Praying Mantis, a band I haven’t heard in FOREVER so thanks, Buke! All that and more…plus some Mastodon, of course.

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Get listening. Stay safe. See you next week.

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– Chris

Album Review: Soilwork — “Övergivenheten”

ChrisLeave a comment
Soilwork - Overgivenheten

No matter where you started with Soilwork, they’re probably not in the same place as when you started, you know? Over the course of 20+ years, from their young upstart roots as per the movement that heralded the poor yet aptly named New Wave of Swedish Death Metal to their streamlined commercial modern metal anthems in the mid 00s to the current wave of classic rock and prog-influenced metal of the past few years, the band has been nothing if not consistent in playing with the formula they helped create. The last few years have been especially fruitful, culminating in Övergivenheten, delivering equal parts ripping metal riffs and gigantic anthemic choruses that, contrary to the album’s translation, show no signs of the band abandoning the progress they’ve made in tweaking their signature sound.

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Initial Descent: August 14 – 20, 2022

JoshLeave a comment
Soilwork
Soilwork

I can’t keep up with all the goings on these days so I just quit trying and instead focus on things that matter. Good plan and I highly suggest it. However, I can keep up with all the new metal we know about so let’s do that. This week, the list has bloated once more offering pretty much anything for anyone that ventures its halls. But first, we’ve got new stuff from Soilwork (maaan, it’s good), Conan (maaan, it’s heavy), Asunojokei (this excites our man Chris), and Hammer King (power to the metal). Do look further down the list as well since, like I said, the list is bloated and loaded with the goods. Check them out, happy hunting, and we’ll see you here throughout the week.

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CANTO: Abhor, Soilwork, Sinner, and More

CoreyLeave a comment


I wasn’t planning on this post today, but work decided to be less shitty than I anticipated so here we are!

  • Threshold are releasing their 12th full-length album, which will be titled Dividing Lines, on November 18th through Nuclear Blast. Get your first sampling from that album with the new video for “Silenced”.
  • Abhor is a band that calls back to my early blogging days, so I’m happy to hear about their upcoming new material. Sex Sex Sex (Ceremonia Daemonis Antichristi) will be out on September 23rd through Iron Bonehead. Give “Evil Mentor” a listen here.
  • German hard rock crew Sinner unleashed their new album, Brotherhood, today through Atomic Fire Records. To mark the occasion, give the lyric video for “The Last Generation” a watch.
  • Michigan metalcore band Of Virtue are releasing a new EP on August 12th coincidentally also called Sinner. That will be available through Arising Empire, and pre-orders are officially live.
  • I’ve been listening to Övergivenheten a ton these last few days, so let’s close with the latest from Soilwork. Below is the video for “Dream Of Nowhere”. As a reminder, that album is out on August 19th through Nuclear Blast.

Well folks, this is my last post until at least the 26th, as I will be in Wyoming do mountain man stuff followed by Fire In The Mountains stuff. Be well, and I’ll see ya on the other side.

“Ein Bier… bitte.”
– cmb