sumerlands

CANTO: Abrams, Necrofier, The Wraith, and More

CoreyLeave a comment


Super late canto because sometimes life be like that.

  • TRVE Brewing’s 11th anniversary event is officially set for June 24 at the Gothic Theatre in Englewood, Colorado. The lineup features Godflesh, Sumerlands, Stormkeep, and more. If I lived out that way… you know I would be there. Anyway, here’s your ticket link (they go on sale Friday).
  • Abrams have announced a run of shows out West with BleakHeart, which covers a good chunk of May. They’ll be promoting their latest release, In The Dark, which is available through Small Stone Recordings.
  • Texan black metallers Necrofier announced a new album, Burning Shadows in the Southern Night, which will be out on June 2 through Season of Mist Underground Activists. Check out the vicious new single, “Burnt by the Sacred Flame”, here.
  • Jesus Piece released “Silver Lining”, the latest from …So Unknown. Give it a listen here. That album is slated for an April 14 release through Century Media.
  • Closing out, we have Nine Circles favorite The Wraith. They’re back with their new vocalist Harley Mace, and a video for “Overthrown” can be seen below. You can also snag it through Bandcamp. That’s taken from Ghost March, which we’ll look out for later this year.

“Ein Bier… bitte.”
– cmb

Missed Connections: Looking Back on 2022

IanLeave a comment
Best of 2022

Writing this list in particular is always one of my favorite points in the year.  It’s the time where I get to look at everyone else’s list and go “hey, I should have included that too!”, and it gives me a chance to go back and look at all the stuff that I have missed out on listening to in favor of obligations, lack of time, lack of brainpower, or simply not being able to turn off Origins like I know I need to.  It’s always good to take one last look back on everything before we properly usher in the new year and new releases with it, so let’s jump into some of the things that I am currently kicking myself for not giving more attention to.

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The Nine Circles Playlist Vol. 264 (12.31.2022)

ChrisLeave a comment

playlist - mixtape

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

The Nine Circles Playlist Vol. 244 (8.13.2022)

ChrisLeave a comment
playlist - mixtape

Can we all agree the world is a garbage fire right now? I think we can all agree. We might not agree on the reasons WHY we think it’s a garbage fire, but maybe we can all unite under the commonality that the flames are curling ever closer to our toes. And if not, there’s always metal, right?

And to that end we’re kicking off the 244th edition of the Nine Circles Playlist with a couple veterans churning out some kille rnew music, like the latest from Megadeth and the reunion of Fates Warning alums Ray Alder and Mark Zonder in the aptly named A-Z. Plus we have razor sharp slices of new (not nu) metal from the likes of Sigh, Sumerlands, The Antichrist Imperium, Liminal Shroud and Arch Enemy. Plus some off the beaten path tracks from bands like Slowdive and Ride before jumping back into extremity with Black Anvil, In Flames, The Answer Lies in the Black Void and more!

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Get listening. Stay safe. See you next week.

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– Chris

Nine Circles ov… Phil Swanson

JoshLeave a comment

Phil Swanson
Phil Swanson

In light of the recent and fantastic self-titled debut from Sumerlands, which Phil Swanson (vocals) is a member of, I revisited some of my favorite projects he has been and is involved in. Since hearing Hour Of 13 for the first time I’ve had a fondness for his vintage and classically powerful vocal sound. It speaks to a time when metal wasn’t about being the fastest or most guttural. And of course every band he’s been associated with has a tie to doom metal of the occult persuasion and they are all great in their own rite. For this Nine Circles ov... I’m highlighting Hour Of 13, Seamount and Vestal Claret. Barely scratching the surface for sure, but there’s only nine picks and these nine were tough to whittle down. Continue reading →