2020’s The Divine Apostate is an album that I initially slept on. As in all things, I should have listened to Josh from the start, but I was a little slow on the uptake when it came to Angerot. However, once I tried their branded coffee on a complete whim (and you should too, as noted here), I quickly moved on to their music and was suitably impressed. We’ve made no bones about our fervor for The Profound Recreant, but it should be noted all the same that this has the potential to blow even our high expectations right out of the water.
Since we somehow managed to complete another trip around the sun recently, I’ve seen a lot of those anticipatory posts flying around where people share what albums they’re looking forward to in the year ahead. And I get it. Lists are clickbait-y, and there actually is a lot of stuff to look forward to in Metal: 2023. Being one to regularly cave to peer pressure, I figured we could jump on that train as well. And by “we”, I mean your Nine Circles editing staff, also known as the Top Brass, and also known as the Benevolent Overlords to at least one person. See, I personally didn’t want to write up on nine different albums that don’t even exist yet. It’s hard for me to explain why I’m looking forward to something beyond simply saying “I like that band, so I hope the new album doesn’t suck”. But two or three albums? I can bullshit my way through that, no problem. And wouldn’t you know it? Other members of the editing team were willing to drop some words on a couple albums of their choosing, as well. That, my friends, is how we got here. So without further delay, starting with my picks, here are nine albums the Nine Circles Top Brass are looking forward to in the year ahead.
Nine Circles 