the secret – Nine Circles

Josh Thieler’s Favorite Records of 2018

January 3, 2019January 3, 2019hardcorejoe5 Comments

2018 has been quite the year. It was a roller coaster personally, nationally, globally, and in the realm of metal. There are people that I loved that are gone now. There are people who are gone that I should have loved more. I failed a lot of people. I’ve struggled in so many ways. If you are curious about that, just listen to the last Slaves BC record or read any interviews I did during that release cycle. I got fatter, fitter, quit smoking, joined five or six more bands, did artwork for some bands, did PR for some others, and spent a lot (but never enough) of time with my wonderful wife and animals.

Anyway, I listened to a ton of music again in 2018. I didn’t get a chance to talk about any of it very much, but I listened to a ton. 2018 was another fantastic year for metal/hardcore/whatever. I’ve been altering this list for months and I had a real hard time narrowing it down as much as I did. Just like last year, I have compiled my favorite 50 full length metal/hardcore records, favorite 10 non-metal records, and my top 10 favorite EP’s/singles/etc.

I made this playlist with one track from each of the records that are on Spotify for you to listen to a sampling of everything below. Thank you for checking this out and here’s to a better 2019!

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Nine Circles ov…Clearing Out the Promo Pile, 2018 Edition

November 27, 2018November 26, 2018Chris2 Comments

9C ov...Promo Pile

Every leaf that falls from a tree, signaling the beginning of winter and the end of the year feels like it lands as yet another promo I haven’t had a chance to get to yet. The end of November also marks the time I start flushing out my various end of year lists, creating playlists of contenders and engaging in the massive purge of albums from my computer, releasing albums I’ll never come back to and freeing up precious space on the old hard drive.

But those lost, deserted promos call out to me, begging for another chance to be consumed, to be measured and contemplated. So think of this edition of Nine Circles ov… as part of the process (or just a cheap sequel to my last post), digging in the dirt for those glints of promise that – even this late in the year – can change a mind. Continue reading →

Wake Up and Smell the Satan! – August 17, 2018

August 17, 2018August 16, 2018eaLeave a comment

wake up and smell satan

America’s favorite religious trolls, The Satanic Temple, made headlines this week after bringing its Baphomet statue to a protest in Arkansas. A few time zones away, the Portland chapter announced its withdrawal from the Temple, citing alignment with neo-Nazism among other charges.

If you’ve lost track of the infernal drama, and who hasn’t, The Cut has a rundown, including the Corey Feldman situation.

Also in the universe of The Satanic Temple dramas – by way of the Temple of Set via the Church of Satan, which has been in a running verbal gun battle with TST spanning years – Michael A. Aquino has self-published a “50th anniversary revision” of The Satanic Bible, most synonymous with Anton LaVey. This book, however, bears no connection to LaVey’s. Got that straight?

In music, Hungary’s veteran atmospheric black metal crew Sear Bliss released their eighth album this week. Letters From The Edge from Hammerheart Records which was originally slated for a July release and features “Shroud,” whose lyric video came out in May.

“Almost Dead Dog” is the preview for Mamaleek’s forthcoming album, Out of Time. The duo’s sound is more on the avant garde/experimental wing of black metal, but nonetheless intriguing.