zeal and ardor – Nine Circles

CANTO: Cynic, Opeth, Vile Creature, and More

September 15, 2021September 15, 2021CoreyLeave a comment

I have returned from a long weekend in which I ran way too many miles. Now let’s see how many new singles we can cram into this thing.

Let’s start with Cynic, who have announced new album details and shared a new single. Ascension Codes will be out on November 26th through Season of Mist, and “Mythical Serpents” can be heard at this location.
This is from yesterday, but there’s no doubt I still need to include it. Opeth have announced a fall 2021 tour with Mastodon and Zeal & Ardor. Those dates are in November and early December, and take place at some really cool venues. Hopefully this tour plays out as planned, because I absolutely plan on making this happen.
Vile Creature covered Kittie’s “Paperdoll”, and that sounds like a fun thing to add to the pile today. That’s part of The Flenser’s Send the Pain Below compilation, which you can find a vinyl copy of somewhere in here.
I’m really excited about The Silver, the new group featuring members of Horrendous and Crypt Sermon. So here’s the new track from that project, titled “Breathe”. Their debut, Ward of Roses, drops on October 15th through Gilead Media.
Let’s close with the new video from Aeon, because I’m still excited about their new stuff. Check out the clip for “God Ends Here” below, the title-track from their new album set for an October 15th release through Metal Blade Records.

“Ein Bier… bitte.”
– cmb

The Nine Circles Playlist Vol. 183 (05.29.2021)

May 29, 2021May 28, 2021VincentLeave a comment

Welcome to this week’s Nine Circles Saturday morning mixtape playlist. This week, we’ve got the much requested (seriously like four people picked this one) new single from Zeal and Ardor, some classic Necrophagist, and a usual barrage of death metal from our esteemed Editor in Chief. Take a listen below and kick that (hopefully for most of you) long weekend off.

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– Vincent

Best of 2020: Angela’s List

January 14, 2021January 12, 2021Angela BlockLeave a comment

We all know that 2020 was a very unpleasant year (to say the least). You don’t need me to list all the ways it was awful. We are all painfully aware of the details, and even more so as we look back at our 2020 new year’s resolutions we had made (travel more, drink less; you know). So enough of that, let’s focus on a bit of positivity and good that emerged from the past 12 months. For instance, there were so many new and wonderful musical releases that I could not even keep up. Every new album I listened to brought some joy, some goosebumps, and some pain—but in a good, cathartic way. As usual, my super indecisive self had a difficult time narrowing down the list of favorites. I managed to finally settle(ish) on a list. These selections are different (with the exception of my number one pick) from when I weighed in on the group list and different on the EOY Podcast episode—apologies for the inconsistency but, again, I’m indecisive (and also anxious).

Here are my top 13 as of this moment (because I love all things spooky, and c’mon, we’ve already had all the bad luck brought upon us) and a little list of some nonmetal favorites.

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The Nine Circles Audio Thing: Best of 2020

January 6, 2021January 1, 2021ninecirclesadmin2 Comments

For this episode we go all in with most of the staff for our best of 2020 picks. We hit the high notes of what tickled our fancies for the year that was a shitstorm and even welcomed in a new member to the family. So, buckle up for an epic episode that has a wealth of stuff you may have missed and be sure to take notes, artists we mention need your support so open up those wallets and purses.

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Best of 2020: Ian’s List

January 4, 2021December 31, 2020IanLeave a comment

Ah, the big one. I’ve been looking forward to writing this for a while, but I also can’t help but feel like there’s no way I could possibly put everything I loved about music in 2020 into enough words to satisfy myself. If I had enough time or gumption to make a list that was twenty or thirty albums long, I still don’t think that would be enough. So much great music happened amid the Unpleasantness, and I think more than ever it was worth paying attention to all of it, whether for excitement or escape or transcendentalism or catharsis. For me, losing a twice-daily commute meant that I had to be an active listener to the music I chose to put on, and I think that made the releases that stood out to me stand out all the more. Plus, being a part of the team here has been a literal dream come true, and I had more access than ever to quality releases. Without further ado, here are the ones I’ve fallen for the hardest.

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