Nine Circles

CANTO: Frozen Factory, Goholor, Anasarca, and More Spring is here! For like, a day or two at least I suppose. Let's open the week with Erdve, the heavy sludge crew out of Lithuania . They announced a new album titled Epigrama will be out on May 29th through Season of Mist. Learn more about their third album here. Next up, progressive metal outfit Frozen Factory…

CANTO: Frozen Factory, Goholor, Anasarca, and More

Initial Descent: March 9 – 15, 2026 I had planned on coming in hot with more Monday Motivation but, nah. I’ve got mine, how about you? Either way, no matter what you’re doing or going to be doing or not doing, this week’s new releases pack some serious nitro to do or not do that thing you may or may not be doing. Cases in point: the incendiary, no-holds-barred grind from…

Initial Descent: March 9 - 15, 2026

The Nine Circles Playlist Vol. 430 (03.07.2026) The 430th edition of the Nine Circles Playlist is still reeling from the glut of great heavy music pouring out that frankly I've never heard of before now. Whether it's the stoner doom instrumentals of Clouds Taste Satanic (second circle coming next week!) or the gnarled thrashy and trashy Axe Dragger I've been happily drowning in music new to me.

Get your ears ready...the Nine Circles Playlist is refreshed and ready to rock your weekend.

CANTO: Evergrey, The Silver, Archspire, and More This is going to be a late post because I prioritized... basically everything besides this after I finished work. Oh Well. Also, hey, it's Bandcamp Friday. Go spend lots of money. Let's start with Gothenburg's melancholic legends Evergrey and the animated video for their new single "Architects Of The New Weave". That's the title track from their new album which is out on June 5th through Napalm Records.

CANTO: Evergrey, The Silver, Archspire, and More

Review: Bosse-de-Nage – Hidden Fires Burn Hottest What is it that makes an album "heavy"? An infinite number of metalheads with an infinite number of typewriters could return an infinite number of different answers to that question. Is it in the crunchiness of the riff? Is it tuning to drop Q flat? Is it how loud the music is played, or the vocals, or the blast beats, or the darkness of the lyrics?

Ian digs into the latest from Bosse-de-Nage, a band continuing the pursuit of unexplored dark metal avenues on their excellent new LP

Profile: American/Dutch jazz fusion trio Last Scene Alive Howdy, friends! It's been quiet on the Profile front for a couple of weeks, but I promise things are about to pick up in March. Right off the rip, we have Last Scene Alive and their debut album World Class Pep Talk. This trio features Amsterdam-based saxophonist Graham Robertson and Washington, DC-based synth player Zack Be and drummer Sean Sidley, and they have concocted something wonderfully...

Profile: American/Dutch jazz fusion trio Last Scene Alive

CANTO: Portrayal of Guilt, Distant, Witch Ripper, and More Boston day tomorrow! Much to do tonight. Starting with this... Awww yeah. New Portrayal of Guilt. …Beginning of the End will be out on April 24th through Run For Cover Records and today we got two new singles, "Ecstasy" and "Human Terror". They also have a North American run kicking off in May. This has potential to entertain me.

CANTO: Portrayal of Guilt, Distant, Witch Ripper, and More

Infernal Visions:  Deeper Graves and The Hermit Welcome to Infernal Visions, a column where I review an album and pull a tarot card, oracle, or rune called forth by said album, sharing my interpretation of the card and how I feel it relates to the music.  Let us bring together distortion and divinity.  This week's calling is post-punk album Pull Me Toward the Dark by Deeper Graves…

Angela is back, and bringing a new column to 9C. Get ready to experience Infernal Visions with the music of Deeper Graves to accompany your reading.

CANTO: Blackbraid, Bodysnatcher, Killswitch Engage, and More Plenty of good things to highlight on this snowy Tuesday evening! We start with Indigenous solo black metal project Blackbraid. A new EP, Nocturnal Womb, is out independently this coming Friday and "Celestial Bloodlust" can be heard through Black Metal Promotion. Next, a tour I would very much like to attend! Killswitch Engage and Machine Head, along with…

CANTO: Blackbraid, Bodysnatcher, Killswitch Engage, and More

BEYOND ALL HORIZONS: Fire Magic, I, Immortal Cold icewinds sweep my weightless body over the bridge to unknown lands. The fog was thick before me as I fell into the unknown realms. The darkness had fallen before me, as I saw my body fall into the ground. I am far away, I am far away from the sun… Beyond All Horizons features shorter reviews dedicated solely to black metal: a new release, an older album (a month, a year, a decade, or perhaps even longer), concluded with a hand-picked track of the week.

BEYOND ALL HORIZONS: Fire Magic, I, Immortal

CANTO: Necrofier, Bosse-de-Nage, Bloodbound, and More The start of another week, and it's going to be a busy one. Let's head to the inbox... Houston-based black metal entity Necrofier just dropped Transcend Into Oblivion last Friday through Metal Blade, and they immediately followed it up with a new video for "Fires Of The Apocalypse, Light My Path I". Meanwhile, Hidden Fires Burn Hottest is out this coming Friday through The Flenser, and the latest from…

CANTO: Necrofier, Bosse-de-Nage, Bloodbound, and More

Initial Descent: March 2 – 8, 2026 As a whole, we’d all be better off to read, reread, and deeply study the poem by Rudyard Kipling called If. I revisit that regularly and it’s served me well over the years. Motivation Monday, there you go. Now then, we come to this week’s blast of new, shiny, extreme things and we’re kicking it off with the off kilter blackgaze of…

Initial Descent: March 2 - 8, 2026

The Nine Circles Playlist Vol. 429 (02.28.2026) The 429th edition of the Nine Circles Playlist went BACK to the mountains...this time hopefully there'll be less snow. The soundtrack for the trip? The new Claypool Lennon Delirium single is a hoot, and having Willow Smith on it (trust me, her last two albums are incredible) is just icing on the cake. Don't fret, there's more extreme music on the trip to counter the groovy psych: I just went on a massive 20 Buck Spin and Small Stone Records media spree, so here's some…

Cold, tired, hungry? Maybe this week's playlist can provide sustenance with tracks from the Claypool Lennon Delirium, Celestial Sanctuary, and a few more bands that start with "C"...

CANTO: Frozen Soul, Elder, Inferi, and More I'm feeling better. I ran today. I have a show to attend at a killer brewery tomorrow. Things are pretty damn good. The first new album announcement comes from heavy psychedelic rock outfit Elder. Through Zero gets here on May 29th through Blues Funeral Recordings (in North America). Some more details can be found here. FYI... I am quite excited.

CANTO: Frozen Soul, Elder, Inferi, and More

Review: A Wilhelm Scream – Cheap Heat It’ll always be a wonder to me why A Wilhelm Scream are not more of a household name than they are. While I haven’t been around since the Smackin’ Isaiah days, I did get in on the ground floor of Mute Print, and I’ve loved their technical and highly flashy take on melodic hardcore ever since then. Cheap Heat…

Ian brings A Wilhem Scream to Nine Circles. I'm just imaging the dude in the shadows that lady on the cover is about to carve up will be providing said scream. Read to find out!

CANTO: Nunslaughter, Mauled, The Great Observer, and More Ehhhh I'm ready for this week to be over and this cold to go away. Onto the links... Cleveland's Nunslaughter announced a new album, Satanic Chaos Legions, will be out on June 26th through BLKIIBLK and a lyric video for the title track is available now as an early preview. And a tour. Indiana deathcore outfit Mauled are embarking on a U.S.

CANTO: Nunslaughter, Mauled, The Great Observer, and More

CANTO: Egregore, Monstrosity, Eihwar, and More I feel like I might be on the upswing finally? Which is great. Because I'm going to another show this weekend. US death metal veterans Monstrosity are releasing Screams From Beneath The Surface on May 13 through Metal Blade and today offered up a clip for "The Atrophied". Staying with the dark and heavy, Vancouver black/death metal entity Egregore…

CANTO: Egregore, Monstrosity, Eihwar, and More

Nine Circles ov… The Month That Was: February 2026 Too many albums, too few reviewers…that’s the problem with all the metal blogs, not just this one. What do you do? How do you get a sense of what’s out there if you’re only listening to a fraction of what’s getting released? How do you open yourself up to new music? I’ll tell you how: you jump into all the unpicked promos each month and devote a sentence or two giving a sense of what you gleaned from it.

Nine Circles ov… The Month That Was: February 2026

Too many albums, too few reviewers…that’s the problem with all the metal blogs, not just this one. What do you do? How do you get a sense of what’s out there if you’re only listening to a fraction of what’s getting released? How do you open…

CANTO: Conjurer, Terror, Volcandra, and More Worm arrived today. Needless to say, that will be spinning on repeat all night. A tour! Conjurer announced a North American run with Sadness, Snooze, and Pains this coming May and June, kicking off on the 22nd in NYC. The full schedule with ticket links can be found here. Out of Prosthetic Records, Volcandra are releasing Beyond the Will of Mortals…

CANTO: Conjurer, Terror, Volcandra, and More

Review: Cryptic Shift — Overspace & Supertime Emerging from cryosleep six years after their landmark full-length Visitations from Enceladus, English sci-fi phenoms Cryptic Shift have returned with their most ambitious and otherworldly album yet. Overspace & Supertime is a monolith of astral death/thrash that pays homage to the genre progenitors of the '80s and '90s while scouting new hyperspace lanes into the future. If you want a glimpse into where "old school"-coded extreme metal…

Review: Cryptic Shift - "Overspace & Supertime"

CANTO: Death Angel, Beyond Creation, Reeking Aura, and More It sure was fun shooting a show last weekend, but today was super long so I'm going to rush through this before it gets any later. Here we go! Death Angel announced the second leg of their Act III tour. Hear their classic album performed in its entirety starting on May 1st in Phoenix. General ticket sales begin on Friday…

CANTO: Death Angel, Beyond Creation, Reeking Aura, and More

Initial Descent: February 23 – March 1, 2026 Not gonna lie, it’s been a tough week since we last shared words here. Life can be glorious in one moment and the next…not so much. But, we carry on. And, the music that constantly hits new release bins helps so let’s discuss that very thing for this week, shall we? Unburier get the death metal lead out on their latest EP of old meets new school on this headturner, …

Initial Descent: February 23 - March 1, 2026

The Nine Circles Playlist Vol. 428 (02.21.2026) The 428th edition of the Nine Circles Playlist went into the mountains and was trapped inside during a snowstorm all day Friday...nothing but new releases from Belzebong, Exhumed, and more to warm my freezing bones. I'm also not a heathen; of course I spun the latest from Lovebites twice already, and DAMN it is good, maybe my current favorite power metal band right now.

The Nine Circles Playlist Vol. 428 (02.21.2026)

The 428th edition of the Nine Circles Playlist went into the mountains and was trapped inside during a snowstorm all day Friday...nothing but new releases from Belzebong, Exhumed, and more to warm my freezing bones. I'm also not a heathen; of course…

Receiving the Evcharist: Worm Shepherd and Pipeworks Brewing Company YEAH, I’M BACK. And boy howdy, do I need a drink (from the cup of heresy). Fortunately, I’ve got all that and more with this week’s offerings: Worm Shepherd’s Dawn of the Iconoclast and Pipeworks Brewing Company’s Pastrami on Rye.

Receiving the Evcharist: Worm Shepherd and Pipeworks Brewing Company

CANTO: Arch Enemy, The Silver, Intoxicated, and More Will I brave the snow to photograph a show tomorrow night? Honestly, probably. Holy moly I keep forgetting we're getting new stuff from The Silver soon! Check out the video for the new single "When the Moon is Three" right here. And as a reminder, Looking Glass Hymnal Blue is out on March 20th through Gilead Media. Death thrash outfit…

CANTO: Arch Enemy, The Silver, Intoxicated, and More

Profile: Irish black/death metal act Coscradh There's another massive release day on the horizon and today I'm excited to preview one such album and artist for you all. The second LP from Irish death and black metal project Coscradh is out tomorrow through 20 Buck Spin, titled Carving The Causeway To The Otherworld. Packed with heritage and history, this ruthless collection offers intrigue at every corner.

Profile: Irish black/death metal act Coscradh

CANTO: Belphegor, Fotocrime, Lantlôs, and More Friday will mark the first show I've been to since... last summer? FITM? Is that right? Holy shit gang. Belphegor are kicking off a North American tour tomorrow (I'll be at the Friday stop), so let's start things off with their new single "Scarlet Beast – Leviathan". The Austrian black death metal crew are still getting it done. Good shit.

CANTO: Belphegor, Fotocrime, Lantlôs, and More

CANTO: Nekrogoblikon, Gaerea, Arroganz, and More Yesterday was a much needed bonus weekend day, and tomorrow I have a new camera lens coming in. Things could be worse! Let's start the week (kinda) with some stoner grunge. Obey The Sun shared a music video for "Cosmic Haze", a track taken from their upcoming new EP titled Desert Ritual. That's out on April 3rd. The most important news of the day (probably) came from…

CANTO: Nekrogoblikon, Gaerea, Arroganz, and More

BEYOND ALL HORIZONS: Winter Eternal, Griffar, Hísemtuks Hími•n Cold icewinds sweep my weightless body over the bridge to unknown lands. The fog was thick before me as I fell into the unknown realms. The darkness had fallen before me, as I saw my body fall into the ground. I am far away, I am far away from the sun… Beyond All Horizons features shorter reviews dedicated solely to black metal: a new release, an older album (a month, a year, a decade, or perhaps even longer), concluded with a hand-picked track of the week.

BEYOND ALL HORIZONS: Winter Eternal, Griffar, Hísemtuks Hími•n

Cold icewinds sweep my weightless body over the bridge to unknown lands. The fog was thick before me as I fell into the unknown realms. The darkness had fallen before me, as I saw my body fall into the ground. I am far away, I am far…

Initial Descent: February 16 – 22, 2026 I’ll be somewhere warm when this goes to print. Or at least, I’ll start the day where it’s warm. This makes me absurdly happy. Moving on… we’re nearly two months into 2026 and I’ve got a solid handful of releases that I just cannot get enough of so to me that’s a strong signal that we could have yet another fabulous year here in the realm of metal.

Initial Descent: February 16 - 22, 2026