The Nine Circles Audio Thing

Hearts of No Light is the fourth full length from Switzerland's forward thinking black metallers Schammasch and it's packed with so many different genres, tags, and out-of-this-world jams that at times it seems that black metal is just a footer to hold up their massive sound. Their last album, Triangle , was a three disc epic but here they pack all that into one disc with a tight 67 minute run tim...

After five long years Vomit Fist just released Omnicide and it seriously challenges the basis for genre tagging in the sense that they've taken the blackened grindcore from their debut, Forgive But Avenge , and molded it into a forward thinking art form. It's wild, reckless abandon one second and jazzy exploration the next but even that explanation is selling its many successes short. Then there's...

Since Episode 31 of the Nine Circles Audio Thing is for the October Album of the Month, it's fitting we're chatting about Exhumed and their latest deathgrind masterpiece Horror . I mean, what better month to wax on blood, guts, death metal, and all those sorts of dark things! Plus, we had an almost full house which offered tons of viewpoints and tons of great discussion about this album and so muc...

Right at the tail end of the month we bring you our most delayed AOTM yet! Episode 30 of the Nine Circles Audio Thing has the geometry you need, provided it comes in fours, because that's how many people we have lined up to talk about the Swedish Gods themselves, Opeth and their groove-tacular new observation In Cauda Venenum! The gang tries to put words together to wax on and off about the album...

Car Bomb is, in many ways, an anomaly in extreme metal. They've done things on their own terms for nearly twenty years now and with each new album they continue to push not only their own boundaries but the boundaries of extreme metal. The recently released Mordial is yet another shining example of pushing forward and even toppling their fantastic Meta from 2016. Progressive, mathy, grind, bombast...

Wretched Illusions , the debut full-length from Dallas, TX's death metal powerhouse Creeping Death landed on September 27th on Entertainment One and it's a screeching old school groove death fest, with more riffs than a Catskill comic and an authenticity that's second to none. The 9C crew has been keeping this on repeat since it came into the old inbox, and we couldn't wait to get the chance to hi...

We're back in classic trio format to cover all the angles for Episode 27 of the Nine Circles Audio Thing! Chris, Vincent and Charles come together like some weird off-brand Voltron to discuss the long-awaited return of Australian black/post/little bit of everything hybrid ** Hope Drone** and their new slab of grief Void Lustre - our Album of the Month selection for August 2019!! Charles obstensibl...

With some last minute injuries our Scholar of the First Sin Hera is called from the bench to lead Episode 26 of the Nine Circles Audio Thing! Together with Vincent and Charles depths are plumbed and gauntlets are thrown concerning the many, many virtues of Patterns in Mythology , the latest from black/folk/all kinds of metal Falls of Rauros - our Album of the Month selection for July 2019! Hera ha...

Episode 25! How the hell did we make 25 of these?! It boggles the mind, but not as much as the production choices on Gold & Grey , the latest from Savannah rocking sludge merchants Baroness and not coincidentally our Album of the Month selection for June 2019! Buke has the pick this month, and he guides there rest of the crew, including Chris, Hera, Jon and Vincent through the highs and lows o...

It's a crowded house, but not Crowded House because we're a metal site and I can't get anyone to do a retrospective on the genius of Temple of Low Men. Anyway, if you're reading these words you know it's Album of the Month time and - as usual - it's right under the wire. But when you have a new album from Darkthrone you're damn right we're gonna want to talk about it. That's right, folks... Old St...

Ascension , the debut full-length from Atlanta, GA's power/thrash outfit Paladin landed on May 17th on Prosthetic Records and it's a barn burner with more chops than a Shaw Brothers film. Seriously, this one is a rager, one the whole 9C crew is head over heels for, hitting old and new school sensibilities alike. Over Memorial Day Weekend vocalist and guitarist Taylor Washington sat down to chat an...

We're back, and in (almost) trio format! Think of it as Rush when they were a blues band, or like a bunch of folks with no idea what they're doing but enthusiastic about it anyway, the Album of the Month series keeps on a-rolling, with Allegaeon taking the honors thanks to their unbridled guitar-wheedling fury that is Apoptosis - our Album of the Month selection for April 2019! Charles has the pic...

It's almost as if we kinda know what we're doing! Like an elephant bashing the drums with a gorilla on guitar, the Album of the Month series continues its ramshackle adventure into the heart of metal, this time crowning Devin Townsend and his solo opus Empath as our Album of the Month selection for March 2019! Once again it's (almost) all hands on deck as Chris, Hera, Dan, Jon, and Anton jump into...

On March 24th, 1999 the heavens parted and the world was gifted the glory of "Crack the Skye," the fourth album from Mastodon . Their second outing on a major label, it's a sprawling prog-rock opus, sparing no expense to craft majestic riffs and killer hooks that ten years continue to reveal nuances and intricacies folks are talking about. Or at least we are. Chris, Dan, and Josh sit dow...

March 29 will see New York's Moon Tooth release their second full length Crux on Modern Static Records. To say it's hard rock with metal armor is putting it lightly since the band shifted their trajectory a bit from 2016's progressive leaning Chromaparagon and opted for some of the most hard charging, arena ready rock they've ever done. It's aggressive and memorable, two things that rarely go toge...

Two in a row! And not nearly as late as usual! Like an out of control freight train in a late 90s action film, the Album of the Month series continues its perilous journey, this time picking Ithaca and their debut full-length The Language of Injury -- our Album of the Month selection for February 2019! It's a full crew as Chris, Hera, Dan, Jon, Vincent and New Guy Charles dive into the brutal and...

And we're back! And late as usual! Happy 2019, folks...the Album of the Month series returns, bestowing the honor upon Mo'ynoq and their debut full-length Dreaming in a Dead Language -- our Album of the Month selection for January 2019! Vincent and Hera captain the ship for the start of 2019 to discuss the debut full-length from North Carolina's Mo'ynoq which dropped into our lives January 11 via...

Floridian death metallers Crypteria released their debut full length, independently, back in October and it's not only a killer trip down the Floridian memory lane but also the perfect album to remind us all what a force that particular branch of death metal is in extremely capable hands. To say we here at Nine Circles have been blown away by this band is an understatement and because of that Josh...

Surprising no one, we're cutting it right down to the wire on this one...Huzzah! The Album of the Month series returns, bestowing the honor upon Beyond Creation and their new LP Algorythm -- our Album of the Month selection for October 2018! Chris, Anton, Hera and Vince get together to talk about the Montreal band's third album which dropped October 12 on Season of Mist and its rich complexity, ow...

This past September, Rochester, UK, heavyweights Allfather dropped their new full-length, And All Will Be Desolation , to widespread acclaim. Ever since the release of their first EP, No Gods. No Masters , three years back, the band's consistently turned heads with their aggressive, groove-laden sludge riffs. But Desolation ups the ante even by Allfather's own lofty standards, serving up some of t...

Hey, we're late again! A little less late than last time, but...still late! Huzzah! Anyway, we're back with another edition of our Album of the Month series. In this edition, we'll be chatting about A Forest of Stars and their latest effort, Grave Mounds and Grave Mistakes -- our album of the month pick for September! A Forest of Stars hail from Leeds, UK, and dropped Mounds , their latest full-le...

It's almost October, and...we're late with this! Blame Dan the Nurse. (Sorry, we mean, Dan the almost -nurse.) But, just in the nick of time for our one-month-late AOTM schedule, we're back with our chosen highlight from August: Bummer 's Holy Terror !! Holy Terror , Bummer's debut full-length, dropped on August 24 via Learning Curve Records and High Dive Records . And good lord, did the Kansas Ci...

On Saturday, Metallica 's landmark album, ...And Justice for All , will celebrate its 30th anniversary. Originally released in 1988, the album is notable for many things: for the band's exploration of its progressive side; for their foray into music video-making, with "One"; and of course, for the near-complete lack of low-end through the entirety of the record. ( #justiceforjason #woke...

It's mid-August, and that means it's time to look back at July for our latest Album of the Month podcast. This month's honoree: Imperial Triumphant ! On July 13, the New York-based avant-garde/blackened death trio dropped their third full-length, Vile Luxury , via Gilead Media . Throughout the album, the band ponders the endless expansion and immensity -- and also, the ugliness and brutality -- of...

On July 5, Slayer 's fourth album, South of Heaven turned 30 years old. And today -- juuuuust a bit late, because that's how we roll here at the Audio Thing -- we're here to celebrate it. Widely acknowledged as a landmark in the band's catalogue and thrash in general -- if not quite as big of one as Reign in Blood -- the album was also an enormous influence on two of Nine Circles ' elder statesmen...