The 416th edition of the Nine Circles Playlist is just thankful to have almost made it through the year, you know? And not gonna lie: hitting December means it's time to setback and really listen, start to wade through the collection and nail down what hits, what sticks, and what gets tossed back into the ether. For me that means checking out these recent released from…

“Make sure the foundation on the fucking house is solid,” a dear friend texted me as an opener and preparation for checking out Montreal, Quebec’s Phobocosm. Good thing he did. Foreordained ended up in my Missed Connections column for 2023, which made me realize two things: I should have gotten acquainted with them much sooner, and that I should not pass up an opportunity to give them a review promptly when a new album drops.

It is the eve of American Thanksgiving. That is all. German power metal sounds like a fun way to kick things off. Scythed return with a new single titled "Defiance". For those unfamiliar, that's a new solo project from Markus Tillman. We'll see where it goes from here. Slaughterday are releasing Dread Emperor, their sixth full-length album, on February 13th through Testimony Records.

It is my absolute honor to bring forward this latest Profile. Long-running American funeral doom and death metal entity Evoken released Mendacium last month through Profound Lore Records, and with their seventh full-length album they've crafted something as dark and suffocating as anything in their history. As a longtime Evoken fan myself - I still recall the first time I saw them live at MDF 2013 vividly, and how wonderfully oppressive their sound was in person - I was immediately impressed by…

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.

I have a feeling this is going to be a very long short week. As usual. Finnish modern metal band Hexbloom released their debut track earlier in 2025, and now they're back again with the second single titled "Celestial Doom". A video for that can be seen here. Roman extreme metal crew Deos unleashed a vicious new track titled "Dura Lex Sed Lex" along with a lyric video…

The 415th edition of the Nine Circles Playlist has so many things to do this morning, but maybe let's just spin that new Converge single one mortise, yeah? And maybe the so-dumb-it-spins-back-to-good Megadeth single? Speaking of Megadeth...David Ellefson joined Metal Church!? Health is back?! Truly the metal gods have decided this is the time of giving...and I haven't even mentioned that…

It’s been a while since we’ve cracked a cold one with the readers, so let’s change that! I gotta clean out the ol’ beer fridge anyway. Drink from the cup of heresy with me, folks. This week’s offerings: Monachopsis’ The Carcass Choir and Prairie St. Brewing Company’s Screw City.

Only one more day until another Boston adventure. Germany's Aether are releasing their second album, Verfallsschemen, on December 18th through Amor Fati Productions. Check out the new track, "Verfallen", right now. MØL, the Danish alternative metal outfit, shared the new single "Young" with an accompanying music video. That's the second single from their upcoming new album, …

Another week where three days have felt like five. Oh well. Seattle heavy metal/thrash outfit Vanishment released the new single and (lyric video) titled "Engraved Under Skin". That's the second track taken from And Now We Die, their new album set for a January 23rd release. How about a tour? Bleed From Within announced their first North American headlining run, and it will be with special guests…

It's not the cold that gets ya, it's the 4pm darkness. We start with some Finnish heavy metal in the form of Battle Beast. They just released Steelbound through Nuclear Blast last month, and today they offered up a video for "Watch The Sky Fall" from that effort. More heavy metal! Death Dealer announced that a new upcoming full-length album, …

Our first Profile of the week sure is an intense one. Defigurement, the limitless death/grind metal entity, released Endbryo last month through Nefarious Industries. And I don't say 'limitless' casually. Their debut is wonderfully formless in its intensity. It's experimental, it's progressive, but it still holds all of the ruthlessness we would hope for from anything that falls into the 'grind' sphere.

A long Monday after a long weekend. So it goes. Let's start with a tour. Belphegor, Narcotic Wasteland, Incantation, and Hate are cruising through North America in February and March, kicking off on the 19th in Brooklyn. Get the schedule and all the details here. Screw it. Another tour. Dayseeker with Northlane, Wind Walkers, and…

The 414th edition of the Nine Circles Playlist wants you to know it's okay if your favorite album didn't make Decibel's Top 40 of 2025; it's a solid list with a few surprises I never heard of, which is what I look for in ANY list. Remember: if you're looking for a list to justify or agree with your own picks, you're doing it wrong.

I'll ask yet again... who will I be seeing next July at Red Eagle Campground? Because Fire In The Mountains announced the latest round of 2026 bands, which includes the likes of Baroness, Dreadnought, The Ruins of Beverast and more. The greatest festival on Earth is only getting better, my friends. Somewhat related! Weft, the progressive (black/death/etc) metal project from Panopticon's Charlie Anderson, …

Discovering and giving exposure to brand new artists is one of the greatest privileges when it comes to writing about music. And when a fantastic musician you're already familiar with announces something completely new, it's hard not to set your expectations high. With Weft and debut LP The Splintered Oar I can say with confidence that these expectations were not only met, but surpassed.

There's a bourbon barrel-aged stout waiting for me to wrap this post up. We start with Italian metal outfit HyperioN and their new lyric video for "Rewire, Rebuild". That's the second single from Cybergenesis, which is out on January 15th through Fighter Records. Finnish garage rockers Sweatmaster are releasing More! on January 30th through Svart Records, and they just unveiled…

Another day, another profile! Today we're proud to feature the veteran death metal/slam crew out of Long Island Internal Bleeding. Having just released their seventh album last month through Maggot Stomp, Settle All Scores, and on the cusp of a trio of shows celebrating that album's release, the timing couldn't be better to give this thing some attention. Packed with heavy riffs and catchy grooves, their latest effort takes on an entirely new form of aggression.

This sure has been a long week. At least there's a show to go to this weekend? Long-running Belgian black metal crew Enthroned are releasing Ashspawn on December 5th through Season of Mist, and today they offered up the latest from their 12th album in the form of "Ashen Advocacy". Patriarchs in Black released their fourth album back in August through Metalville, a collection titled…

I've never considered myself a fan of Lamp of Murmuur --- I actively disliked Saturnian Bloodstorm for its unsubtle At the Heart of Winter-isms that stayed almost exclusively on one side of the tasteful tribute vs. blatant ripoff debate --- but given the act's ongoing ascension within black metal I've continued to pay attention in the hopes there will be a release that…

It has now officially snowed multiple days this week. It's going to be a long winter. Time to strap in, I suppose. We start with a tour. Orbit Culture announced a North American headlining run early next year, and they'll be joined by Ov Sulfur and Atlas throughout. The party kicks off on February 18th and tickets go on sale Friday here…

Mondays aren't fun, we know this, but I did acquire a new camera over the weekend and that IS fun at least. Heavy psych/sludge band out of Mumbai, Midhaven, dropped the heavy new single "The Veiler". That's a follow up to 2021's Of The Lotus & The Thunderbolt and arrives ahead of some December dates in Japan. Next up, Texas metal outfit…