Album Review: Fauna - "Ochre & Ash"

Oh look. Another killer project and album I missed from last month. But I assure you, I am making up for the lost time. Chicago's Motherless released Do You Feel Safe? through Prosthetic Records, and it is one hell of a debut. But that shouldn't be much of a surprise. Stavros Giannopoulos and Alex Klein of The Atlas Moth came together with Gary Naples and Anthony Cwan of Without Waves and they certainly brought the riffs.

24 hours and it's time to jump on another plane. After a day in Boston. I'll catch you all next week! We'll start with something I'm really excited about. Bell Witch & Aerial Ruin announced the impending release of Stygian Bough Vol. II, set to arrive on November 14th through Profound Lore. Check out "Waves Became The Sky".

I get back on a plane in two days. Wild. To start, Australian outfit Abominator revealed the second track from their upcoming new album. Give "Covens for Azmodeus" a listen here. Their sixth album, The Fire Brethren, is out on October 31st through Hells Headbangers. Death metallers Kontusion (who we recently profiled) have some East Coast dates coming in December…

The 408th edition of the Nine Circles Playlist left early for a wedding and Parents Weekend, so fingers crossed this gets published! Anyway lots of cool stuff (I'm assuming - I'm not here, remember?) including new Forbidden, some Direwind, and uh, new Ghost filtered through VHS? I dunno, looked cute, might delete later. The 9C crew will cover all there est of your needs, with some killer tracks from the likes of…

In case you missed it, there were a lot of awesome releases in September, and I'm still crawling my way through the pile. Next on my list, the (awesomely-named) Nicolas Cage Fighter. The four-piece metal/hardcore outfit out of Ballarat, Victoria released their debut, The Bones That Grew From Pain, back in 2022, and now they're back a few years later with…

I sure am looking forward to the schedule opening up a bit... in like a month. Eh, maybe I'm not. We open with an obvious one. Lamb of God are back with "Sepsis", their first new song since 2022's Omens. That single is out through Epic Records. Pick your preferred streaming platform here. Italian black metal band Vacua…

Again gang, I'm back from the woods and waters of California, and I'm here to bring you some fresh noise rock straight out of Connecticut. Intercourse have been on a release-per-year pace going back to their formation and 2013, and earlier this month they gave us How I Fell In Love With The Void via Brutal Panda Records. It's for outsiders, it's intense, and I most certainly dig it.

I am back from a long and grueling run along the California coast, amongst other things! And then right back down to Boston tomorrow. We'll start with militant black metal project Hammerfilosofi and the new track "Funeral Veil". That's the first to be revealed from Signum, which is out on October 31st through Osmose Productions. 1349 announced a new live album, …

We’re back with a little day-drinking Sunday special: just a little something to dull the pain of the end of the weekend and prepare your mind, body and spirit for the beginning of another long slog. Drink from the cup of heresy. This week’s offerings: Nibiridis’ Knight’s Heart and Pipeworks Brewing Company’s Oak Aged Märzen Lager.

The 407th edition of the Nine Circles Playlist is overwhelmed with the 12th annual Hooptober Horror Marathon as well as a near-unhealthy obsession with the Grateful Dead at the moment, so I'm going to let others steer the course of the playlist this week, lest you get nothing but extended jams of "Viola Lee Blues" and different configurations of "Help On The Way>Slipknot>Franklin's Tower".

The 406th edition of the Nine Circles Playlist is reeling over the loss of Tomas "Tompa" Lindberg, one the most distinct voices in modern metal. Who among us hasn't barked out the word "Go!" after hearing "Slaughter of the Soul" for the first time? So yeah, the playlist is really going to focus on the man, the myth, the legend with tons of…

Somehow I'm running a trail marathon a week from tomorrow. We start with New Zealand progressive death metal collective Blindfolded And Led To The Woods. A lyric video for "Cafuné" emerged today, a new single taken from The Hardest Thing About Being God Is That No One Believes Me. That's out on October 10th through Prosthetic Records.

Our next Profile sure is a good one. The immense third album from East Coast death/doom crew Innumerable Forms, titled Pain Effulgence, dropped about a month ago through Profound Lore and I'm stoked that it's time to feature this thing. Now, I hope this is a project you are already familiar with. But if not, the collective formed by members of Dream Unending, Sumerlands, Power Trip, Mammoth Grinder and more should immediately jump to the top of your listen list.

Alright, so you've basically got me for like four more days before I disappear for another week. Aren't you lucky? Opening things up, we have Vast Pyre and the details surrounding their second album. Bleak will be out on November 28th through Octopus Rising, and "Tenebrosity's Path", the first single, can be heard here. Out of Metal Blade, North Carolina’s…