The Nine Circles Audio Thing

Bay Area's Necrot have, in short order, become a household name for those of us that love our death metal sinewy and with tons of blood and guts yet keeping intact the basic tenets that death metal was built upon. Their first full length Blood Offerings saw the band explode with tons of positive coverage and electrifying live shows to back it up. And now with their second offering Mortal they build on this success with an even gnarlier sound that will appeal to not only death metal fans but fans of all metal far and wide. There's no escaping the hype train for these guys but it is well deserved, this is a band that is building their future by staying true to themselves and working as hard as they can to share true death metal with the masses. It's vicious, pummeling ecstacy and truly lightning in a bottle.

Ahead of Mortal's release, Luca took some precious time to chat with Buke about the upcoming album and how their hard work has paid dividends to gain as much attention to their brand of death metal as possible. They also spend some time on the impact of their debut Blood Offerings, Luca's early days in Italy organizing shows, why "Stench of Decay" was selected as the lead off single, Luca's Metal vs Racism joint venture with Eric from Gatecreeper, and so much more! This is their conversation -- jump in and take listen!

Mortals will be available August 28 on Bandcamp, and on Tankcrimes. To keep up with all things Necrot, visit their Facebook page.

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Episode 48 of The Nine Circles Audio Thing is all about the Album of the Month for June which is Behold the Silent Dwellers by Spain's black metal purveyors Aversio Humanitatis. Buke once again captains the episode joined by Vince, Ian, Charles, and Anton who had the pick for the month!

The crowd may have been thin for this episode but that doesn't mean the discussion was any less than stellar regarding the latest by Aversio Humanitatis, which, as Anton very colorfully points out, may well be their finest work to date. The fact that Behold the Silent Dwellers has racked up loads of positive press is no mistake, the band cohesively marries black and death metal with hints of post and atmospheric metal as if they've been around for far more than ten years. The discussion covers their history and how it stacks up to this release, differing opinions on what they do right and wrong, favorite tracks from this release and their previous release, and praise for their label, Debemur Morti Productions.

All that and a "what else drove our boats" in June section that sees a lengthy discussion on the latest from Vile Creature, among others. At just over 1-1/2 hours, this episode is chock full of stuff to keep you occupied and content during the still ongoing COVID season. So jump in and get an earful!

9C LINKS: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

9C LINKS: Website | Facebook | Twitter (X) | Instagram | Bluesky

Power metal elicits passion like no other fanbase in metal.  As a genre it's stuck to its guns of pomp and bombast, technical wizardry and anthemic hooks and carved a truly unique niche that continues to surprise to this day.  And for 20 years over the course of nine albums Falconer have been staunch advocates for forward-thinking, aggressive and righteous metal that never catered to a fad.  New album From A Dying Ember may be the closing chapter of the band, but as you'll see from our interview with Stefan Weinerhall the future is always filled with possibilities.

Our champion of the mic Buke sat down with the visionary behind the band to talk about the steps that led to the closing of the Falconer book and the work that went into making From A Dying Ember the quintessential Falconer album.  There's a lot to cover in a 20 year career, including songwriting, collaborators, fans and a band's legacy.  But this is Nine Circles, so you know Buke manages to pull a lot more out.  Synthwave?  You bet!

9C LINKS: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

9C LINKS: Website | Facebook | Twitter (X) | Instagram | Bluesky

Current events have been a bitch for artists the world over but for Brooklyn rockers, Netherlands, it's afforded the opportunity to double down on creating music. Last week the band released their fifth full length Zombie Techno via frontman Timo Ellis's Records and Tapes Records imprint and it's another in a long line that's incredibly hard to pin down but for those of you living under a rock and completely unaware, their sound is somewhere between sludge, pop, avantmetal, and heavy as heck with amazing vocals. It's catchy, entertaining, unique and carries a powerful message. So, yeah...if you like Netherlands, it's time to get excited and if you don't know, it's time to get acquainted.

In conjunction with all that, Ellis took some time to chat with our own Josh Stewart about the making of Zombie Techno, how current events have affected them, staying extremely busy making music, and their latest video. And speaking of busy, we get a hint of their sixth full length! They covered all that and tons more in a terrific conversation, which we're thrilled to bring to you here on The Nine Circles Audio Thing. Jump on in and check it out!

NETHERLANDS LINKS: Bandcamp | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram (website and video linked above)

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Wilderun have, in a short timeframe, become a household name for progressive heavy metal fans and on the strength of their third full length Veil of Imagination, first for Century Media, they quite firmly place themselves at the forefront of thinking man's progressive metal. We all need a reason to jump, cheer, and throw the horns right now and this band, and new album, is reason for all this.

In light of Veil of Imagination's release, and subsequent major label release, vocalist, and guitarist Evan Berry took some precious time to chat with Buke about the album and how they were extremely patient about a major label deal. They also spend some time on their cancelled touring plans, Berklee College of Music, a quarantine video, and a whole mess of other topics. This is their conversation -- jump in and take listen!

Veil of Imagination is available now on the band's Bandcamp page and on Century Media Records July 17. To keep up with all things Wilderun, visit their official website.

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9C LINKS: Website | Facebook | Twitter (X) | Instagram | Bluesky

Episode 44 of The Nine Circles Audio Thing is all about the Album of the Month for May which is Obsidian by veteran UK gothic/death/doom/metal purveyors Paradise Lost. Buke once again captains the episode joined by Vince, Angela, and Ian, who had the pick for the month!

The crowd may have been thin for this episode but that doesn't mean the discussion was any less than stellar regarding the latest by Paradise Lost, which, as Ian points out, may well be their finest work to date. The fact that Obsidian has racked up loads of positive press is no mistake, our whole team has been head over heels for this thing pretty much since receiving it. The discussion covers their 30 plus year history and how it stacks up to this release, a battle over lead singer choices, prog elements (again), and a host of differing opinions of where to go next if you're just jumping aboard the Paradise Lost train.

All that and a "what else drove our boats" section, a gaming section, and a cooking section...yes, a cooking section. At close to 1-1/2 hours, this episode is chock full of stuff to keep you occupied and content during the still ongoing COVID season. So jump in and get an earful!

9C LINKS: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

9C LINKS: Website | Facebook | Twitter (X) | Instagram | Bluesky

Is COVID still a thing? COVID must still be a thing, because we're all bored out of our minds in quarantine. But that's okay, because that boredom has brought us here: to the debut aural edition of the Blood Red column here on the Nine Circles Audio Thing!

That's right: we're gonna be talking horror here on the Audio Thing, folks. Blood Red mastermind Chris rounded up Dan and Chris for the first of what will hopefully be many shriektastic conversations going forward. Zombies, slashers, demons, psychologicals...you name it, we'll watch and then dissect it here on the pod. Between Chris and Dan's love of horror and Buke's love of comic relief, it should definitely make for a podcast.

In this first edition, the guys got together to talk about the 2019 film, Blood Quantum, by director Jeff Barnaby. The film tells the story of a zombie outbreak through the perspective of the Mi'kmaq First Nations tribe in northeast Canada. There's all the blood and gore you'd expect, but also an interesting perspective shift you might not see coming.

Can't say too much more without triggering a SPOILER ALERT, but take our word for it: it's worth a watch. Wanna learn more? You can stream Blood Quantum exclusively on Shudder. And then, jump on in and give Episode 1 a listen!

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On May 7, No. 1 overall seed Mathdaniel Squirrel cleaned up in the annual Name of the Year championship. The convicted carjacker from Topeka, KS, cleaned up not just the fan-voted tournament bracket, but also took top honors from the Name of the Year High Committee. It was a two-fer achieved only three times prior in the almost 40-year history of the tournament, by previous winners Vanilla Dong (2007), Taco B.M. Monster (2011) and Shamus Beaglehole (2014).

But was Squirrel the winner in the eyes of your Nine Circles staff? You'll have to listen to find out!

Kick back and listen to a hilarious discussion of some even more hilarious names, as Dan, Chris, Buke and special guest Patrick Leyn -- bassist in Pile of Priests -- get together to pick their own winner. Each took on one of the NOTY regions and let the others decide on the matchups. Will Squirrel emerge victorious once more? Or will unheralded sleepers like Hannah Moody-Goo or Dudley Onderdonk steal our title? Jump on in and find out!

And when you're done, make sure to check out the singles from Pile of Priests' new, self-titled album, which drops this Friday!

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9C LINKS: Website | Facebook | Twitter (X) | Instagram | Bluesky

Denver's Pile of Priests have been around since 2009 and have slowly been carving out a name for themselves in the death metal arena. Their first full length Void To Enlightenment saw the band get down and dirty with their own style which traverses tech death but offered so much more than just tech and old school. And now with their second offering Pile of Priests they truly carve their own path in today's death metal landscape with razor sharp attention to detail and nasty little hooks that set deep. This is an album that will appeal to a broad set of metal and heavy rock fans, it's broad and diverse without ever losing its vicious edge.

Ahead of Pile of Priests' release, Evan, Patrick, and Daryl took some precious time to chat with Buke about the upcoming album and how it was to work with a legend such as Dan Swanö. They also spend some time on the 70,000 Tons of Metal cruise, the Denver metal scene, not being proggy, and a whole mess of other topics. This is their conversation -- jump in and take listen!

Pile of Priests will be available May 22 on Bandcamp, and on Extreme Metal Music. To keep up with all things Pile of Priests, visit their Facebook page.

9C LINKS: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

9C LINKS: Website | Facebook | Twitter (X) | Instagram | Bluesky

Holy crap, we made it to Episode 40 of The Nine Circles Audio Thing! It may be May, but this here is the Album of the Month for April which is City Burials by veteran Swedish art/doom/metal/anything goes rockets Katatonia. Buke once again captains the episode joined by Vince, Ian, Angela, Charles, and Hera, who had the pick for the month!

Hearts may be divided concerning the latest by Katatonia, which traverses a family wide spectrum of styles. But that doesn't stop our stalwart staff from making this one of our longest episodes ever as the team discusses the bait-and-switch of lead single "Lacquer", the merits of prog elements in metal, and whether it's worth checking out the band's earlier, more overtly black metal releases (ed. note: It is. Very much so).

All that and a "what else drove our boats" section that clock in at almost an hour makes this episode chock full of stuff to keep you occupied and content during the Spring of COVID. So jump in and get an earful!

9C LINKS: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

9C LINKS: Website | Facebook | Twitter (X) | Instagram | Bluesky