If you're thinking Psycroptic are yet another tech death band in a sea of them, you'd be dead wrong and you obviously haven't been paying attention since 1999. They've always known that to be a tech death band that matters, the songs actually have to be good and catchy and deeper than just what's on the surface. Never has this been more the case than on their eighth full length Divine Council (Prosthetic Records and EVP Recordings). This is a nine track megalodon with teeth big enough to eat a continent and songs that are insanely good all based around an epic storyline with wicked good songwriting, quite possibly their best yet. Buke sat down with drummer Dave Haley to discuss the album, the band's history, and so much more. We now bring you this conversation in its entirety so grab your beverage of choice, a seat, and enjoy. 

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

Autarkh III is a mind blowing collective of musicians that are pushing metal far beyond its boundaries. This week, July 23 to be exact, the band will be performing at Complexity Fest 2022 located at Patronaat in Haarlem, Netherlands. And on this same date will be offering a special vinyl version of Roadburn Redux 2021, which we covered as our Album of the Month when it was digitally released back in April. If you’ll remember, this album is an alternative timeline to their debut Form In Motion and in a different musical context so, the words ‘pushing beyond boundaries’ takes on new and exciting meaning. Just ahead of their performance and vinyl release, Anton and Buke sat down with the band for a wide ranging discussion surrounding these events. We now bring you this conversation in its entirety so grab your beverage of choice, a seat, and enjoy.

9C LINKS: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

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

What is there to say about Canada's WAKE that hasn't already been said? Since forming in 2009 they've positioned themselves as a frontrunner in the grind game and now with their sixth full length, Thought Form Descent (Metal Blade Records), they're shedding skin and growing new. Simply meaning, grindcore isn't the only tool in their box anymore. It's a cavalcade of extreme with lighter shades of gray that proves the band hit the nail on the head in their attempt to say that heavy and brutal doesn't necessarily mean chainsawing through an album at light speed. It's more nuanced, mature beyond its years, and shows a band fully open to growing without borders. Buke sat down with Ryan Kennedy for an insanely wide ranging discussion surrounding the new album and we now bring you this conversation in its entirety so grab your beverage of choice, a seat, and enjoy. 

9C LINKS: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

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

When talking about Kardashev, the tag du jour is deathgaze which pretty much hits the nail on the head. However, it, in a small way, minimizes the death metal side to their attack. Debut Peripety was both heavy in a musical sense but also an emotional sense, but new album Liminal Rite (Metal Blade Records) smacks the gas pedal on the death metal side and then slowly pulls you down the emotional slope with a funereal feel that casts a dark shadow over the proceedings. A good thing, to be sure. Buke recently sat down with vocalist Marc Garrett and guitarist Nico Mirolla to pull the curtain back on the new album as well as the band itself. We now bring you this conversation in its entirety so grab your beverage of choice, a seat, and enjoy.

9C LINKS: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

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

New York's Artificial Brain are somewhat of an anomaly in the death metal world. Sure they're rooted in death metal but in the blink of an eye can cover tech-death, progressive death, jazz, and noise like world class pros. Their debut Labyrinth Constellation was like stepping on a landmine of infinite sounds and follow up Infrared Horizon saw them branch out a bit and experiment with obtuse and jagged rhythms and melodies that absolutely should not go together but somehow it all just gelled. And now with their third full length, a self-titled one (Profound Lore Records), it seems they're out for blood. It's a bit more on the death metal nose but more angular and aggressive than before. Definitely one that should be on your radar. Buke recently sat down with guitarist Oleg Zalman to dig into the ethos of the new album and of the band and how it all came together. We now bring you this conversation in its entirety so grab your beverage of choice, a seat, and enjoy.

9C LINKS: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram  

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

Once again it's Album of the Month time and Angela gets the pick (her first for 9C) for May and she went with the second full length from Cavernlight, As I Cast Ruin Upon the Lens That Reveals My Every Flaw (Translation Loss).  She's joined by the usual gang of Ian, Vincent, and Hera as well as MC Supreme Buke.  Much is made of the lyrical content and its association with or against DSBM and you can make your own mind up on that matter.  Elsewhere the gang spends a good portion of the runtime gushing over everything else they listened to since they last got together.

In other words, just another episode of the Nine Circles Audio Thing.

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

Nameless Grave Records has become a synonymous name when it comes to all things death and heavy metal and label masthead Brandon Corsair doesn't just run the label, he's also a big name in the metal world with bands such as Drawn and Quartered, Azath, Draghkar, and others. Buke sat down with Brandon to discuss all things label related as well as how Brandon's dad got him into metal and how he forged his own path, what he values most as a record label owner, taking risks and his biggest missteps along the way, joining Drawn and Quartered, and so much more. We now bring you this conversation in its entirety so grab your beverage of choice, a seat, and enjoy.

9C LINKS: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

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

Somewhere around the intersection of Behemoth, Amorphis, and Amon Amarth you'll find the bombastic mix of black and death metal that Unbowed have perfected over the course of their last two full lengths. And now with their third effort, Colour the Soul, out on the airwaves it's clear to hear these influences as well as a larger sense of self than ever before. Buke recently sat down with members of the band to discuss the new album and how it came to be, they also discussed flipping the bird to social media when it's used negatively, how the band formed and what got them into metal, DnD campaigns, and so much more. We now bring you this conversation in its entirety so grab your beverage of choice, a seat, and enjoy.

9C LINKS: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

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

When it comes to folk inspired black metal, there’s not many bands better than West Virginia’s Nechochwen. And, on their fourth full length, Kanawha Black (Bindrune Recordings), they’ve managed to pull themselves to the front of the pack and widely eclipse their past work. This album has become a fast staff favorite here at Nine Circles for a myriad of reasons, but plainly put, no one out there is doing it better right now. Buke recently sat down with Aaron (aka Nechochwen) to discuss the new album and how it came to be, how the band are fans of French Indian warfare and Native American history and how those topics were lacking in heavy metal when the band formed, how the band got its start, their relationship with Panopticon‘s Austin Lunn and with Bindrune Recordings, the fact that Aaron is a classically trained guitarist, and so much more. We now bring you this conversation in its entirety so grab your beverage of choice, a seat, and enjoy.

9C LINKS: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

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

They say "third time's the charm" but we here at Nine Circles believe for Temple of Void, the fourth time's the charm on Summoning the Slayer (Relapse Records). The band is death doom at its core and has been extremely good at it since forming in 2013, but for Summoning... they bring out the ghosts of heavy metal, worship at the altar of the almighty riff, and truly find their calling in the world of extreme sounds. Buke recently sat down with guitarist Alex Awn to discuss the new album and how it came to be, they also discussed album art, working with the highly esteemed Arthur Rizk, the untimely passing of Trevor Strnad, playing Warhammer, and tons more. We now bring you this conversation in its entirety so grab your beverage of choice, a seat, and enjoy.

9C LINKS: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

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