The Nine Circles Audio Thing

You know how this works...team members take turn picking their favorite each month and As the Morning Dawns We Close Our Eyes (Prosthetic Records) was Vincent's pick. He had two reasons for doing so; one because it's up his alley and the other...you'll have to listen in to find out. The gang covers a slew of different angles and takes on the album, compares it to previous releases and attempts to get Buke up to speed on it as well as this genre crossroad. They also cover the slow maturation...

Over the course of, now, five albums with Family the Smiling Thrush (Ripple Music) Boss Keloid have gone from stoner metal to a progressive metal giant. They defy easy categorization and genre tags by keeping fans, and new listeners, on their toes with an amalgamation of styles and varying degrees of heaviness. To put it plain, no one else is doing what this band is doing, nor has the balls to put themselves out there like they do. And it works, tremendously so. Our maestro of the mic,...

Synthwave is one of those genres that has become a go to for metalheads due to its horror movie kinship, its wildly creative sound and its imagery which at times can mirror some of extreme metal's most enduring gorehounds. Perturbator and James Kent have been at the tip of this spear since Terror 404 back in 2012 and has shown more and more growth and depth on each successive album. Now, with Lustful Sacraments (Blood Music), the band dive further into the industrial side of the synth coin...

Technically Inclined is back! And Hera -- having NOW (but not at the time of recording) newly completed grad school -- has rejoined the fold once again! And this time out, we're talking about Greek progressive death crew Cerebrum and their third album, Iridium. But we're also talking about other stuff! Like Gojira. And how Hera is synesthetic, which mesmerized the hell out of Buke. And also, bands in Greece. And also also, the line between prog death and tech death, and what each entails....

Anyone familiar with Epitaph era Necrophagist or Obscura or Alkaloid, to name a few, will undoubtedly be familiar with Hannes Grossmann as he was an integral driving force behind all of it. Beyond drumming, he's also a sound engineer and producer with a long list of credits under his belt. As if all that wasn't enough, we're on the eve of his fourth solo album, To Where the Light Retreats, which promises to be as technical and heavy as anything he's ever been a part of. Our maestro of the...

Metal Blade Records has been a household name for metal, and heavier music in general, lovers for longer than some of you listening to this podcast have been alive. Founder, owner, and CEO Brian Slagel had a vision back in 1982 with the first of the Metal Massacre compilation series, to highlight, then, unknown heavy artists. This led to the beginnings of Metal Blade Records and a long standing relationship with fans all across the globe. This week marks the XV edition of the Metal Massacre...

You know how this works...team members take turns picking their favorite album of the month and In Transmission (Metal Blade Records and Blacklight Media) was Ian's pick. This album was pretty much an instant hit, all the way around the back office, as soon as Ian announced it and it has only grown closer and closer to the heart as time has passed. It's an incredibly vicious album but with a deeply emotional soul to it through hardcore, sludge, a touch of punk, and an amazing vocalist that...

Another round of Technically Inclined! This time out, Dan and Buke dig into The Faceless, and their second album, Planetary Duality. Planetary Duality came out in 2008 on Sumerian Records, and has since become a well-loved gem within the tech death landscape. It's too bad Dan thought The Faceless played deathcore and never listened to it until just this week! So, how'd the album land with Nine Circles' resident tech-noob? You'll have to listen to find out! And stick around for brief...

Ageless Oblivion just broke a seven year hiatus with the outstanding Suspended Between Earth and Sky. This, their third full length, sees the band's sound veer further towards the ominously atmospheric side of death metal than their last outing, Penthos. This is an album that is as vicious as it is dark and as dense as it is vast. Put in other words, a truly excellent album for death metal fans and beyond. Our maestro of the mic, Buke, chats with David about...literally anything and...

Mount Carcass is the latest from German death metal merchants Endseeker, and it dives deep into that classic old school sound pioneered by the likes of Entombed, Carnage, and Dismember. Sure, it's easy to grab an HM-2 and tune down to Drop B, but Endseeker bring the songwriting chops and vision to not just emulate the old guard but bring their own modern spin to the genre. The riffs are tight, the groove is firmly in the pockets, and the tone? Chef's kiss, my friends. Our man on the mic...

Bionic Swarm, the debut from Cryptosis has become an early favorite for many of the staff at Nine Circles. Jamming together old school thrash, progressive death metal, and a healthy dose of symphonic black metal in its arrangements, it's the kind of debut that instantly slams into your skull and rewires your brain. So it's only natural that Buke not only championed the band and album to everyone on the crew, but grabbed some time with bassist Frank te Riet to talk about album. But this is...

Welcome back to another edition of Technically Inclined! In Round 3, we took a gander at Quebecois quartet Beyond Creation, and their debut album, The Aura. Beyond Creation formed in Montreal in 2005 and released The Aura via PRC Music in 2011. (Season of Mist later reissued the album in 2013.) While the album can frustrate at times, it also showcases a (then-)young band with a lot of promise -- promise that the band would go on to fulfill on 2014's Earthbound Evolution and 2018's...

You know how this works...team members take turns picking their favorite album of the month and Through the Gate Eternal (Boris Records) was Josh's pick. This album fast became a favorite due to its blistering blackened thrash and its self awareness as well as its devilishly on point song titles and nods to the old guard of metal. There's plenty of back and forth on how this album forces involuntary reactions, the South Carolina tie in to Josh, Demiser's energy and insane talent throughout,...

Capra has caught lightning in a bottle on their upcoming full length debut In Transmission. It's equal parts metal, punk, and hardcore but the sum is way more than its parts. Blistering riffs, crushing blasts, and obliterating vocals are just some of what the band has to offer across these eleven tracks. It's hostile yet authentic, aggressive and angry yet carries so much depth and feeling and overall is a near perfect debut that fans all over the metal spectrum will unite around. Just...

Cave Of Swimmers have been around since 2012 and have finally released their debut full length Aurora. And what a surprise it is after two EP's worth of what could be described as "doom-prog." This album shifts effortlessly between a Mars Volta meets System of a Down vibe to a thrashtastic Megadeth vibe while giving a world music spin to their particular brand of metal. It's a mouthful on paper but rest assured it works seamlessly and is an absolute blast to experience. On the heels of...

You know how this works...team members take turns picking the AOTM, and this month technically was a group pick but Vince screamed the loudest over The Thule Grimoires (Ván Records) as soon as it hit our inbox and, as you'll hear, is also The Ruins of Beverast's biggest fan. However, all is not in balance in the House of 9C, as there's plenty of back and forth on the vocals and how different the band has sounded over the years. One team member didn't even get to the vocals, so there's that....

We're back for another round of Technically Inclined! Episode 2 -- which, for those keeping score at home, means this idea already has more traction than approximately 70% of ideas Dan has had for Nine Circles over the years -- features a conversation on Spawn of Possession, and their landmark final album, Incurso. Plus, a new fighter joins! Nine Circles' own Scholar of the First Sin, Hera, enters the ring to share her own tech death enthusiasm with the crew. And to help educate our brave...

Cannibal Corpse have been an absolute death metal juggernaut for over thirty years now and have long since past the point of having to prove anything. They've toured all over the world, been recognized by outlets that many would think not metal friendly, been featured in movies, and have had a career that most bands could only dream of. And with their upcoming fifteenth full length, Violence Unimagined, they show absolutely no signs of slowing down or even softening the blow of their brutal...

Woohoo, it's new segment time! Technically Inclined will be a new jam here on the Audio Thing, devoted primarily to appreciating the oft-overlooked -- at least on this blog -- genre of technical death metal. Tech death: Buke's known and loved it for years; Dan's neutral and limited in his knowledge of it. And so, Technically Inclined will celebrate the genre by having Sensei Buke educate Padawan Dan on its many intricacies -- one album (or in this case, one band) at a time. (Plus, with...

Demiser, a blackened thrash band from South Carolina, may need a slight introduction now but when their debut full length "Through the Gate Eternal" drops, introductions will be a thing of the past. The band revels in its classic take on metal but excels in its fresh ideas on how to push their brand of blackened thrash further than ever thought possible. Honestly, this is the breakout album of the year and you don't even know it yet. BOOM. Josh chats with vocalist Demiser the Demiser about...