I'll admit that in a pretty short time, I've found myself in a fortunate place with Both Kinds of Heavy - I'm getting more advance albums for review than I will probably be able to cover. At the same time, since this is strictly a hobby site and I don't have to to worry about silly little things like making money, I can prioritize covering the albums that excite me. You won't see me covering, say, a Ghost album in order to drive more eyeballs to my embedded ad banners. I'd much rather cover a new band like Shrineburner because, to put it simply, I'd much rather listen to a new band like Shrineburner. 

No one can listen to every single band in the world. There's only so much time in the day, and some of those hours need to be spent without headphones on (go away, meetings. No one likes you). That's my way of saying that I had never listened to Devil Master before the release of their new album, Bloody Dreams. Which, it turns out, was a pretty big oversight on my part. 

Who Loves the Sun, the new album by Chat Pile may have been my most anticipated album of 2026. The band's three previous albums, including last year's collaborative album with Hayden Pedigo, all earned the number one slots on my personal best of the year lists. So obviously, my expectations were high, and I am thrilled that I've had the opportunity to listen to an early review copy. Does it live up to expectations? Read on to find out. 

Welcome to the first official album review on Both Kind of Heavy! I'm pleased to kick things off with an album from a band I've been following for many years, Russian Circles. There aren't many bands that have claimed a singular position in the way that Russian Circles have - they're the biggest name in instrumental metal, hands down. I've written before about what I call the "Russian Circles test," which is the question I ask whenever I listen to a new heavy instrumental album: Why would I listen to this, when Russian Circles exists? Of course, there are plenty of bands in the subgenre that have found their own unique paths and create their own worthy music, but Russian Circles remain the undisputed heavyweights.

Russian Circles' official bio states "This is a band with no hit songs. No fan consensus on their best album. Just a reputation for consistency and quality." I find this understated approach to the band's career somewhat overly modest, but it's nevertheless accurate. Russian Circles is an extraordinarily consistent band, and that consistency definitely continues on their new album, Nine.

I'm very excited to announce that album reviews will soon be joining the content mix here at BKOH! The first review will drop at some point next week, and I'm actually listening to an advance copy of the album in question as I type this. I could have just dropped the review as a surprise next week, but I actually wanted to take a few minutes to explain my album review process and philosophy in advance before the first review arrived.