Editor’s note: this review was originally published in 2020 at a now-defunct site for a collaborative Best Albums of the 2010’s Retrospective. As the internet has since swallowed said site, my retrospective review now appears here in lightly edited form.
Written by: The Administrator
When initially considering what album I wanted to draw into the light for an End of Decade retrospective, the sheer volume of possibilities sent me into a bit of a frenetic journey through a decade of heavy music. Let’s face it: in ten years, the metalverse spawned an unbelievable bounty. But, eventually, the only true option became clear. For such an event I needed to focus on an album that, beyond being excellent in its own right, somehow personally set the stage for the decade as a whole. That, for me, is Agrimonia’s Rites of Separation. This album singlehandedly determined the course of my music listening experience from 2013 to the present. “Talion,” the album’s first track, begins with a piercing riff, a crystal-clear clarion call. It serves as an assertive hook, cutting through the noise before the noise even begins. This is the track that pulled me into a world of harsh vocals and aggressive atmosphere, a world of deliberate and progressive songcraft. Because Agrimonia are so genre fluid, existing betwixt black metal, sludge, post-metal, post-hardcore, crust punk, death metal, and doom, it is remarkably easy to approach their sound without any particular expectations. As such, a young acolyte to heavy music gained perspective without necessarily committing to the trappings of a particular niche.
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Written by: The Administrator
Another year, another batch of outstanding EPs! I personally have a strong affinity for releases of the short, concise, and otherwise succinct persuasion, and so my weekly listening is often informed by what new EPs have dropped. The following includes those that made a significant impact and stuck around in my rotation. This list--although perhaps a term such as "loose collection" or "heap" would be a better choice--has not been trimmed or edited to meet a specific quantity. I just kept adding stuff until I hit 23 entries, which felt like an appropriate number, and so here we are. Like last year's extravaganza, this list features a bunch of different genres but is not sorted by genre. My year is defined by eclectic listening habits, and while my albums lists will be divided into hip hop and metal for sake of reading convenience, no such editorial courtesy is reflected here. And lastly, this is utterly unranked. If something appears here, please know that it comes highly, highly recommended. Without further ado, let's dive in!
Written by: The Administrator
Welcome to Sleeping Village Micro-Reviews: Volume I! The following is a collection of very short reviews written in reaction to individual tracks submitted by a delightfully eclectic assortment of artists. The only thing the musicians featured herein all have in common? They responded to our following twitter prompt: "If you reply to this tweet within the next uhhhh 60 minutes with a link to one of your songs, I'll check it out and write a lil' micro review." And so here we are. Thank you to everyone who submitted tunes, I had a lot of fun doing this and will certainly be sending out a similar prompt again in the future. To everyone reading, I hope you find something lurking below that appeals to your tastes. Please note: we had a few submissions come in after the deadline--they will not appear here, but I will collect them all in a forthcoming Volume of Sleeping Village Micro-Reviews. If you are responsible for one of those submissions, fear not and stay tuned! Enough of my blathering. Without further ado:
Written by: Blackie Skulless
Despite having been around for over twenty years, Negative Plane are an act that only reached my radar at the beginning of this year. Being on their third album, these New York metallers dropped The Pact… last year, and somehow I didn’t get my hands on it until a few friends recommended them early this year; boy am I ever glad they did! Their brand of black metal is my absolute favorite way to carry out the genre, touching on the first wave vibes that use a lot of traditional and thrash metal influence under a coarse, wretched, and Satanic scope. If only it were easy enough to describe it as that and end it there. As a matter of fact, their biggest selling point is the amount of layers and intricacy used, being displayed in seven long tracks that collectively touch the hour runtime. Yet, it’s riff after riff making an impression and sticking nicely. The harsh and noisy atmospheric platter makes the sharp leads and hateful vocals sound even more appetizing. You get a nice diverse selection of blistering, Venom-esque passages that use speed and rigidness, slow and doom-cladded breaks of bass frenzy to rake in a Celtic Frost image, and then straight up heavy metal clarity in the form of melodic guitars that feel like an ode to Saxon. One can’t be present without the other two looming in the background
Written by: Blackie Skulless
Ever since The Affair Of The Poisons dropped in 2020, I’ve been saying Hellripper are due for an alteration in sound, as the black/thrash genre can run stale fairly quickly if action isn’t taken. Boy, did they ever deliver! Warlocks Grim & Withered Hags came in clutch, completely blowing away anything they'd done prior to this album. This isn’t to say that McBain’s brand was never good, it was great; but this was exactly what the latest recipe called for! First, it’s important to address the fact that the foundation isn’t lost at all. Longtime fans should still find the appeal; “Goat Vomit Nightmare” makes this quite obvious. However, now the blackened element is laid on in a fashion far more in line with the traditional tropes of the black metal genre. When it isn’t running in that vein, more melodic leads are clearer than they’ve ever been. Speed metal still exists, but it is no longer the backbone needed to carry the entire album. Instead, it’s a nice feature along with these other notable traits.
A celebration and examination of two albums, intertwined somehow in time and space, that also happen to be some of the finest music on the planet.
Written by: Chuck
Gentle waves embrace a rocky landscape. An ominous wash of colored sounds accented by gentle intermittent piano strokes. A feeling of intrigue and subtle panic. FIRE. The ground shakes and the landscape transforms into anticipatory grandeur. Something important this way comes. This is "The Behemoth That Lies Asleep." A familiar melody. A latin feel. Dynamic rhythmic movement across a soft fretboard. A moment to think. A moment to feel. Full throated restatement of the melodic progression arrives as a complete arrangement, quickly progressing into blast-beat driven black-ish riffs backed by fretless bass. Despite the already impressive technical display, the instrumentation is last on the mind. This is a moment to think. This is a moment to feel. This is "Introspection I."
Written by: The Administrator
Each year, I inevitably spend a whole lot o' time with EPs. Is this due to my bafflingly short attention span? Yes. Is it also because EPs often feel like the perfect vehicle for a band to flaunt their strengths in a concise and well-trimmed manner? Also yes. Listening to a well-constructed EP is perhaps my favorite way to spend time with music, and so here I am, an eclectic collection of favorites gripped in outstretched grubby fingers. But first, some housekeeping! There are, assuming I counted correctly, 30 entries. I was planning on 20, but have no real interest in trimming a list of untrimmable favorites. In that spirit, hopefully you find something here that worms its way into your favorites as well. This list is not sorted by genre despite featuring a lot of different genres. I apologize for the whiplash, but sorting feels antithetical to the overall notion that listening habits should not be confined for the sake of convenient lists. And lastly, this is utterly unranked--if something appears here, please know that it comes highly, highly recommended! Anyways. Let's get into it. Greetings, dear reader. It is once again listmas 'round these humble halls. Time, then, to look back the music that has defined our collective year. The non-exhaustive AOTY smorgasbord hath begun. My personal EP and album lists shall follow in (less-than) good time, but before we get to that, the community speaks. This list is a collaborative effort, with ten distinct music writers, musicians, and fans lending a few words. Hopefully the variety of perspectives results in a list containing at least one or two releases that speak to you! This, of course, is far from exhaustive--indeed, every single one of ye could undoubtedly highlight a vast number of deserving albums not appearing here. A massive thank you is in order to everyone who contributed words and energy to this lil' project. As always, we couldn't have done it without ye! Please check out the writer's respective projects and links. This list constitutes the first five entries, with another five to follow. Read on!
Written by: The Administrator
Despite bolstering a catalog that is notably minimal in scope, Scotland's Order Of The Wolf is one of my very favorite black metal bands. I was initially quite impressed with 2020's split with Pessimista, and my admiration of Order Of The Wolf's half has only grown of the past few years--when looking for a little blackened fury, these tracks are first on the menu every damn time. As such, word of a new track was cause for much excitement. Originally released on the excellent Black Metal Rainbows charity compilation, this single--"A Plague On Conservative Houses"--was most certainly worth the wait. Over the past few days I've listened to this song fairly incessantly, and I don't anticipate slowing down anytime soon.
Written by: Blackie Skulless
Since the band’s black metal inception, Worm have slowly moved away from that raw and punishing sound towards something far more layered, swiftly becoming a doom/death icon. Last year’s Foreverglade (review here!) saw a complete realization of this, cleaning up all of the loose ends that Gloomlord beheld. The early black metal influence certainly still peaked its head, but each subsequent record would see it become more and more of a background technique. This isn’t to say that it wasn’t present, just less obvious. And then Bluenothing happened. One year following the album that really sent them to a broader scope, Worm dropped an EP that takes the influence they mastered and brings forth more atmosphere and reflects more on the black metal. Fear not, as this is still packed with the bleak and empty voids of cleaner doom wails crossed with rhythms holding the force of a hydraulic press. But there’s a higher presence of keys to coincide with the higher guitar wails, and contrast the harsher death metal bottom. |
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