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Welcome to ON THE HORIZON, our relentlessly infrequent feature wherein we discuss upcoming albums that have caught our sleep-encrusted eyes. Always on the lookout for the next best thing to wake us from slumber.  After reviewing last year’s excellent Death Ritual, I wasn’t expecting to see Yatra’s name sprout from the manure-ridden promo pit in such short order. But here we are, with the promise of their forthcoming sophomoric attempt on the ol’ horizon.
Simply put, Yatra’s prior treatise in doom was quite impressive. To quote my overly loquacious self, Death Ritual exudes “a unique character, and for that, it shines in the stygian environs of its own creation...the riffs moves like tepid silt, while drums perform their duties with little flash or braggadocio. Notably, the guitar is oddly comforting--its caliginous persona is so well defined that it takes on a near-physical presence.” While I obviously enjoyed it in the moment, it is worth mention that this album has continued, months and months later, to pull me back into its fuzzy embrace. No small feat, given the quantity of doom we deal with.
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Unbridled aggression. Here at the Sleeping Village, the phrase often applies--yet rarely in similar contexts. Sonically, there is no formula, and there is no genre that remains the uncontested poster child for aggressive music. But...you know it when you hear it, and in this edition of the Sampler, we briefly discuss two EP’s that, despite vastly different approaches, are undeniably aggressive in character. Let’s get to it.  Angel Morgue - EP As any of our battle-weary inhabitants can tell you, one never has a shortage of grisly labor here at the Sleeping Village. Whether it’s smearing tepid brains across hide, strangling plague-bearing rats, or deposing miserly sheriffs, we deal in blood, sweat, and the daily reminder that our little world is a disgusting and violent place. Angel Morgue provides the short-n-sulphurous soundtrack for such activity. If you signed up for something other than blatant Immolation or Incantation worship, too bad. This demo EP is 8 minutes of some of the more vile and cavernous NY-styled death metal I’ve heard in some time. Nothing original in sight, but Angel Morgue brandish bloody knuckles and proceed to pull zero punches. Angel Morgue’s sound is suffocating, throat-stomping, and timelessly violent. Very impressive work. Ex Igne - S/t Representing a more slow-burning form of aggression is Texas’s own Ex Igne, a mysterious outfit espousing a uniquely dissonant and noise-oriented brand of blackened doom. With this self-titled effort, the name of the game is extremity--pushing, pulling, and ultimately straining an element to a near-breaking point. Cavernous howls and abyssal funereal riffs progress at a sloth-like pace over a static-ridden ambiance. Ex Igne embraces a disquieting lo-fi aesthetic, and while the general mood is one of discomfort, the underlying attitude is menacingly bellicose. This debut eschews traditional song structure for a more atmospheric listening experience--and while I typically write off bands with their eyes primarily set on ambiance, Ex Igne is well worth your while. Angel Morgue and Ex Igne can both be found on Bandcamp
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AuthorWritten by a groggy-eyed, highfalutin peasantry Archives
December 2019
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