Category: Metallic Hardcore

FRESH MEAT FRIDAY - July 17th, 2020

7/17/2020

Every Friday, a wagon arrives at the Sleeping Village’s crumbling gates, stuffed to the brim with our sustenance for the following week. Today is the day we must offload all this new music, and so, in the process, we thought it would be worthwhile to share some of our choice picks from this veritable mass of fresh meat. This is what we’ll be--and have been--listening to today here at the Village HQ. We hope you join us in doing so!

On the docket for today, July 17th, 2020:
Väki, Eremit, Entry, and deathnoisefrequency

Väki - Kuolleen Maan Omaksi 
(Redefining Darkness Records)

The illustrious Redefining Darkness deals pretty exclusively in gritty and grimy death metal, so (on the rare occasion) when they dip their toes into blackened waters, you know the album/artist in question is exceedingly worthwhile. This is certainly the case for the Finnish Väki, who present a delicious brand of chaos-ridden black metal that recalls The Great Old Ones in its telltale complex frenzy. There's a distinct focus on oppressive atmosphere throughout, with little attention given to pleasing melodic or earwormy hooks--despite an admitted penchant for muscular riffage amidst the fray. This album is equally explosive and introspective, and every listen reveals an additional layer of complexity. A must for those in search of quality chaotic black metal...but perhaps not an album intended to entice newcomers into the darkness.

Find it on bandcamp here!

Eremit - Desert of Ghouls 
(Transcending Obscurity)

Eremit--Germany's heaviest doom duo
--are swiftly becoming masters in their own right when it comes to delivering crushing-yet-atmospheric-sludge. Desert of Ghouls is a beast unto itself--easily their most ambitious and technically adept accomplishment yet. The behemothian bass tone is utterly sasquatchian. The drums are forceful and present. The compositions are dynamic and dexterous, at times reaching a near-hypnotic cadence. Sludge lives and dies by an ability to maintain interest, and here, Eremit's songwriting abilities clearly enhance the two tracks beyond the sum of their sonic parts. If you're looking to sample...I recommedn you just listen to the whole damn thing. "Beheading The Innumerous" is plodding and pummeling, whereas "City of Râsh-il-nûm" is more progressive and exploratory. Both are, I humbly submit, essential listening.

Find it on bandcamp here!

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FRESH MEAT FRIDAY: May 29th, 2020

5/29/2020

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Every Friday, a wagon arrives at the Sleeping Village’s gates, stuffed to the brim with our sustenance for the following week. Today is the day we must offload all this new music, and so, in the process, we thought it would be worthwhile to share some of our choice picks from this veritable mass of fresh meat. This is what we’ll be listening to today here at the Village HQ. We hope you join us in doing so!

On the docket for today, May 29th, 2020:
Xibalba, Atavistia, Paralysis, and Held In Secret

Xibalba - Años En Infierno
(Southern Lord)

We gave this excellent album a lil' love previously, but now that it has been cast into the world for ye to all enjoy, it's worth revisiting. Xibalba play a potent and pissed-off blend of death metal and hardcore, bringing the heft of the former and the aggression of the latter to bear with suitably impressive results. Notably, this latest effort demonstrates a refinement of the downtrodden sludge-like atmosphere that Xibalba have, in the past, approached. As I wrote previously, "This is brutality incarnate." As such, it inevitably has a wide appeal to fans of genres that deal with heartfelt violence and rage--if you're a fan of the take-no-prisoners approach, you'll find something to enjoy herein.

Find it on bandcamp here!

Paralysis - Mob Justice
(Independently Released)

Crossover thrash, we sclumbering scribes are happy to admit, is not everyone's cup of tea. However, if you're in the mood (as ye should be) to throw elbows,
Paralysis' blistering high-octane display of East-Coast-hardcore-by-way-of-Bay-Area-thrash is a solid candidate to serve as your soundtrack. I'm getting a distinctly Iron Reagan vibe from this album, both in terms of the tangibly kinetic energy and the general "fuck around and find out" grit.

Mob Justice is the definition of moshable music, plain 'n' simple. If you're on the hunt for a sample, check out the hard-hitting "Oblivious" for a particularly representative taste. Highly recommended!

Find it on bandcamp here!

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FRESH MEAT FRIDAY: May 22nd, 2020

5/22/2020

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Every Friday, a wagon arrives at the Sleeping Village’s gates, stuffed to the brim with our sustenance for the following week. Today is the day we must offload all this new music, and so, in the process, we thought it would be worthwhile to share some of our choice picks from this veritable mass of fresh meat. This is what we’ll be listening to today here at the Village HQ. We hope you join us in doing so! Note: there was a veritable horde of excellent music released today. As such, we tried to focus on some lesser-known artists for this edition. More reviews to follow in days to come!

On the docket for today, May 22nd, 2020:
Pile of Priests, Molder, Without Light, and Capra

Pile of Priests - Pile of Priests
(Extreme Metal Music)

That band name, right? That album artwork, right?! This looks like an absolute riot, and, thankfully, it sounds like one too. Pile of Priests play a gloriously theatrical brand of (alternately) thrashy and proggy death metal, with ample room for narrative. To their credit, these elements never conflict of clash--indeed, the narrative elements and progressive leanings, which might feel campy in lesser hands, lend the entire affair an oddly addicting charm. It takes guts to inject grunty riff-driven death metal with a soaring epic flair, but this self-titled beast handles the challenges...well, handily.

Pile of Priests is, in sum, a fun and competent conglomerate of independent elements that make death metal enjoyable. This particular scribe shall certainly be listening in weeks (and months) to come.

Find it on bandcamp here!

Molder - Vanished Cadavers
(Rotted Life Records*)

Speakin' of death metal, it's time for one of the underground's hottest acts in OSDM entertain-ment. If you've been following us for a while, you'll know that we Villagers are big fans of Molder's cadaver-licking style of death metal barbarity. As such, the release of the stellar Vanished Cadavers is a cause for much joy and celebration. This is everything I had hoped--big riffs, meaty production, vicious vocal onslaught, and a generally. This album, notably, employs a slightly thrashier edge than what we've seen before, as well as a clearer approach to rapid-fire composition. Fans of Autopsy rejoice. While it ain't fresh, Molder represents the concentrated form of everything we underground and old school death metal fans love about the genre trappings. They are, undoubtedly, going places. (*Also seeing release on Goatthrone and Headsplit.)

Find it on bandcamp here!

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FRESH MEAT FRIDAY: April 16th, 2020

4/16/2020

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On the docket for today, April 16th, 2020:
At the Altar of the Horned God, FOES, REPTILIUM, and Funeral Leech

At the Altar of the Horned God - Through Doors of Moonlight (I, Voidhanger Records)

Ye olde I, Voidhanger specializes in delivering music that pushes boundaries and toes lines of obscurity and invention. In that regard, At the Altar of the Horned God certainly delivers: this album is a blackened avant-garde paganistic ode to the natural order. While the majority of the ritualistic soundscape blankets the listener with an odd meditative sensuality, a sharp vicious rage frequently shows teeth. Equal parts spiritual and menacing, Through Doors of Moonlight feels like a genuine journey--although it’s yet to be determined whether said journey leads into enlightenment...or through madness. Let me get back to you on that one; I’ve only listened to this horn’d beast once. Highly recommended for those of you who like a brand of black metal as experimental as it is organic.

Find 'em on bandcamp here!

FOES - American Violence
(Glacier Recordings)

Metallic hardcore? Not my typical genre o’ choice. But sometimes you just need an ass-kicking soundtrack, and so here we are, latest EP from OR’s hardest hardcore outfit clutched in white-knuckled grasp. In short? These guys rip it up with elbow elbow-throwing zeal, laying down a potent mix of punishing deathy riffage and gritty hardcore swagger. Muted chugs throw down alongside breakneck percussion and the most furious vocal delivery of the week. FOES are not here to make friends, and, in the process, will likely end up gaining themselves some fans instead--after all, if there was ever a time to be fuckin’ furious, this is surely it. American Violence succeeds because it wears its vitriolic intent on its ragged and punk-patch ridden sleeves. Check this one out.

Find 'em on bandcamp here!

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FRESH MEAT FRIDAY - July 17th, 2020

FRESH MEAT FRIDAY: May 29th, 2020

FRESH MEAT FRIDAY: May 22nd, 2020

FRESH MEAT FRIDAY: April 16th, 2020

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FRESH MEAT FRIDAY - July 17th, 2020

FRESH MEAT FRIDAY: May 29th, 2020

FRESH MEAT FRIDAY: May 22nd, 2020

FRESH MEAT FRIDAY: April 16th, 2020

Welcome!

What are yelooking for?

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looking for?