We do a lot of ridiculous stuff here at the Sleeping Village--that, I can not deny. However, this mammothian effort on the part of Ancient Hand serves as a response to said frivolity. Nothing--and I mean nothing--is more serious than dissecting, in painstaking detail, the seminal debut of early 2000's pop-punk monarch Avril Lavinge. This, dear readers, is a magnum opus. Also, for the haters: Avril is metal as fuck. There. I said it. The miniseries before ye is divided into a glorious fifteen parts. Today marks the third installment: "Complicated." If you missed "Losing Grip" or our introductory statement, check 'em out here! - Ed. "COMPLICATED"Written by: Ancient Hand Beginning to discuss Avril Lavigne’s masterpiece, “Complicated,” is like choking down a deep breath before taking a plunge into crystal-clear waters…but you can’t get enough air. The fear of doing any form of injustice against what is considered by many to be the punky anthem of their personal revolution in the early 2000’s is indescribably palpable. My palms are sweating at the prospect of causing any offense by what I say-- or, even more frightening-- what I don’t say. That being said, it is too much pressure to place upon myself to expect my discussion of a perfect song to be perfect itself. Perfection does not beget perfection; perfection begets insecurity. Thus, this is an undertaking that I am going to plunge into despite the feeling of my heart pounding upon the walls of my throat.
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Here is a feature we slumbering scribes routinely drag, kicking and screaming, back from the grave. Some time in the past, the Sleeping Village constructed ourselves a venue, of sorts--a public playhouse designed to house the raunchiest productions around. However, said venue promptly fell into disuse and ruin. A shame, really, because in this world of metal, there are a good many videos worth checkin' out. We certainly didn't expect to open up our venue during a pandemic, when the filming and production of music videos is made significantly more diffiuclt by the inability to, well, do anything. But the indomitable Body Count get shit done. Push aside the cobwebs and vines, dear reader. Kick away the decaying ravens and piles of loam; the show is about to begin. Today, for your viewing pleasure, we present the self-shot music video for "Point The Finger," the second track on Body Count's Carnivore. It's an impressive video, given the circumstances--made particularly interesting by benefit of the inclusion of guest vocalist Riley Gale (of Power Trip fame). Before we get too far ahead of ourselves, I wholeheartedly recommend you watch for yourselves: 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 15th, 2020: In The Company of Serpents, Devangelic, OKKULTOKRATI, and Vide/Witchbones
We do a lot of ridiculous stuff here at the Sleeping Village--that, I can not deny. However, this mammothian effort on the part of Ancient Hand serves as a response to said frivolity. Nothing--and I mean nothing--is more serious than dissecting, in painstaking detail, the seminal debut of early 2000's pop-punk monarch Avril Lavinge. This, dear readers, is a magnum opus. Also, for the haters: Avril is metal as fuck. There. I said it. The miniseries before ye is divided into a glorious fifteen parts. Today marks the second installment: "Losing Grip." If you missed last week's introductory statement, check it out here! - Ed. "LOSING GRIP"Written by: Ancient Hand The introductory track to one of the most important pieces in the artistic realm of music begins with a delayed bassy beat that leads in to Avril’s vocals smoothly. This small introduction tells the listener a few things: electronic elements are present on this record, Avril is adaptable and capable, and her lyrics are incredibly commanding. We start off with a simple and concise question: “Are you aware of what you make me feel, baby?” Lavigne’s incredible knack for storytelling is abundantly obvious on this song as we transition into the real story behind her and this “baby” she refers to. She thrusts the narrative forward by making the lyrics more first-person oriented, focusing on her own feelings in this relationship: “Right now I feel invisible to you, like I’m not real.” These lyrics slowly build with lines discussing the issues present in this relationship, and then…the album really starts. 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 8th, 2020: ...and Oceans, WitchUrn, Holden, Hadewijch, and ÆNON
BONUS TRACK RELEASE! ÆNON - In All Honesty (New Single!) Normally I'm not one to go for metalcore, progressive or otherwise, but sometimes you need A. some meaty breakdowns and B. a melodic kick in the ass. ÆNON deliver both with their latest single--a Make Them Suffer/Parkway Drive-esque explosion of headbangable fury. Of particular note is the whiplash-inducing (in a good way!) use of tempo changes throughout the breadth of the track. It tugs and pulls and throws the listener, but never loses sight of the core sense of melodicism. Definitely a solid showing--I'm excited to see more from these guys. Check 'em out! We do a lot of ridiculous stuff here at the Sleeping Village--that, I can not deny. However, this mammothian effort on the part of Ancient Hand serves as a response to said frivolity. Nothing--and I mean nothing--is more serious than dissecting, in painstaking detail, the seminal debut of early 2000's pop monarch Avril Lavinge. I won't attempt to justify this miniseries, as the author does a significantly better job than I ever could. Thus, I'll leave you with this: Refusing to Let Go is significantly more than a considerable effort. This is much grander than a mere celebration. This, dear readers, is a magnum opus. Also, for the haters: Avril is metal as fuck. There. I said it. The miniseries before ye is divided into a glorious fifteen parts, beginning with today's introductory statement. Tune in on a weekly basis to dive into the latest installment! - Ed. Written by: Ancient Hand Music is one of the most widely recognized, cherished, and commodified art forms this world has ever seen. Nowadays, music is present in nearly every aspect of our lives: scores for films, in shopping plazas, on public transit, in our homes, and even in our ears through wireless earbuds. The incredible popularity of this art form has been rising steadily over the years as music itself has undergone many evolutions with different branchings of genres and levels of experimentation. Music is even an identifier of cultures across the globe. What about albums that transcend culture and seem to be the epitome of music to an entire generation? This happens on occasion; an artist will seem to take over the world and garner the attention and acclaim of not only many different people--but many different types of people. While some artists don’t necessarily have the acclaim of everyone, and sometimes they are simply the poster child for the vocal majority, some artists are able to exist in the culture of a time rather than a culture of a group of people. One such artist is Avril Lavigne. Anyone over the age of 20 knows who she is and heard her anthemic choruses blasting out of 2001 Honda Civics nearly two decades ago. The particular album in question is her critically acclaimed 2002 album, Let Go. Welcome to ON THE HORIZON, our relentlessly infrequent feature wherein we discuss upcoming albums that have caught our sleep-encrusted eyes. Us Villagers are always on the lookout for the next best thing to wake us from slumber. On the docket today: the forthcoming full-length from Pomona, California's Xibalba. While we use terms like "pummeling" with great regularity around these parts, I'm always vaguely worried that those words have become cheapened--synonymous with "heavy," rather than with "physically damaging beyond repair. And, as fans of loud and aggressive music, sometimes we just need something that kicks it up a notch. You know, a classic skull-crushed-by-bulldozer type experience. I was in the mood for such an experience today, and, graciously, Xibalba were ready to oblige. Their forthcoming full length, Años En Infierno, will be hitting the streets on May 29th--but, more immediately, Revolver is streaming the title track from said album. It's a bruiser. Xibalba have historically nailed that hearty combination of sinewy groove, meaty death metal riffage, and breakdown-worthy hardcore aggression. Here, that same formula is employed to great effect--with a deliberate focus on conjuring a plodding, hefty, and otherwise bone-crushing atmosphere. Momentous drums and thunderous roars lead to an ominous mid-track breakdown that can easily roll with the best of 'em. Despite its simplicity, the leisurely pace and immeasurable weight makes a serious impact. This is brutality incarnate. As you head through your Monday, I highly recommend you give "Años En Infierno" a spin or three. And, spoiler: the rest of the album rips just as hard--if not, dare I say, harder. Without further ado: head over to Revolver to stream the excellent "Años En Infierno." If that's to your liking, check out the album trailer below:
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: today, May 1st, Bandcamp is waiving their revenue share for all sales. That means if you buy any of these releases (or any other albums/merch items you've had your eye on) before midnight PDT, the artists will directly benefit directly. In short: buy music today!
On the docket for today, May 1st, 2020:
KEVERRA, Yarrow, Tombstoner, and Icon of Evil (and Vredensdal!)
INTRONAUT - Fluid Existential Inversions (An introspective. An interpretation. An inversion.)4/30/2020
Written by: Heavy Grinder
INTRODUCTION: Unlike many of our contemporaries, we here at Sleeping Village Industries regard the act of reviewing as a purely objective process. Hence, our staff operate exclusively within the bounds of rigorous scientific methodology. Following a comprehensive certification program, we dedicate countless hours studying the latest sources of mind-bending and soul-crushing stimulation in the name of the betterment of our society. Our latest study discusses the impact of a particular stimulus (hereby referred to as Intronaut) on the nervous system of our test subject (hereby referred to as Heavy Grinder.) Upon completion of this article, Sleeping Village Industries recommends that the public takes proper precautions when conducting their own experimentation, though we consider our findings to be the authoritative conclusions. Conduct future testing at your own risk. - Ed. Here at the Sleeping Village, we keep our most revered albums in....a very special place. Their time may have gone, but they are certainly not forgotten. Today's pick: another one of The Voiceless Apparition's all-time favorites. As I noted before, the man, as you may have noticed, is on a goddamn roll with these retrospectives. Once you're done with this retrospective, check out some of these look-backs on underrated classics! Written by: The Voiceless Apparition ...And just like that, we are back. Hello everyone. Today we're gonna take a small detour from the black metal-leanings of the last few reviews and go for where my heart lies: death metal. I'm happy to say that today's review is the debut album from Austrian death metal gods Pungent Stench, and their album entitled For God Your Soul... For Me Your Flesh, released on April 9th, 1990, via Nuclear Blast Records. This is a monumental album in the growth of the European death metal scene, and while it may be still underappreciated compared to it's peers, this is a bonafide classic to the ones who adore it. The album begins with really eerie intro before being led into "Extreme Deformity." This is the perfect way to start the album. Tasty and filthy grooves combine with pummeling death metal and grindcore brutality, but without sacrificing hooks and catchiness. A major facet of this album that I like quite a lot is the prominent use of bass on this album, courtesy of Jacek Perkowski. He gets time to shine with 2 glorious bass solos that mix well with everything on this song, but that's just a small aspect of this album as he is heard really well in the mix throughout the whole album. Track two, "Hypnos," is a bruiser. The groove sections on this song are glorious, they are simple and catchy but they still keep that energy and rawness to the song. Another fantastic tune on this fantastic album. |
Welcome!We provide thoughtful reviews of music that is heavy, gloomy...and loud enough to wake us from slumber. Written by a highfalutin peasantry. What are ye
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