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. On the today's docket is an album that landed pretty high on my AOTY list of 2018, and remains in near-constant rotation to this day. Hence:
I sing the praises of this album quite frequently, but, as today is its second birthday, I feel that a little more chit-chat on the matter is justified. Why? Judicator is my favorite power metal band. Full stop.
Taking the glorious bombast of the Blind Guardian (et. al.) Germanic power metal scene and combining it with subtle thrash sensibilities, Judicator perfectly balances monolithic vocal melodies with righteously aggressive riffs 'n' drums. 2018's The Last Emperor ended up at #6 on my year end list, and has continued to steal the spotlight since. Their entire discography is worthy of similar attention. Hooky yet complex tracks are the name of the game, and frankly, if you're mad at power metal because it epitomizes this formula, we can't really help ye out.
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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, March 27th, 2020: Wake, Chrome Ghost, Lord Buffalo, and Unholy Desecration
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. On the today's docket is an album that, despite not receiving a whole lot of love from critics, ended up smacking 2018's Albums of the Year list in the face, coming in at a respectable #8. And, if I had to do it all again, I suspect it would land in a very similar place. Hindsight is always 20/20, and in this case, I regret nothing. TerrorVision is a damn fun album--one that I still listen to frequently to this day. There are a lot of brutal death metal bands that bring visceral bombast to the operating table, but Aborted ply their trade with an indistinguishable and unmatched glee. It's absolutely disgusting. Across the breadth, individual tracks begin to lose distinct character, but rather form a series of brutal procedures, grinding and lacerating with bloody intent. Unlike many of their counterparts in the realm of goregrind and brutal death, who may wield scalpels like blunt force instruments, Aborted are relentlessly calculating in their technicality. That said, they never let flashiness take president over that which matters most--pummeling riffs, cranium-splitting drums, belligerent vocals, and straightforward songwriting. TerrorVison is fast, hefty, and, despite boasting a modern hone, is smeared with the accumulated viscera of a remarkably consistent career. Given the current, erm, situation, there has quite possibly never been a better time to bolster your content and step up your social media game.
But...what if you don’t have the budget to produce music videos, professional photo shoots, etc.? In short, what should a band without lots of assets in the content department post in order to keep a consistent schedule of posts each week? The following are my top recommendations for bands in this situation. As a general strategy for implementation, you can literally have a preset schedule: Monday is this kind of post, Tuesday is that kind, and so on. I highly recommend posting on a daily basis. Without further ado: 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. As mentioned in a recent review, we enjoy seeing bands that we reviewed in the Sleeping Village's primordial instagram-bound days releasing new music. One such group is Weed Demon, whose Astrological Passages made for a damn fine listening experience back in 2018. Since then, said album has, on occasion, wormed its way into rotation--and in the massive ocean of stoner doom, wherein bands need to fight hard to stay afloat amidst their contemporaries, maintaining interest is no small feat. Thus, imagine our excitement upon receiving promo for Weed Demon's sophomoric effort, forthcoming from Electric Valley Records on April 3rd. Spoiler: first impressions are proving very promising. 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. 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. Well. Look how easily we cast aside the tired past and gaze longingly into the future. I, for one, am getting mighty excited about the music that awaits just beyond that year-end horizon, and Scarab's forthcoming third effort is certainly the cause of some of said excitement. Egyptian death metal is always a good time. One of the first bands to emerge from this ill-populated scene (ignoring Nile, who lay claim to Egyptian heritage in name only) was Scarab, who subsequently won Global Metal Apocalypses’ "Breakthrough African Band" award in 2017. Despite some recognition, they really haven't made a deservedly massive splash. A shame, because as it turns out, both Blinding the Masses (2007) and Serpents of the Nile (2015) kick some serious ass. I liked the former and loved the latter, so one can only hope the positive growth has continued in the past 5 years. Fingers crossed. Announcement time! As ye may know, this Sleeping Village has been playing host, as of late, to Capt. Graves of Advent Varic (destroyer of planets, consumer of worlds, and so on). He's an integral part of our crew, and I'm pleased to share Advent Varic's (very) exciting news with you all today. The following is a transmission intercepted sometime in the wee hours: Advent Varic is proud to announce that Interstellar Smoke Label has added them to their lineup of sick bands! They will continue to be some of the hardest working aliens in the game. Look out for more MASSIVE announcements from these dudes. They are absolutely slaying the music scene with their own brand of metal, dubbed "blackened stoner metal". You won't find anything like this anywhere else. The pure aggression and focus is trvly unforgiving. Read our interview with Advent Varic here.
On this Sabbath Sunday, we comely inhabitants of the Sleeping Village have been dipping our toes in the dangerous waters of 80’s era Black Sabbath. As one does. In the grand scheme, the general sentiment is that if it ain't Ozzy or Dio, it ain't Sabbath. While I personally tend to agree, we are talking about Iommi, the Rifflord Most High, and as such, there are certainly some diamonds in the rough. Case in point: 1983's Born Again, the blackest of the black sabbathian sheep. Is it fair to say I'm disappointed that Born Again was Ian Gillian's only foray with the boys? My rational is that this one-off album, despite repeatedly getting the short end of the stick--often deservedly so--actually demonstrates a lot of unactualized promise. |
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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