Given the intensity of the summer weather here at the Sleeping Village as of late--tornados, blistering heat, and monsoon-like thunderstorms--a little reminder of winter's chill feels pretty refreshing. Enter, then, the appropriately entitled "January Moon," the forthcoming standalone single from Chicago's own alt-gothic Mordian.

​This track--and the Mordian catalog as a whole, which includes 2019's Romance In Disguise EP--is a little gothic, a little alternative, and a whole lot ethereal. Balancing seemingly disparate elements with grace and precision, Mordian allows quieter moments ample room the breathe, while still delivering the oomph we metalheads crave.

Without further ado: give "January Moon," a listen below! As always, we'll meet ye on the other side.

I like surprises. Today's surprise comes in the form of a lil' three track EP from a Swedish father-son duo who utilize emotion and interconnectedness as a catalyst for their composition. With vague genre markers and little more than a mission statement to guide my ears, I was utterly uncertain what Trumbiten had cooked up on the (appropriately entitled) Emotions. As luck would have it, hitting play was cause for celebration: Tommy Arngren (the father) and Adam (the son) certainly have the goods.

Existing in the nebulous zone between hard rock, prog rock, thrash, and traditional metal, these guys made the smart move of enlisting the aid of multiple session vocalists, utilizing a global community of musicians to create slightly outside the bounds of standard industry practice.
Without further blathering, we slumbering scribes are pleased to present Emotions in its entirety below. As always, we'll see you on the other side. In the meantime: enjoy!

As a highfalutin scribe here at this well-respected establishment, I am typically loathe to pilfer turns of phrase directly from press kits. However, in the case of LEACH, I can hardly resist: "If it’s burly, melodic, and fits together perfectly, it’s probably from Sweden. LEACH certainly fall into the above categories, and their warts-and-all style of thrash 'n' roll is just begging for a throwdown." I couldn't, quite frankly, say it any better myself.

Today, we're pleased and honored to present the music video for LEACH's "D.O.D," a bonus track from their upcoming full length entitled Lovely Light of Life. This hefty track features none other than Björn “Speed” Strid of Soilwork vox fame. Needless to say, it's worth checking out....which, incidentally, you can do below. As always, we'll meet ye on the flip side! 

We townsfolk were getting lonely moshing by ourselves in the village cesspool, so please, dear readers, consider this an open invitation to our filth-ridden festivities. That’s right: we’re hitting you with another nasty Appalachian Noise Records premiere, right out of the goddamn gate.  

Provided you weren’t utterly concussed by forays into Bather’s bandcamp, you may recall that last week we reviewed the Ohio quintet’s forthcoming debut--an academically tinged ‘core monstrosity, coated with the angsty chug-laden patina of a bygone era. Today, we are pleased to premiere Birds from said album. As a single, it demonstrates very well the entire Bather package, and after several particularly pugilistic bouts with the repeat button, I can safely consider it to be one of my favorite tracks herein.

As I wrote previously, Birds serves a prime example of Bather’s dynamism, which remains...well, present, considering the primordial genre sludge from which this outfit crawls. Beginning with a seemingly chuggy sludgefest, Birds quickly takes that rugged riffage and transitions into an oddly melodic affair. Higher leads ride high above the marshy underfooting, before falling back into the mire for a chorus bursting with all the unwashed spite the 90’s ‘core scene might muster. And then back again. Drums are less percussed than bludgeoned into broken-toothed submission, and, come the back half, viltrolic vocals are expelled through massive gaps in the chugs. To quote myself--as us narcissistic ink-splattered scribes are wont to do--Birds stands as a high-water mark where “the vocals are particularly repugnant (and this, of course, in the best sense of the word).” For a four minute track, there’s a helluva lot going on to maintain interest, and that alone places Bather in a notably distinct echelon. The point deserves to be hammered home: Bather takes the mangled tools offered by 90’s ‘core and uses them to surprisingly inventive effect. Their influences never wrote tracks that even begin to approach this level of sophistication.

Anyways. You can read about it all day, but descriptions are for the birds. Listen here:  

​Bather’s self-titled debut will be released April 12th, 2019 from Appalachian Noise Records. While we're on the topic, don't miss out on that sweet album bundle. 

Bather can be found:
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