There are, alas, few constants in life, but here's one worth acknowledging: the inevitable high quality of an inbound Rick Massie track. We've covered this eclectic one-man Yukonian force o' nature a couple of times in the past--if the name rings a bell, you may have seen our premieres of his massive debut album Eclipse, or perhaps the Halloween-themed "The Dance (of the Dead and Alive.)" As we swiftly approach the third premiere, then, it's worth taking a second to mention that regardless of what Rick delivers, we slumbering scribes are excited to talk about it. Today's track in question is certainly no different--indeed, on "13," Massie leans heavily into the gothic and doomy foundation upon which our township was originally construed and constructed. If you've liked his prior work, you'll enjoy what this track has to offer; if you're a total newcomer to the Rick Massie fold, this serves as a solid introduction. Win/win, in opinion of this this humble amanuensis.

Without further ado, dear reader, we are very pleased to present "13." Pull up a chair 'round the fire, pull off yer boots, kick up yer feet, and get comfortable. As always, we'll catch ye on the other side!

If you've been traipsing around the underground metal blog-o-sphere these past few months, you have more than likely run into Mothman and the Thunderbirds. Y'know, wielder of an unforgettable moniker and equally unforgettable tunes. This popularity, I hasten to add, wasn't simply birthed into existence by benefit of  ​Alex Parkinson's industry connections as a fellow metal reviewer. As anyone who has heard any of the advance singles will undoubtedly attest, his debut album Into The Hollow stands strong on its own two (three? seven? undeterminable?) legs (wings? assorted appendages?)

​A sludge/stoner project for the purpose of succinct PR, Mothman and the Thunderbirds is, in reality, a very difficult beast to define. Into The Hollow does feature a whole lot of the sasquatchian heft and aggression that one might expect from conspiracy-and-cryptid-themed sludge--take, as a prime example, "Hollow Earth," which seemingly pays homage to Mastodon's "Circle of Cysquatch." However, merely singling out a single song does absolutely nothing to prepare you, a fact that you can, in fact, independently verify in very short order. Eclectic ain't the half of it.

Anyways. More on that later. More pressing matters are at hand. We slumbering scribes are happy, honored, and otherwise Very Fuckin' Pleased to present said album in its entirety, prior to release this coming Friday. Give it a listen below! Provided you're still standing, we'll meet ye on the other side.

Frequent passers-by through Ye Olde Sleeping Village will (hopefully) have noted by this stage that I enjoy when bands toe the line of convention. Indeed, I celebrate when a group throws in the towel and lets deliberate genre-melding lead the process. As such, when Yukonian one-man musical maverick  Rick Massie approached us highfalutin peasants with the idea of premiering his forthcoming debut album, all it took to seal the deal (besides, of course, sampling a track) was the promise of genre tomfoolery. In his words, Eclispe is "kind of a mix of everything from prog, to symphonic, to black, to death, to doom-ish, to rock." That's a Now, dear readers, we're talkin' my language.

But let's cut to the chase, shall we? Today, it's our absolute pleasure to present Rick Massie's Eclipse in its unadulterated and unabridged entirety, prior to its release this Friday, May 1st. Before we get too far absorbed in the details, hit play on the stream below. I'll meet you on the other side.