Written by: Blackie Skulless It took me only a couple seconds to realize that the band was not named after the programming tool of the same name, but in relation to Valhalla. Considering the ancient themes and warlike attitude of the music, this would become quite obvious. Condemnation is the forth record by the Italian death metal quartet, dropping loads of life and layers on what is a generally darker sound. For a good majority of Condemnation, the songs avoid the typical layout, and instead build themselves on unconventional riff patterns and sprinkle in melodeath tactics. Those allow for extra bridges thrown into areas that don’t necessarily lead into a solo, but perhaps an entirely different sequence of sounds. Depending on the transitions, this can help or hurt. Some points feel natural, as if they go above and beyond the norm. “Divination - Marked By The Unknown” is one of the best tracks here, as it blends this with heavy synth presence, ultimately kicking out a longer track. The doomy outro of the title track was also a neat touch.
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Written by: Volt Thrower
Winnipeg, Manitoba: a misunderstood and often unknown entity on the global stage. Easy to overlook, easy to make the butt of a joke--but those who have spent time here know there is a veritable treasure trove of historical or natural beauty to stumble upon. There is of course a dark history (and present) of racial injustice and a growing class divide, but this observation isn’t meant to politicize the intro--just a quick backdrop for sources of inspiration that manifest themselves in a sometimes devastatingly beautiful art scene. One such iteration of that specific art is the burgeoning sludge metal scene, an umbrella I'm willing to stretch a bit just to shine a deserving light on some local artists who know how to bring the heavy. Now: on to some music, shall we?
Written by: Blackie Skulless
Bursting out of Belgium comes Evil Invaders, one of those bands that teeters the lines of thrash and speed metal that took form a little over a decade ago. Their latest album Feed Me Violence dropped back in 2017, and has since ended up being a total grower of a record. I say that because it starts out sounding like your typical speed metal that tries to rip-off Painkiller riffs with dashes of Overkill-isms. Before too long, they prove themselves otherwise. The speedier tracks aren’t bad by any stretch. Although the album bounces back and forth between these songs and the more intriguing crawlers, this style is let on little by little as the disc progresses. “Oblivion” intertwines the two by injecting an epic crawl that rolls into one of the fastest tunes, showcasing their speed side the greatest heights. Others like the title track are solid enough, but this isn’t where I think the band shines the brightest. Written by: Lord Hsrah What comes to your mind when someone mentions power metal in a conversation? Enchanting and melodic music? Trailblazing, blistering solos faster than Flash zipping and unzipping his pants? Soaring clean vocals much higher than your worst LSD trip? The most grandest of grand and rich choruses that they can afford buying a villa on a beach in LA? Because when I found Ascension (UK) guitarist Fraser Edwards' The Architect in my inbox, I was more than assured that I'll be getting all those things in a single package (not the villa, of course,) and that I wouldn't be disappointed. Being the sucker that I am for some tasty and exquisite power metal, Fraser definitely dropped a banger of an album, and this time with a much louder bang than his previous one, of which I'm sure, the sound of explosion will reverberate even outside Japan.
Written by: The Voiceless Apparition
32 years?! It's crazy to say that Paradise Lost have been a band for 32 years. The masters of doom and melancholy have been going steady ever since then with no break-ups or hiatuses in between. After a brief wait, Paradise Lost return with their 16th opus Obsidian, the follow-up to the masterful Medusa. Said album was a slight return to their original death/doom roots although within a modern context...but enough about the past. Obsidian is split into three different and distinct styles. You have the more death/doom-leaning tracks, the more gothic rock/metal-based tracks, and a subtler bridging between the two styles. It feels like a natural progression from the last album, with many of the trademarks we all love and adore about Paradise Lost, but with many twists and turns along the way. Welcome to the world of Obsidian.
Written by: Volt Thrower
Canada has been on a tear with its metal releases so far this year. Alberta specifically has been a hotbed for heavy lately. Whether you want genre bending devastation of the stunning Wake Devouring Ruin release, or some mind numbingly heavy stoner doom in Highbernation's Comatokes, chances are you can find something to scratch that itch in-province. Now you might be saying, “I'm actually in the mood for some trad-heavy, maybe some NWOBHM speed stuff.” If so, gather ‘round weary reader, for the local village Journeyman has the release for you. Termination Shock, recently released through Gates of Hell Records, is the second full-length from Calgary speed rockers Traveler.
Written by: The Administrator
Like many of our music-blogging contemporaries, this particular scribe does, indeed, fuck with Soundgarden. As luck would have it, I also fuck with Vancouver's ever-evolving Seer, whose latest effort, Vol. 6, caught eyes of several Villagers with its dark and delicate take on doom. Thus, finding out that the two have been combined by way of glorious tribute was enough to elicit a (rare) grin on this three year anniversary of Chris Cornell's death. Seer's cover of "Room A Thousand Years Wide" is a heartfelt homage to one of their most beloved heroes--and, beyond that, it's a damn good track. Let's get to it, shall we?
Written by: Volt Thrower
Let's just get this out of the way first: that artwork. Lordy it's stunning, and sets the bar high without a single note even being played. I own this record on vinyl and like 80% of the decision to buy it was based on the artwork alone. Designed by Toronto based tattoo artist Arthur Mills, it perfectly captures the haunting, war-torn, cosmic yet industrial landscape the band lays to waste on their second EP now, Pale Mare II. Pale Mare instantly get compared to High on Fire, which is lofty and can be a bit unfair, but the band themselves don't seem to shy away from the comparison on their bandcamp page. So, lets dig into some High on Fire worship, shall we? Written by: Lord Hsrah Beyond the Red Mirror follows after a long 5-year wait since German power metal titans Blind Guardian's last studio release, which was 2010's At the Edge of Time. The record received warm and positive reception from both fans and the media alike. Beyond the Red Mirror, however, is a completely different gravy compared to At the Edge... or some of their releases of the 21st century such as A Twist In The Myth, which saw the band move increasingly to a more progressive direction. Released by Nuclear Blast, Beyond the Red Mirror is a concept album that loosely follows the events of their 1995 masterpiece Imaginations From the Other Side. And like it's prequel, this is a very riff driven album that was the Krefeld-formed band's style for the 80's and the first part of their 90's records. The orchestral elements climb higher up the pecking order of the song composition percentage, taking the band to a more classical side. This is also the first album to feature new bassist, Barend Courbois, following the departure of long time session bass player, Oliver Holzwarth, who left the German outfit after filling in for bass duties, both live and in the studio for 13 years.
Do you remember the 2011 internet sensation that was Potion Seller? Our dear apothecary here at the Sleeping Village was nearly ruined by said video back in the day--besides the sudden mistrust in the potion selling industry, people kept asking him for potent quotables. As such, he was extremely resistant to the notion of us giving any publicity to that which endangered his livelihood (and his sanity.) But tyranny rules, and so here we are.
For those unfamiliar: one fateful day, one Justin Kuritzkes posted a video in which he utilized the glorious photo booth distortion filter to record dialogue between a knight and a potion seller who flat-out refuses to sell the knight any of his potions. Hilarity ensues, as did the tributes that inevitably spawn from virality. If you hadn't already guessed: the band in question today is, indeed, an overt tribute. |
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We provide thoughtful reviews of music that is heavy, gloomy...and loud enough to wake us from slumber. Written by a highfalutin peasantry!
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