 Written by: Lord Hsrah
We've all been hearing of people going to space these past few days, with Jeff Bezos being the latest to do so. And while some of us may start to wonder whether or not space is the final frontier here, Epoch of Chirality prepares for launch with their debut album Nucleosynthesis, where space is just the beginning and what lies ahead is a mystery best known to the unknown. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, lift off! Epoch of Chirality is a one man sci-fi metal project started by England-based musician Richard How, and Nucleosynthesis is their first full-length album that follows their 2020 EP Dawn of Chirality. The album, dubbed as "sci-fi metal," has 9 instrumental songs in total, all of which, quite obviously, draw heavily from sci-fi soundscapes. Nucleosynthesis starts off pretty slow, and in general, the build up to the actual beefy material of every song takes quite a while too. There's plenty usage of synth and other electronic instruments to help create those soundscapes like they were straight out of the 80's. A lot of it is shared by modern synthwave acts, and what they do. Quite frankly speaking, at times it does feel like a nice space-synth album, albeit heavier in all tones and textures.
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On (regrettably infrequent!) Fridays, a wagon arrives at the Sleeping Village’s crumbling gates, stuffed to the brim with our sustenance for the following week. Today is the day we must offload all this week's new and noteworthy 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 have been listening to this week at the Village HQ. We hope you join us in doing so! On the docket for today, July 9th, 2021: Lunar Cult, Green Hog Band, Dialith, & White Crone
Every Friday, a wagon arrives at the Sleeping Village’s crumbling gates, stuffed to the brim with our sustenance for the following week. Today is the day we must offload all this week's new and noteworthy 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--and have been--listening to this week at the Village HQ. We hope you join us in doing so! We slumbering scribes were slightly more productive this week than normal, so enjoy an additional two mini-reviews! On the docket for today, April 30th, 2021: GOREGÄNG, Greyhound, Becerus, Bevar Sea, Order of the Wolf / Pessimista, and Alpha Boötis
Written by: Blackie Skulless
Haunt mastermind Trevor Church and Co. have basically been churning out endless material since I discovered them in late 2018 around the release of the debut album. Sticking to a pretty traditional style of heavy metal, they made their first mild shift in early 2020 with Mind Freeze, a record that I admittedly simp for. This marked the first of a gradual step towards synthier, perhaps poppier songs that had more chorus-based structures. Although I thought Flashback was a bit of an awkward transition, the latest full-length Beautiful Distraction basically steps in and ties up loose ends. Continuing off of the prior idea, you get a better executed version of these accessible tactics molded with firm heavy metal riffing. The layering especially is the best that Haunt have done with the trade-offs between guitar/keyboard and how they follow each other. Allowing for songs to flow from one to the next easier, they can now squeeze in different writing directions smoothly. That, in and of itself, is one of the biggest standouts. 
Written by: The Administrator
As both a (card-carrying) metalhead and nerd, I absolutely live for the occasional convergence of A. metal and B. nerd stuff. Luckily for this particularly highfalutin scribe, the Sleeping Village effectively has a band on retainer for such stuff: namely, Underking, the solo project of one Maxwell Jeffries. You may recognize the name from our premiere of the Avatar: The Last Airbender-inspired "Dragon of the West." His latest barn-burner of a track, entitled "Shadow I've Become," dives unabashedly into the mythos of Star Wars, taking as its tortured protagonist our favorite son of Dathomir. That's right, dear readers: it's time for a little Maul. Obviously, however, you don't need to be a Star Wars fan to enjoy this offering. While flitting between a variety of loosely defined genres, the track itself is built on a hotbed of hard-hitting riffage and disgustingly infectious vocal hooks. 
Written by: The Administrator
When we're not locked in our drafty scriptorium, daily existence here at the Sleeping Village is inevitably beset by the type of backbreaking labor inherent to a (pseudo) medieval township. The grind is real, and, as such, an occasional dose of the weird and wonderful is a bit of a necessity. Hence, the promise of self-declared "space disco synth metal," courtesy of Alpha Boötis, seemed like a likely candidate for injecting a lil' excitement into mid-afternoon drudgery. And boy, is it ever. I seldom write reviews immediately after consuming the music in question, but after jamming this two-track-plus-a-cover EP about eight times over the span of the past few hours, I feel somewhat moved to say my piece post-haste. Let's get to it.  Written by: Lord Hsrah
It’s time for German heavy metal today, after a long time to be honest, and Elmsfire are here to present their latest offering, Wings of Reckoning. Dusseldorf based quartet Elmsfire have been around since a bit more than two decades and have had their own share of multiple lineup changes over the years, but that hasn't let this machine stop from churning out records, as Wings of Reckoning is their sixth. Frequent lineup shifts saw fellow compatriot band Van Canto singer, Ross Thompson, get enlisted to take care of vocal duties. The only constant that's been in the band is the main core, the heart of the whole group, the guitar duo of Germano and Doro, who not only team up for guitar duties but also split bass duties for the album. 
Written by: Lord Hsrah
You ever seen Spike or Tom from Tom and Jerry? Seen how they react when their ever-so-cunning and sharp eyes spot a thick chunk of steak, and how their tongues just hang out as their mouth waters at the thought of devouring it? Yeah, that's always me when someone mentions atmospheric black metal! I'm a big fan of the emotions this particular sub-genre invokes, the scenes it creates in my head, the visions it shows me thereafter, and just the overall things I feel when listening to an ABM album - it's one of my favorite things, especially in the rainy season, which is right now where I live. If you ask me, The Lightbringers' From The Void To Existence was a good one to spend some time with as I watched the waters trickle down the window panes of my room. Let's discuss. 
Written by: Loveloth
Avast ye dirty landlubbers and hear me tale! Name's Tentaclebeard, cap'n Tentaclebeard, and allow me to blow yer breeches away with this mighty tale of adventure, loot, friendship, and grog--many barrels of it. During me long, scurvy-ridden life I met plenty of folk but naught compare to this group of swashbucklers. Three moons ago, me crew and aye careened near a wee island rumoured to have treasure. 'Twas a hot, dry day, like most in these cursed lands but aye'll never forget the moment we weighed anchor. On the beach, five odd-lookin' lads scurried along after burying something shiny in the sands. Didn't take long before the buggers were caught for me crew is an experienced lot but so were these lads it be turnin' out. Calm as that Tortugan one-eyed drunkard these scurvy dogs were. Even me trusty parrot squawked in anger but even with ol' Bertha yellin' the fivetet remain'd cool, cool as the northern winds up in... arrrr ye get the point. Where was aye? Aye, 'twas a...blimey, get me some grog laddie, have ye no respect for old sea dogs like yarr's truly? What kind of wenches owns this bilge-sucking tavern anyway, bunch of landlubbers, don't even get me drinks...arrrgh, back to me tale. 
Written by: Lord Hsrah
2020 has most definitely proven to be an immensely dreadful year--and that's saying the least in every way. It is in these times of turmoil and unrest that we often turn to the arts for comfort and solace and peace, to find an escape from all the chaos around us. And of all the arts and recreations, the one singular thing that lights our lives up is music, and, thankfully, for the power metal geek that I am, this year hasn't been short of providing power metal in decent abundance. Today I'm feeling like some driving symphonies, some operatic vocals, some ballads...and guess what! I have just the thing on hand that I'm looking for. Let's take a look at Northern Irish symphonic power metallers Ravenlight's first full-length album, Project Genesis. |
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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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