I'm a child of the 90's, but predictably didn't learn to appreciate its bounty of music until a decade after the fact. In any case, this scribe's angsty teenage years were filled to the brim with, y'know, appropriately angsty music. From Soundgarden, to Mudhoney, to RHCP, to Silver Chair, to Tool, to Our Lady Peace, and far beyond, my formative days were crammed with rockin' riffs and the gritty melancholic tirades of the era. Given a heartfelt love for that grunge-infected generation of rock, I was exceptionally excited by the opportunity to premiere Static, the debut EP from Melbourne's very talented Canyon. 

On paper, this power trio plays a blend o' alt metal, stoner rock, and prog. In practice, that description certainly feels accurate, but their tunes are notably imbued with a grungy flair. Or, y'know, the dour equivalent of flair. Back in Oct. of last year, when we reviewed Insane, this EP's lead single, we stated that if felt "caught in the amber of 90's headbang fodder," while simultaneously displaying a high level of maturity. I'm please to report that the entire EP follows suit...but you hardly have to take my word for it. Give Static a listen in full below. We'll catch ye on the other side of the y2k divide.

Given the fact that it seems a better description of an ethos than a particular sonic quality, using the intentionally ill-defined "avant-garde metal" as a jumping-off point is a bit of a fraught exercise. Today's band in question is a wholly unique beast, and so any preemptive attempts at categorization must immediately be defenestrated. A more appropriate starting point, then, might be Bornwithhair's previous work. This is their third(!) album in, like, less than a year, so the intense maturation has been pretty darn compressed in regards to time frame. 

Their debut Radical Moon was marked by a fresh breath of weirdness, particularly in the compositional department, while sophomore effort Smoleńska upped the stakes, leaning into angular riffage and angry distortion on one hand, and starkly gentle ambiance on the other. Both provided a wildly tumultuous approach to experimentation. Both were well-received, with the latter getting some quite impressive press. Both represented a mad-cap cacophony of ideas, and, as such, made for pretty damn intriguing listening experiences. The only way to go was up, and follow-up Someplace to Haunt is, dare I say, this duo's most enjoyable and most cohesive work yet. Needless to say, we're pleased and honored to premiere Someplace to Haunt here in full. Throw on a pair of headphones and fire it up. As always, we'll meet you on the other side.

Written by: The Administrator

​When it comes to the simple pleasures associated with the simple scriberly life, front-row access to an artist's evolution over time is one of the most consistently exciting. The artist in question? Ye eagle-eyed readers may recall that this spring, we premiered Eclipse, a conceptual album from a certain progressive ​Yukonian one-man outfit. I quite enjoyed Rick Massie's ability to seamlessly blend genres in a symphonic landscape, bringing the listener on a series of sonic voyages through dynamic scenery.

But! Eclipse lives in the past. It is now, I am happy to report, a time of year we affectionately refer to as "spooky season." With the change in atmosphere comes an appropriately ominous Rick Massie track. Give "The Dance (of the Dead and Alive)" a well-deserved listen below, and, as always, we'll meet you 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.