AMPWALL Roundup: Volume IV

Written by: The Administrator

Welcome, dear readers, to a new edition of AMPWALL Roundup! For any Ampwall Discordians not in the know, this is our (unfortunately and embarrassingly infrequent) column dedicated to shining a little light on the music we sleepy villagers find whilst trawling through the explore page. It's been quite some time since we last dropped a roundup--don't bother checking the Volume III publication date, please--but we're back in the saddle and ready to talk about some cool music. In the many months since Volume III, Ampwall has added a bunch of features, including an app. Very handy for when an intrepid user wants to listen whilst, y'know, on the go.
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If you don't know what this whole Ampwall thing is all about, please take a quick gander at Volume I, where we get a little more in-depth regarding the platform/marketplace/community. In sum: we here at ye olde Sleeping Village are big advocates for the integration of additional resources into the independent artist's promo toolkit. To that end, having more music-purchasing people become aware of Ampwall's existence will only help it grow as a viable option moving forward.

Let's get to the music, shall we? Below are 6 bands I recommend checking out. And, if you're looking for more recommendations, give Volumes I, II, and III a read!

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Salivate - "Feeble Mind" (January 30th, 2026)

I initially found "Feeble Mind" by stumbling upon the "melodic sludge" tag--a tag, unsurprisingly, that was occupied exclusively by this single. I get what they are going for. There's a tasty melodic current that juxtaposes quite nicely with the more traditional aggression of the vocals and the stomping momentum. Rather than staying firmly planted knee-deep in concrete, the track has room to meander and--dare I say?--float. It's a unique aesthetic, and one that I'm excited to see flourish. I'm just now seeing they have an additional song out, and shall be checking it out post-haste. If you know me, you know I love stumbling upon a band's debut single before they've had the opportunity to a debut project proper. On one level, people always think you're super cool when you brag loudly about being there from the beginning, in stark contrast to those other bandwagon-hopping "fans." On another (realistic) level, there's so much power in potential, and Salivate ooze potential.
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csz - Slungs (September 7th, 2025)

csz has a lot of music available on Ampwall; this EP in particular is the most recently published. In sum: this is sonic chaos incarnate. An experiment in excess. Skronky, jarring, and gleefully noisy. It impacts my eardrums in the same way the vivid artwork impacts my eyeballs. I don't know what any of it intends to say, and that makes for an improbable and decidedly fresh listening experience. What does "Slungs" or the related sole description "these slugs are lungs" even mean? The hell if I know, and that's the point. In any case, csz presents some wildly experimental stuff, and it scratches an itch in my music-listening brain that I didn't even know existed. There's something so exciting about wild unpredictability, and in the midst of garish squeals, buzzing fuzz, and delightfully off-kilter funky bass, it is impossible to anticipate what might happen next. The experience is confusing and borderline psychedelic. Very cool, albeit thoroughly unexplainable. Check it out for yourself?

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Chestcrush - ΨΥΧΟΒΓΑΛΤΗΣ (April 4th, 2025)

​Did I discover Chestcrush through Ampwall? No. Did I in fact review Chestcrush's debut long before Ampwall was born? Yes. But perusing the blackened death metal tag reminded me that I never took the time to properly sing this album's praises. So: ΨΥΧΟΒΓΑΛΤΗΣ  is mighty, and massive, and profoundly unfuckwithable.  "Oppressive" gets thrown around a lot in the extreme metal arena, but few bands manage, in my mind, to conjure such a profoundly impermeable and crushing atmosphere. Chestcrush have sincerely mastered the delivery of abject intensity that is always somehow more. More intense, more relentless, more visceral. More heavy. Always, somehow, more heavy. Far beyond merely descriptive, the band's name is damn near prophetic, and they are somehow still criminally underrated in the greater sphere of extreme metal enjoyers. Throw this one on if you're looking to inflict structural damage to your physical being.

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Caer Sgàil - Through Mountains and Valleys They All Cry (February 20th, 2026)

Let's take a moment to let our lungs re-inflate with gentler fare, shall we? Since the release of their debut EP, Caer Sgàil has additionally dropped a remix and this newest EP, which takes the project in some surprisingly varied directions. While a tether remains to the subtle darkness of the prior It's The People We Choose​, much of that EP's sense of tension has been shed. Through Mountains and Valleys They All Cry leans brighter and fuller, bringing more instrumentation into the fold. These additional elements and textures feel like an extremely natural fit in the ambient environs, with my favorite track herein--"We're Too Weak On Our Own"--making fantastic use of a frolicking pluckiness around the midpoint before bringing some climatic drama in the back third. This EP feels warm and vibrant, and is a prime demonstration of the ways in which ambient music can be rich and bountiful while still maintaining a well-curated restraint. All told: this makes for a very fulfilling listen. Excited to hear what comes next in Caer Sgàil's sonic evolution!

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Sporcerer - Sporcery (June 5th, 2026)

As I said upon first exposure: "Spocerery? by Sporcerer? Incredible things are happening in fungal synth." And I meant it, dammit. Sporcerer--a side project of spaceseer--bridges mythology and mycology, concocting a wonderfully immersive soundtrack to a rich and menacing fungal world. This project demonstrates a mastery of the art of otherworldliness, and does an excellent job both establishing a hummingly organic environment and maintaining a sense of unfamiliarity throughout. There's a delicate and exciting balance struck between the world's inherent whimsy and inherent danger. For an 18 minute track, opener "The Last Sporcerer" practically soars by, with "A Veil for Shrouded" and "Cytoplasmic Spells," both around 9 minutes, achieving a similar trick. The latter introduces some initially jarring percussion that feels almost martial, which contrasts wonderfully with the bright synth. I love the worldbuilding, I love the listening experience, I love the artwork and general aesthetic. Delightful stuff across the board. The embed comes via Cave Birds Record's Ampwall, you can support the artist digitally here.

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JUNON - ​The Golden Citadel of the Astral Sphere (May 15th, 2026)

I was really pleased to see ​The Golden Citadel of the Astral Sphere pop up in various different publications. It's always cool when weird black metal garners itself a sliver of the spotlight, and lemme tell you: when it comes to weird black metal, JUNON isn't messing around. The four tracks on this album represent a consistently strange de- and re-construction of genre, resulting in some of the most unpredictable song structure I've encountered in black metal. It's avant-garde in a way that means it, kaleidoscopic in a way that seems more akin to psych rock than anything else. This is an anxious album, roiling and bottled-up. The dissonance and ambiance flirt tensely, with the extreme variety of vocal styles presenting a whole cast of characters. Truly a bizarre and complex experience. I'm multiple listens deep and am compelled to continue; I've barely scratched to surface on what JUNON are doing here. This is an extremely intriguing album. Not merely strange or off-kilter, The Golden Citadel of the Astral Sphere is truly eldritch. And yet! It is still highly listenable. Bravo.
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​Thank you to the above bands, and thank you for reading!
Check out Ampwall here.