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Written by: The Administrator
Welcome to Sleeping Village Micro-Reviews! In an attempt to cover more music at the website proper, the following is a collection of very short--micro, even--reviews written in reaction to various music released between Jan. 1st, 2026 and...whatever today's date end up being, I guess. This isn't a best-of list or an attempt to represent the 2026 music listening experience. Rather, it is just a random collection of releases that I have enjoyed, and while a bunch of stuff here will inevitably end up on future favorites lists, it is far from all-inclusive. This is Vol. 1 of what will become a series published throughout the remainder of the year. There are a great many albums I would like to discuss, and not nearly enough time to review them all in full. Hence: this. Several of these mini-reviews are freshly concocted for the sake of this column, but most have been scraped, salvaged, and otherwise amalgamated from previous commentary I've posted over on Bluesky and/or Bandcamp. A lot of random stuff ended up here; genre tags (or approximations thereof) have been provided for sake of clarity. Everything obviously comes highly recommended. I hope you find something lurking herein that tickles your fancy! Without further ado: 
Fossilization - Advent of Wounds (death/doom - February 13th via Everlasting Spew)
A quick lil' search indicates that I misremembered the scope of my review written upon release of this excellent album. In my mind, I dedicated multiple sentences, but the historical record will show that I simply said "Fossilization is nasty and also gnarly." Which, y'know, kinda sums it up? After revisitation, I can indeed confirm that Advent of Wounds is nasty and also gnarly. One might argue that few other albums in 2026 hit the mark so acutely when it comes to the very specific intersection of nasty and also gnarly. Check it out if you like that kind of stuff.
Hype-O - Forever Longing (industrial metal, bedroom pop, EBM - January 2nd via Fiadh)
Forever Longing is such a wonderfully eclectic and choppy conglomerate of sights and sounds. It represents a profoundly odd listen, which I mean in the most complimentary sense. Jarring transitions are a defining aesthetic choice. Given the release date, this was one of the very first releases I listened to in 2026, and I feel like it set a standard for unpredictability. Everything here feels remarkably fresh and exciting, and I'm a particular fan of the integration of the hookier pop-leaning elements into the overt chaos. Check out a track like (the excellent!) "Surveilling the Decay" and try to tell me you've ever heard something that sounds remotely like this. I dare you.
Ian Wellman - Particularly Dangerous Situation (field recordings, sound art, ambient - January 23rd)
There's a hard-to-place emotion that comes from witnessing the part musical, part journalistic Particularly Dangerous Situation from a place of safety. It feels uncomfortably unintuitive and even voyeuristic to find a meditative serenity in an album about California's catastrophic wildfires of 2025. The ambient passages are deeply immersive, but the heavily integrated field recordings firmly establish a time, place, and temperature. The air quality itself feels intensely tangible, as cinders crackle through whistling wind. The (very!) well-constructed melding of elements makes for a listening experience that is frankly quite difficult to compare to anything else. This is a well executed piece, and, as with several other albums on this list, is turuly unlike anything I've heard before.
Tierra Whack - Whack's Museum (hip hop, boom-bap - June 19th via Interscope Records)
This Tierra Whack mixtape predictably has bars for days. She is so so so good at riding the line between complexity, fun, and an extremely efficient word economy. Clever bars abound. The punchlines are downright pugilistic. Her use of inflection-as-instrument has always been extremely impressive, but her she fully embraces the power of an unexpected syllabic emphasis. Her beat selection is getting increasingly abstract, but everything on this project is still super smooth and listenable. Upon first listen I was impressed; upon subsequent listens it has increasingly solidified itself as one of my very favorite hip hop projects of the year.
Alicia Cordisco - My Restless Temple (symphonic power metal - March 27th)
Whether I'm having a good day or bad, there's an excellent chance it can (and will) be improved by listening to absolute PEAK symphonic/gothic power metal, courtesy of the illustrious Alicia Cordisco (plus accompanying cast of vocalists.) This album feels specifically crafted towards my specific heavy metal interests. It is relentlessly hooky, filled to the brim with exciting moments and the kind of triumphant choruses that beg for a singalong. Many tracks here ride a fine line between somber and joyously grandiose--no easy feat. I absolutely love the curation of vocalists, as everyone truly shines in the context of the individual tracks. The album feels so collaborative and fresh as a result. Pretty sure everyone reading this already knows the score, but if you missed this one I HIGHLY recommend checking it out.
underscores - U (pop, alternative EDM, post-hyperpop - March 20th via Mom + Pop Music)
As much love as U has received this year from various online communities, I feel like it simply has not been given its due in the larger pop sphere. This achieves exactly what a pop album should: namely, I simply can not stop listening. It is addicting. The definition of no skips. Exciting and forward-thinking. U features some sensationally sticky hooks, tantalizingly sick production choices, and, amidst it all, some truly heartfelt lyricism. It takes significant queues from the glee and self-awareness of hyperpop without indulging too heavily in excess. Unless something truly miraculous happens, I can't imagine any other album wearing the pop AOTY crown this year.
Rapsody - God Gotta Afro & Gold Hoops (hip hop - August 21st via Roc Nation & We Each Other)
I'm a massive fan of Rapsody's rapping, but felt like her last album--despite containing some incredible tracks--lacked a sense of cohesion. You can henceforth discard that particular criticism of her execution. Recency bias may be playing a minor role, but I already pretty certain this is Rapsody's best and most cohesive work to date. Here, she has mastered the art of delivering multiple vibes without ever sacrificing the central thematic and aesthetic thread. God Gotta Afro & Gold Hoops is celebratory and powerful and deeply self-confident, with the title track starring as an absolutely unfuckwithable central argument. What a glorious album.
Mossgiver - Renewer (atmospheric/epic black metal - February 6th via Sih MusicArt)
After listening to Mossgiver for the first time, I immediately regretting not doing so earlier. As ye mighty assume from, uhhh, the entire package, this is some melodically verdant stuff. Appropriately mossy, appropriately green. Perhaps listening whilst on a sunny walk through the forest helped color perception, but alongside the organic-ness, there is an unexpected brightness and clarity on display. I love when black metal is this overtly gorgeous and uplifting. Killer vocals too! Every track here is fantastic, but opener "The Cleansing Waters" is particularly special, in my opinion.
Khemmis - Khemmis (doomed heavy metal - June 12th via Nuclear Blast)
As a big fan of the whole doomy heavy metal aesthetic, I very much enjoy Khemmis by Khemmis. The epic flair and sense of lingering joy in the dark is, as always, very well executed, and when the deathier moments hit, they hit hard. This is not a bold album, but it didn't need to be. I did initially think the momentum was a little odd at times, and it felt almost too cohesive. But! After further familiarization, the individual tracks have de-meshed pleasingly. Nothing here shakes the foundations of my personal Khemmis ranking, but this self-titled is a strong showing from a band with an undeniably top-tier discography.
Volcandra - Beyond the Will of Mortals (melodic blackened death - April 26th via Prosthetic Records)
Volcandra gets a lot of love in my very particular corner of the music-enjoying world, but in a more macro sense, they simply don't get the recognition they deserve for consistently releasing some of the finest melodically inclined black/death metal of the 2020's. As a huge fan of the prior The Way of Ancients, I'm inclined to think that Beyond the Will of Mortals represents their best work yet. They nail a well-honed balance of melodicism with a tasteful snarling bite, and are never afraid to lean into a distinct roughness when the circumstance dictates. There's a borderline thrashy drive to a lot of the songs herein, and I love the overall sense of urgency. A relentlessly fun and highly satisfying listen.
Sylvia Rose - Séance (doom, noise, shoegaze, neo-folk - March 6th)
Genre tags or point of comparisons are largely unhelpful in attempting to describe what Sylvia Rose hath wrought here. Séance is harrowing and mournful and delightfully uncanny, but also decidedly grand. There's a distinct gothic flair, but no element exists to merely satisfy a trope. "Haunting" feels like an overused descriptor (which is easy for me to claim, as I am a chronic overuser) but this album is the definition of haunting. It utilizes textured atmosphere to great effect, and the sense of space Sylvia Rose creates feels so uniquely physical. The low end in particular lends a sense of weight and tangibility--when the subwoofer roars, it gives my chest an approximation of that warm hum that only live music can truly provide. Séance is a singularly immersive listen. I can't recommend it enough.
Scoured - Still (blackened doom, the sonic embodiment of anxiety, April 17th)
I woke up this morning and rather than starting the day with something light, I dove directly into the self-described " 30-minute single-song blackened doom panic attack." Excellent choice on my part, and I'm not being sarcastic. Despite all of the negative descriptors I'll be utilizing in short order, this is an utterly incredible piece of music. Still rejects any sense of stillness, constantly playing with intensity and motion. It is dissonant and harsh and and droning and claustrophobic and distressing and uncomfortable and abrasive, and yet wholly engrossing. This re-recording is a refinement of the (already stellar) demo in every way. If you haven't already done so, I highly recommend immersing yourself in the refined uncomfortability of Still.
Thank you for reading! Stay tuned for (the largely pre-written) Vol. 2, hopefully sooner rather than later!
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Written by: Blackie Skulless
Admittedly, I was wary of diving into Ossuary due to the sheer number of bands with that name, and the fact that the last one I tried didn’t impress me much. Yet, a trusted source suggested actually paying attention to the one specifically from Wisconsin, U.S.A., and I’m quite glad I followed suit. Despite being around for over a decade now, it wouldn’t be until last year that the death metallers would drop a full-length record. Titled Abhorrent Worship, I can confidently say that they absolutely do worship an abhorrent sound. It’s not an overly uncommon day when one like me stumbles upon a grimy and gross death metal outfit leaning towards the doom/death spectrum, but when it hits extra hard, it feels extra exciting. Ossuary not only boasts one of the most hateful, hideous, and fucking disgusting sounds in the genre, they do it with such prowess that showcases strong instrumental mastery in the midst of the muck. All over this disc sits an even tradeoff of thick, chunky rhythms that are complimented by higher leads, moving around the fretboard achieving less than melody but more than mere vibes. Together with explosive blasts that don’t disrupt the rate of flow, we get a proverbial storm of rumbly clashes that flood the entire soundscape with an, *ahem* abhorrent swamp of musical filth.
Note: this was originally published as a guest review over at Peregrinator Reviews. Check it out here!
Written by: The Administrator
When you see enough people saying that a death metal album may very well be the death metal album of the year, it is honestly pretty easy to take them at their word. Indeed, perhaps moreso than any other genre, I fundamentally believe that death metal's sheer number of high quality albums is a statistical anomaly. There are, of course, some stinkers, but surely there must exist more low and middling quality albums to balance things out. But alas. A great many death metal albums are of a remarkably high quality. And so: I find myself once more bestowing the mantle of high quality death metal album upon a high quality death metal album. Malignity by Vile Apparition is undeniably a high quality death metal album. If you enjoy high quality death metal albums, this particular example may very well sit high on your list of high quality death metal albums released this year. 
Written by: Jacob
Horns. Dissonance. A chant. This is the greeting from Tooth and Nail, the latest outing from Dormant Ordeal. It can feel almost insignificant in the moment, as so many throwaway "intro" tracks in metal albums can. But as soon as things roll into "Halo of Bones", intentionality appears. This is not an album where moments are thrown out lightly, even 46 second intro tracks. From the first proper track, "Halo of Bones," you'll be getting, well, the "bones" of the entire album. Atmosphere. Intense groove. A touch of black metal. Blasting death metal. These are the foundation upon which Dormant Ordeal builds their masterwork. All present, all introduced at exactly the right time, and none overstaying their welcome. The seamless weaving of all these elements immediately give Tooth and Nail a sense of magnitude and heft. It becomes evident over time, though, that these tools were used to create something lasting and emotionally charged. Anger, pain, panic, defeat, and resurgence are all felt not just in individual tracks, but in their placement and flow. 
Written by: Blackie Skulless
Seldom will you find me crossing paths with something tagged “melodic death metal” and have so many nice things to say, save for a few very specific bands, but the year of our lord 2023 managed to break this trend. Majesties are a U.S. band based in Minnesota that seemingly came out of nowhere, with no demos, singles, or anything to precede their first and only full-length. Yet, they managed to catch the attention of 20 Buck Spin, which is always a good sign. The lone record’s title is Vast Reaches Unclaimed, and it certainly did reach far to claim some atypical greatness. Wasting no time, Majesties jumps right to the punches, swiftly delivering its ten tracks in less than forty minutes with no unnecessary bells and whistles. The “melodic” descriptor often refers to a guitar tone and not actual melody, but I would argue that such a mold is broken here. Under harsh, borderline blackened shrieks lies a healthy blend of soothing leads and evident emotion, paired with harsh rhythms that don’t come off corny. Much of that is likely due to the noisy gradient, preventing any generic metalcore-isms, with constant trade-offs between tougher leads. 
Written by: Blackie Skulless
It’s been a heavy year for death metal so far, with no shortage in strong contenders for a favorite. We may only be just touching the halfway point of 2025, but Canada’s Grave Infestation is looking like they could take that torch pretty early on. The British Columbian outfit has been around since 2018, crafting a horrendous and loose brand of death metal under a loud atmosphere. The latest release, Carnage Gathers, is no exception, being the one that truly gathered my attention. Redundant as it seems to describe death metal as “loud,” I say this because every role in the makeup has such a mighty presence, rumbling its otherwise tight structures into loosening its fasteners. Rough and rocky rhythms that echo off one another backed by ferocious drum blasts create a cavernous strike that rarely uses it in the doom/death sense, but prefers to stick to breakneck-speeds. If that isn’t enough, the vocals erupt in a howling-meets-growling way that cakes on another layer of atmosphere, rendering a feeling of suffocating in a coal mine. The only time this really lets up is when a screeching guitar lead takes the forefront, feeling like a proverbial cry for help under a relentless avalanche that one can’t escape, due to the wall of sound the thick riffs create with the drumming. 
Written by: Blackie Skulless
For over a decade now, the U.S. filth-slingers Act Of Impalement have been reeking up the honky-tonk streets of Nashville. While teetering on the doom side of the death metal spectrum, they’re seldom known for oozing into that rumbly-bumbly howling in their later efforts, at least to a large extent. This is to remain the case on the newest record to hit the scene. While I found the band to be serviceable before, it was 2025’s Profane Altar that truly sold me on them. Out of the gate, I may go as far as saying that the doomier aspects of the outfit are seldom now, opting for something that swings in chops more aligned with the hardcore camp. But fear not, because this doesn’t come close to falling into the dime-a-dozen pitfall not uncommon in many a Gatecreeper riff. No, this retains the grizzly and gross production, chunky and marshy riffs, with a burning buzz that simply takes a stompier angle in the rhythmic executions. “Sanguine Rites” comes to mind, being a fine example of the doomier influence rearing its ugly head, but the boiling center and explosive closing slams are enough to make Harm’s Way blush. Never mind the fact that the dark narratives and grimy tales in the lyrics bolster this to another step. 
Written by: The Administrator
Inside me are two Aborted fanboys. The first acknowledges that a review posted on my little review site seven months after the release of Vault of Horrors will do approximately nothing. Such an exercise would represent nothing more than wasted time and energy that could be better spent writing about a lesser-known band. The second fanboy, however, yearns to talk about Aborted, and the only thing that will quench this terrible thirst is an overly loquacious review. After a brief and perhaps gratuitously bloody battle, the second fanboy won. Decisively. And so here we are. On their twelfth album, the horror-themed Vault of Horrors, Aborted continues their established trend of brutality with a technical flair. The second leg of their career has continually demonstrated a move away from the grindy aesthetic of the releases that they built their reputation upon, and this latest does little to buck the trend. Indeed, Vault of Horrors arguably represents them leaning the furthest into an unabashed Cattle Decapitation-esque modern sheen. That's far from a slight--this polished territory comes with roaring low end, squirmy and discombobulating quickfire riffage, and militantly pummeling percussion that feels like sustained bombardment from automatic railguns. Aborted show no qualms when it comes to burying the audience in pursuit of all-out sonic assault, and, as such, listening to all ten tracks in the intended order requires a certain willingness to succumb to overstimulation. But isn't that why we're all here? At this point in their career, it's safe to say that Aborted seldom do things halfway. In adhering to this maximalist mindset, every single moment on this album is absolutely overflowing with sound. Vault of Horrors is an exercise in (mostly) justified excess. 
Written by: Blackie Skulless
As I’ve noted when discussing the band’s previous output, New York’s Undeath are an outfit that have been with me since their earliest demo in 2019. Over time, they would grow into quite a significant spectacle in the scene, dropping another demo and two full-length records since. The quintet has always emphasized the brutal and unforgiving sides of the death metal genre, made extra filthy early on, and cleaned up the surface slightly with each subsequent release. The latest outing More Insane continues this trend, making the most significant jump between albums in that regard. Since Lesions Of A Different Kind, Undeath have made it known that they also prefer a slightly more intricate variation under those grueling and marshy riffswamps. This has always helped the band stand out, and with a newer production style, we get a higher emphasis on unorthodox leads. In fact, I would say that More Insane now lets the band reach “technical” death metal territory, as even the rhythms focus heavier on this approach. From time to time, the burning hot riffage will pair with, and even trade-off with the bass guitar, allowing both to take the forefront, which is highlighted nicely on the title track. Frontman Alexander Jones also tampers with vastly different vocal approaches. We still get a healthy serving of the deeper gutturals that the band are known for, but this time around an experiment with higher shrieks and throatier lows is extremely present. I would even argue that they take precedence over what we’re familiar with, fitting the vibe of the technical songwriting and cleaner atmosphere. 
Written by: The Administrator
The cover art of Cavern Womb's stellar debut EP, Stages of Infinity, feels like the pure essence of death metal captured in visual form. Garish and gross and eldritch, yet alluring all the same, this imagery sits in that uncomfy and uncanny zone betwixt body and cosmic horror. It manages to represent the utterly incomprehensible. Luckily for all you death metalheads, Cavern Womb's music itself--while fascinatingly off-kilter--still hovers within the realm of comprehensible. Across four sizable tracks, Stages of Infinity serpentines through an arena of twisted riffs, gnarly oddity, and proggy polycephalous song structures. There's an uncanniness woven among the atmosphere and the pronounced groove. Just when you think you have a track's approach and character nailed down, it warps and morphs into something unexpected. Something...alien. Were you expected a cowbell in the midst of cosmic death riffage? I wasn't, I can tell you that much. |
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