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In a continuing attempt to cover more music that would all-too-oft slip through the very large cracks, we slumbering scribes are making an effort to publish short reviews at a greater frequency, thereby shining our very small spotlight on more cool shit. Without further ado:
Written by: The Administrator
Given a useful but also obnoxious penchant for hyperactivity, I often crave music that is chaotic enough to drown out the dreadful din of my own brain. It's what draws me to extremity in music, regardless of genre, and when I stumbled upon something truly unhinged, I get excited. Enter Daniel Neel's latest EP, Descent. Brandishing a simultaneously djenty and orchestral brand of progressive metal, Daniel Neel revels in a variety of odd inclusions. Descent is an intense blend of djent, dramatic choral arrangements, gothic ambience, mechanical precision, and a veritable orchestra of electronic instrumentation. Unexpected time signatures? Check. Big chugging riffs? Check? Shuddering and shivering percussion? Check. Cheerful and/or mournful keys? Check. There's so much going on, and it's all happening so fast--it often feels like I've accidentally set my audio player to run at 1.5 speed. In other words, Descent successfully itches the part of my brain that refuses to shut up. It is maximalist to a remarkable degree. I can only imagine Daniel Neel as a mad musical scientist, pouring sonic elements into a comically large Erlenmeyer flask, screaming "More! More!" as the concoction bubbles and glows and overflows. While there is a good balance between the djent and the orchestration, I do feel like a few tracks run a little long for the ideas they present. "Tic," for example, starts with an awesomely frenetic riff that starts to feel stale after some time, and I wish the other elements--the vicious vocals, for example--were given more time in the limelight. But I also appreciate the irony in impressing my own impatience on an already hyperactive project, so take that with a grain of salt. Highlight tracks "Cosmic Waves" and "Harbinger ov the Void" present a tidier balance of component parts. Bottom line: if you're intrigued by chaos, give this one a listen! Daniel Neel - Descent was released Dec. 1st, 2025. Find it here!
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Written by: The Administrator
If MEGAFAUNA doesn't represent the perfect antithesis of easy listening, I shudder to think what else could have possibly earned that designation. Indeed, in my review of MEGAFAUNA's unsettling and engrossing Venator, released back in April of 2024, I wrote that the project is "not a light nor carefree listen." I also called it "unabashedly weird and intense" and referenced both an "uncomfortable urgency" and a tendency to nail a sense of "terrible disassociation that paradoxically makes you hyperaware of your physicality." In short, I liked Venator very much, and found MEGAFAUNA's articulation of anxiety, fear, paranoia, and depression to be quite poignant. I Owe This Land a Body similarly presents an intense soundscape, leaning into a lonely and foreboding eeriness. This is, after all, an album explicitly exploring the notion that "how dying is the last decent thing we can do." A sense of profound despair implicitly and intentionally seeps forth from the Megafauna corpus, and this latest isn't exactly a cheery listen. With that said, I Owe This Land a Body is less immediately jarring than Venator, and even manages to undercut its own sense of unease with some unexpected bright spots.
In a continuing attempt to cover more music that would all-too-oft slip through the very large cracks, we slumbering scribes are making an effort to publish short reviews at a greater frequency, thereby shining our very small spotlight on more cool shit. Without further ado:
Written by: The Administrator
I'm an established fan of redveil--his 2023 EP playing w/ fire was one of my favorites of that year. As such, I've been eagerly awaiting news of a new project from the redveil camp, and while 2024 didn't see a full project, he did drop a couple of singles, with this latest, "what3ver," materializing on the very last day of the year. This is an excellent track, both a display of redveil's skill as a rapper/producer, and highly re-listenable to boot. The hook is earwormy in a way that feels more subtle than immediate. The clean production is bright and crisp, almost glowing. Warm and immersive stuff, with the eventual piano adding a nice flourish. Meanwhile, his lyrics paint a short and sweet narrative of recognizable unrequited love. I love the second verse where he discusses his casket outfit in detail: "I can get it all dry-cleaned quick, I just need you to decide/Maybe I'll be satisfactory if I'm easy on your eyes." I feel like I saw more that a few reviews and articles comparing his cadence and lyrical approach on 2022's Learn 2 Swim to Earl Sweatshirt, which felt like a fair comparison for that project. Here, several years later, there's a similar focus on impactful word choice, but "what3ver" feels first and foremost like a redveil song. As a rapper, he has a distinct identity, which bodes well. I feel like in a few years we'll be saying that up-and-coming rappers take influence from redveil. Anyways, yeah. This is great. Fingers crossed that "what3ver" serves as the first salvo of an album cycle, or at least an indication that redveil is in the mood to release music. I'm hopeful that the fireworks on the outro signal the beginning of something anew. In any case, 2025 would be the perfect time for new redveil. redveil - "what3ver" was released Dec. 31st, 2025. Find it here and listen below! Written by: The Administrator  A music video premiere is a fairly infrequent affair at ye olde Sleeping Village, but not quite infrequent enough to consider "rare." Perhaps "uncommon" would be a better measure. In any case, it's been a while since we ran one of these, and the theater required significant sprucing up before we felt comfortable allowing you fine folks inside. With the cobwebs and dust bunnies banished, then, the show is ready to begin. We'll dim the lights. Make yourself comfortable.
Today's feature presentation comes to us from Dublin, Ireland's Fós. The forthcoming Níl mo chroí in aon rud, out Jan. 27th, demonstrates a haunting blend of traditional Irish folk singing with the sheer droning heft of doom and sludge. It's a fusion that feels as natural as it is engaging, and "Bádaí na Scadán" serves as a perfect showcase of Fós's uniquely eerie and captivating aesthetic. Give "Bádaí na Scadán" a listen (and a watch!) below, and we'll meet you on the other side. 
Written by: The Administrator
A premiere for Spectrum, the debut album from Am I In Trouble? Hosted at Sleeping Village Reviews?! No need, dear reader, to feign shock; this was always inevitable. Less a question of "if," and rather a question of "when?" I'm pleased to announce that the wait is over. The time is now. If the name Am I in Trouble? doesn't ring a bell, I recommend checking out our fairly extensive catalog of coverage. During the extensive buildup to the Jan. 3rd drop, we've covered three tracks available pre-release: check out writeups for Red, White, and Black. A common theme of said reviews is the clarity of Am I in Trouble's varied and vibrant songwriting in the pursuit of an aesthetic homage to 90's Scandinavian avant-garde black metal oddity. While the aforementioned songs are quite distinct from a sonic perspective, they share a common tendency to resist stagnation. The Am I in Trouble? playbook emphasizes constant motion and evolution, which allows for the dynamic juxtaposition of some remarkable extremes. Going from gentle to aggressive and back again is hardly a new trick in the world of metal, but multi-instrumentalist mastermind Steve Wiener wields a uniquely honed sense of unpredictability. This results in some incredibly flexible songcraft. With that said, a distinct and uncanny cohesion pervades. We get more in-depth below, but lest we lose sight of the plot, we slumbering scribes are excited to premiere (in full!) the excellent Spectrum a few days prior to release. Give it a well-deserved listen! We'll meet you, as always, on the other side.  Written by: Blackie Skulless
Oh boy, just what we need! Another heavy metal act sharing a name with like ten other bands! Actually, that’s precisely what we need. Switzerland’s Amethyst is pretty new to the game, taking fruition only a couple years ago and giving us a short EP in that time. Earlier in 2024, they dropped their first full-length that took the community by storm pretty quickly. As we wrap up the year, I can say that Throw Down The Gauntlet is definitely worthy of some praise. On the surface, Amethyst packs together the things that I loved about Canada’s Freeways and Norway’s Flight, while adding a layer of metallic boost. In other words, the very foundation of this record pretty much avoids anything overly heavy, trading that angst for melody, soft vocals, and bouncy grooves. Yet, the riff structures themselves could easily be traced to the influences of the ‘70s metal acts, fitting in with cleaner blows not unlike Scorpions or perhaps Rainbow. I know, I basically just described the band’s sound by using derivatives of other bands, which should tell you that it isn’t the most original take on the genre. 
Written by: The Administrator
If this all looks very familiar, it's because it is. About a month ago, we slumbering scribes premiered the title track and lead single to Hellscape, the forthcoming third and (presumably?) final Through Mists album of 2024. Today, we're back with the whole damn thing. In said premiere, I said the track "wouldn't go amiss as a soundtrack looping through the busted speakers of a funhouse deep in the bowels of Tartarus," and closed by stating that "I can only imagine that demons frolic to music like this." As it turns out, this description also applies to the album at large. This is an abrasive yet exciting ride, chock full o' weird noises and oddities. Hellscape is hellishly fun, but is also a supremely weird and disconcerting listen. Which, in a sense, makes it even more fun. If you are aware of the Through Mists playbook, you have an inkling of what to expect. If this is your first exposure, prepare thyself accordingly. In that spirit: Hellscape will be released on Dec. 6th, but you can listen to in full a day early. Get a head start on that release day listening marathon below! As always, we'll catch you on the other side. 
Written by: The Administrator
If you are a purveyor of music review sites, you've undoubtedly learned to skip over the fluff that constitutes AOTY intros. The pointlessness of writing this isn't lost on me, let alone the fact that this is a list for, erm, the wrong year. In the music industry churn, an album released last year might as well be a million years old. Obsolete. Irrelevant. Forgotten. So: why 2023? Why not 2024, like unto a proper music review website? What's the rationale behind publishing this list a whole damn year late? There are two reasons. The first is that I think demonstrable longevity is an important aspect of music appreciation, and the ability of an album to outlast a narrow moment in time is a testament to its particular excellence. The second (and real) reason is that I am a profoundly lazy and frequently overwhelmed person, and compiling this list last December was a very large task that seemed, frankly, insurmountable. So here we are. These are 23 albums from 2023 that are, in significant hindsight, still very much my favorite albums of 2023. In terms of format, this list is alphabetical and purely unranked. The generally arbitrary structure of counting down to #1 simply doesn't demonstrate the way I enjoy music, nor is it an effective or accurate way to make recommendations. I'm also completely unconcerned about genre, as I listen to a lot of different stuff. If I'm writing a list, it should probably reflect the reality of listening habits instead of projecting a false image of metal exclusivity. Be prepared for eclecticism. I hope there's something lurking herein that catches your ear. A massive thank you to every artist who contributed to the releases below. And, dear reader, thank you for your readership and support of artists! You're the best. Yes, you. In a continuing attempt to cover more music that would all-too-oft slip through the very large cracks, we slumbering scribes are making an effort to publish short reviews at a greater frequency, thereby shining our very small spotlight on more cool shit. Here's a mini-review of another excellent Fuzznaut track.  Written by: The Administrator When we last checked in on Fuzznaut, we slumbering scribes were reveling and relaxing in the meandering and dusty vibe of September's "Wind Doula." On this latest single, "Earbleeder," guitarist Emilio Rizzo gazes more pointedly towards noisy and hefty distortion. While still as smooth and limber as we have come to expect, this track feels a tad more aggressive, a tad less mellow. As with everything Fuzznaut does, the change is incremental and markedly subtle--there's no massive swing in sound or direction here, but the increased focus on noisy distortion is notable. There's a buzzy texture to the tone that feels a little colder, and the layers that build up to the surprisingly sharp climax feels more menacing. Of course, the title alone suggest a certain violence and/or hostility, but I feel like this is perhaps the least relaxing track to come from the Fuzznaut canon in quite some time. It recalls the atmospheric heft conjured at times by 2022's excellent Apophenia, and given my self-professed appreciation for said album, that's not a bad thing. I've really been enjoying the 2024 Fuzznaut strategy of releasing a new single on a quarterly basis, rather than dropping a full project en masse. The slow drip approach has kept Fuzznaut's music in my ears, and, subsequently, the name on my lips all year long. I'm looking forward to having "Earbleeder" take its rightful place in heavy rotation, and needless to say, I recommend giving it a listen if you're a fan of fuzzy sonic soundscapes. Rather than the typical bandcamp embed, check out the music video for below! Revel in the staticky visuals and enjoy the extensive feline cameo. Fuzznaut - Earbleeder was released Nov. 15th, 2024. Find it here! 
Written by: The Administrator
I joke about the ineffectiveness of publishing a standalone review for every track on an album. However, at this point I will have reviewed--on an individual basis--every track from the forthcoming Am I in Trouble? debut album. We covered "Red" here this spring, and more recently premiered "White" alongside the album announcement for Spectrum. Needless to say, I am A. a big fan of this project, and B. invested in doing whatever I can to hype up what will inevitably be one of the best albums released in January 2025. In that spirit, we're excited to premiere the third single, "Black," a few days ahead of release! "Black" features Alex Loach (of Ashenheart) on vocals, continuing the established Am I in Trouble? trend of incorporating a variety of guests. As you may recall, "White" features Ember Belladonna on flute, which helped give the song as a whole a lighter vibe. In stark contrast, Alex's guest spot lends a pointed viciousness that otherwise has yet to rear its head at this point in the album's runtime. This is a track that works so well because it embraces high-contrast juxtapositions, and ends up pushing and pulling the listener through a surprising array of tonal shifts. Before I get too far ahead of myself, I encourage you to give "Black" a listen below! When it comes to discussion, fear not: we slumbering scribes shall be waiting on the other side. As, y'know, we so often do. |
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