Written by: Blackie Skulless
With the astounding eight year gap since the German black/thrash outfit’s prior overly long-titled album, Witching Hour has finally mustered up a follow-up to the one record that really snagged me. Earlier efforts stuck to a digestible yet predictable formula, but it was album three that seemed to give the band an identity. Descending… Where Time Has Ceased To Exist continues the name trend as much as it does the stylistic evolution. In other words, there’s a lot more emphasis on heavy/speed metal than there is on the blackened side of things. In fact, I would almost struggle to call this a blackened thrash record, as it emphasizes rhythm and melody and all but ditches the hazy atmosphere that still drew melancholic layers the last time. True, the vocalist still boasts a pretty gruff and throaty delivery, one that’s admittedly an acquired taste, but it’s quite comprehensible and lets the band feel a bit more unique, if nothing else. Moreover, the instrumentation seems to have a bit more clarity in its delivery thanks to the cleaner atmosphere. Hell, even sharp basslines come through tighter than ever, quite evident on “The Graves Yearn For The Dead.”
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Written by: Blackie Skulless
With one quick glance, it’s pretty easy to figure out what the Michigan act Wanted are all about. Retro looking artwork, simplistic aesthetic, and obvious themes point to yet another throwback heavy metal band. It would be their third album in only four years that hooked my interest, being last year’s Cutting Edge, brought to me by a friend of many great tastes. What made it stand out, however, is the glam laced fun that lacks no energy while still actually feeling like the ‘80s. That latter point becomes important due to how rare it is these days, even with the gigantic market of classic-oriented heavy metal. Instead of merely sounding like a clone of Dokken, Ratt, L.A. Guns, or early Pantera, they actually sound like one of the contemporaries of those bands. Gigantic guitar solos are nothing unique, but the way they’re weaved into calmer waves like in “Override” would impress even the late Eddie Van Halen. Naturally, these calmer numbers strike the tightest chord with me due to the songwriting itself feeling more personal, especially with the calm-down before one more chorus swing. Similarly, “Chained To Your Love” and closer “Prowl Alive” could qualify as ballads, but pull no sugary toppings, opting instead for a ride on cleaner guitars and emotional layering. Even the bluesy “Feel Your Rhythm” has a nice sway boosted by calm but calculated basslines, fitting into the blend nicely. 
Written by: Blackie Skulless
Washington D.C. thrashers Desolus hit the scene a few years ago, and while I can’t pretend they took me by storm, I also can’t pretend that I wasn’t impressed with their thunderous debut album System Shock. Remaining in the same lane for their second time around, they’ve followed things up with the same Teutonic vibe. Titled Dwellers Of The Twilight Void, things stick to the same structure as well, flying by in shorter blasts for a digestible ride. It should then be no surprise that what’s before us is a pretty familiar formula. Brash attitudes captured under a backbone built on speed work as the musical foundation, topped with nasty shrieks that combine a blackened undertone with moody snarls. If there’s much worth noting of difference, it’s that higher falsettos are a little more common this time around, and weirdly, the production almost feels dirtier rather than cleaner. Otherwise, you’ll find most moments of note when a slower cooldown or riff-driven bridge takes over, which I enjoy most when vocals are part of that, such as in "Trespass The Threshold." 
Written by: The Administrator
I've talked a lot about Revered and Reviled Above All Others (henceforth RRAAO) over the years. And yes, I fully intended to publish this review upon the release of their latest, 2025's Futile/Servile. However. I am terrible at finishing projects and thus sat on an almost-but-not-quite draft for, uhhhh, 8 months? Please accept my apologies. I will not learn and it will happen again. In any case, I'm glad you're here, and I'm glad to be talking about RRAAO once more. Let's cut to the punch. As of November 7th of last year, RRAAO are back with a verifiable vengeance. After a great many listens, Futile/Servile still vibrates me to my very core. Every time, it hits like a mile-long freight train, each car filled to the brim with overwatered concrete. I guarantee that never before have you been piledriven by music so relentlessly sloshy. Their sound is uniquely heavy and damp and suffocating. Listening to an RRAAO album is like being digested in the confines of some giant plodding amphibian. It's a pretty singular aesthetic and physical experience, and one that no other band, to my knowledge, has been able to replicate. Which kind of stands to reason, given the unique genre tag. 
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. 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! 
Written by: The Administrator
As far afield as my many odd music-listening proclivities may take me, the warm embrace of the low 'n' slow will always feel like home. Be it tied to the various stoner subgenres, or heavy psych, or doom proper, I will always enjoy being lovingly enveloped in fuzzy riffage. Add in a lil' desert grit or some rockin' gusto and we've officially got a stew going. Needless to say, Slow Goats tagline--"gamy riffs cut from the flank of the Pacific Northwest"--indicates that their stuff is most definitely up my particular alley. I first encountered Slow Goat via No Clean Singing's premiere of the excellent "Love Like Water," the first single from the forthcoming debut album Where the Wisest Fear to Tread. It's a very impressive track, and I was excited to jump on the opportunity to premiere the album's second single. "Under the Glass" is equally strong, and, as a good outro should, it effectively sums up the general vibe Slow Goat present on Where the Wisest Fear to Tread. Enough intro. Nothing left to do but listen. In that spirit, I highly recommend that you throw on some headphones, sit back, and relax! Enjoy "Under the Glass" below! We'll be waiting, as always, on the other side. 
Written by: The Administrator
Eons ago, back in the primordial days (2019), my friend and collaborator Ancient Hand started a generally uncategorizable ambient/noise/experimental project called Empty Joy. I premiered "Drowned," the band's mighty and uncomfortable debut single, and, as a recent trawl through the ol' archives revealed, I evidently interviewed them as well. Said interview ends on a predictive note: Ancient Hand states that "the debut Empty Joy album, It has occurred to me that I am suffering, will be out late summer, 2020." A mere six years later, I'm excited to premiere "I don't sleep well anymore," Empty Joy's second single for the very same project, now revised into a shorter five-track EP. Time is weird. Life happens. So it goes. Which is, in a meta sense, entirely the point. Indeed, the release schedule is quite fitting. As I conceptualize it, the project is, both literally and musically, about the process of growing up and easing into the routine of adulthood. A loss of youthful innocence, perhaps. Thematically, it is fitting that its creation and eventual release span a sizable chunk of the member's respective early adulthood. The forthcoming release of It has occurred to me that I am suffering feels significantly more poignant than if the band dropped it in late summer 2020 as intended. Anyways! Let's get to the music, shall we? Give "I don't sleep well anymore" and the subsequent "Drowned" a listen below! As always, we'll meet you on the other side. 
Written by: Blackie Skulless
Canada’s Spell have been around for over a decade at this point, and considering that they play a style of modern heavy metal that I often take to easily, it’s amazing that it took this long for them to hit my radar. Their brand of occult metal often dabbles in the doom, traditional, and gothic pools, but their latest album seems to put heavier emphasis on that latter tag. Titled Wretched Heart, this one may just be a bit divisive in how it cools some of the engines. Fortunately for me, I’m a fan of precisely that. No stoppage of heavy riffs reveal themselves at any point, but melancholic undertones dominate the otherwise straightforward stomps quite consistently. For some tracks, synthesizers are added not simply as a vibe-setter but as a melody driver. Often, this can make or break something, but I truly think it compliments the bigger picture rather than distracting from it. What matters most is that the haunting but clean vocal style fits every mood conducted in Wretched Heart, working as the *ahem* beating heart of the record. 
Written by: The Administrator
On January 1st, 2025, whilst writing a premiere for Am I in Trouble's excellent debut album Spectrum--after previously premiering two singles and reviewing a third, no less--I knew in my heart of hearts that I was not done writing about Am I in Trouble's excellent debut album Spectrum. After all, it still qualifies (spoilers!) for and merits an appearance on my (forthcoming) Favorite Album Art of 2025 and Favorite Albums of 2025 list, neither of which have been published for a variety of very real reasons. But, despite assuming that my past and future wordsmithery regarding Am I In Trouble's excellent debut album Spectrum was thoroughly mapped, I was wrong, for another Spectrum was made. In a manner of speaking. Enter Facets, a remarkably cohesive 15 track remix and/or re-imagining that presents "the seven songs of Spectrum explored, stretched, condensed, lightened, darkened, ripped apart, and stitched back together." Facets notably features a massive roster and an updated color palette for modern times. It serves, as it must, as a celebration of the original album's successes. A victory lap of sorts. But it also represents a broader sense of collaboration germinated both by the lesser-known annals of avantgarde metal and the fertile soils of the Ampwall community. Am I in Trouble's solo visionary Steve Wiener has used this project as a platform to "come together to find different shades and hues within the spectrum." Very cool idea; very cool execution. By overtly embracing remix culture, Facets demonstrates an exploratory drive, a creative mindset, and an openness to community that far more metal bands, in my humble opinion, should actively strive towards. I'm very pleased to present here today, in its lengthy entirety, Am I in Trouble's Facets several days before official release. Look for it on June 5th from SHIFT+CTRL Music. In the meantime, check it out below! I'll be waiting with ample wordcount, as always, on the other side.
How best, I have asked myself many times whilst preparing this premiere, to write about a 15 track album representing the reimagining of as many artists? The inevitable conclusion was: write about it all, obviously. At extreme risk of penning a review that takes longer to read than the album's mighty 1hr 25min runtime, I shall limit myself to one (1) sentence per track. Let's get into it, shall we?
Things start off on a lovely and tranquil note with the Ed Herbers helmed "Seafoam," which feels to me like the smooth sea-worn seaglass a beachcomber might find decades after the bright shard of "Green" was cast into the surf. This sense of calm is swiftly interrupted by the chiptun'd (and intensely sick) "Cobalt," which ramps up the speed and aggression to the exact levels of chaotic freneticism you almost certainly expect from Gonemage. Negative Agent keeps the genre whiplash rolling with a chanting and industrialized version of "Red," injecting the track with an extra dose of misanthropic violence and vitriol that the title "Scarlet" simply can't avoid implying. Next up, Imrryr (who previously impressed on Gray EP's "Obsidian") presents "Pearl," which leans into the airy angelic grandness of "White" without becoming untethered from the blackened aspects of the original. The following feel-good bop embodied by Adventsong's "Xanthous" continues embellishing the lighter side of AIiT?, taking cues from the intrinsic radiance of "Yellow" while amping up the percussion and apricus sun-drenched energy. Onward! "Rouge," an AIiT? solo effort, brings a blushing bombast to the proceedings, acting as a impassioned companion piece to the original material and a smart switch into more aggressive territory. And, speaking of aggression, Voidscan's dynamic and hostile "Onyx" is up next, utilizing Alex Loach's acidic blackened tone to great effect and very possibly clearing the high bar set by Gray EP's "Opal." Exit Chamber slows things down with the mighty droning atmosphere of "Crimson"--not the direction I was originally anticipating for a "Red" reimaging, but this track serves a notably monolithic role in the tracklist. Next up is Sylfvr's more vivacious "Viridian," which provides a little whimsy via some exceptionally charming fantasy synth. MEGAFAUNA's genre-mashing electro-frenzy cyber-infused "Fuchsia," much like the original "Pink," seems to find substantial joy in walking the delicate line between the cheerfulness and the abject horror represented by its subject matter. Moving along, "Snow," Chipped Topaz's take on "White," builds drum-forward growling menace around that delightful pure-driven melody before fading into bliss. Jude Kerr's "Canary" turns up the brightness and birdsong and sense of frolic present in "Yellow," nearly quadrupling the runtime without ever dragging the whimsy beyond a breaking point. The end approaches! In a true feat of well-executed excess, Witchtᴉde's "Fuchsia" somehow exemplifies every element of the original, delivering both clapping production and winding guitars alongside a significant cast of vocal stylings. The penultimate track "Fern" maintains the circus-like jubilance of "Green," but builds the ditty into a bit of a lush rocker--I was previously unfamiliar with Raccoon Fink, but will be checking 'em out post-haste on the basis of this exellent track. Finally, the closer "Yellow + Blue = Green," an appropriately entitled amalgamation brought to life by Petridisch, is a dreamy and otherworldly long-form 10+ minute affair that reflects the lushness of its inspiration's component parts--a fitting outro to a project that respects source material without ever being afraid to strip it down and stretch it out. Facets is truly is a curatorial masterclass. As should be apparent, this project is exceedingly diverse from a musical perspective, representing a wide range of sounds and aesthetics that somehow always compliment and never clash with the the original vision. On paper the deliberately eclectic genre conglomerate shouldn't work, or at the very least shouldn't mesh. But it does, and the resulting listening experience is quite the aesthetic journey. Listening to multiple iterations and reinventions of each track allows the Spectrum audience to recontextualize their relationship with the familiar while simultaneously exploring new artists and genres. Beyond what the album sounds like, however, Facets also represents a creative ethos that I have a profound admiration for. Steve has found a way to extend his album's lifespan without the re-imagining ever feeling like a marketing gimmick or a promo hack. It is a project, not a product. The longevity never feels forced. The collaboration at the heart of Facets allows the album to fulfill its own purpose, independent of the typical "practical" reasons that one might release a remix album. And yet! Here I am, many, many months after the initial release of Spectrum, experiencing Am I in Trouble? with a vested and perhaps even revitalized interest. Ignoring the pull of the promo pit for days and weeks. Writing about "Red" (or variations thereof) with the same enthusiasm as I was literally 653 days ago. That alone is worth applause! Am I in Trouble? - Facets will be released June 5th, 2026 via SHIFT+CTRL Music 
Written by: Blackie Skulless
Taking one look at the second full-length by Spain’s Rave In Fire, I had a gut feeling this would be yet another retro-glazed cyberpunk themed “throwback” heavy metal outfit that we get so many of today. Neon colors, typical titles, and an ‘80s aesthetic gives one of the most predictable vibes we’ve always seen. One could say I didn’t exactly have high hopes going into Square One blindly, having not heard the first record at that point. But as the saying goes, I shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, because I’ll be damned if this didn’t absolutely smoke! True, on a stylistic front, things fit that description, but it rises above anything I’d call generic. Elaboration in songwriting as well as taking varied directions that never stray from the retro vibe they’re so clearly going for helps elevate Rave In Fire tremendously. In several spots, melodies with a warm touch reflect earlier glam metal sensibilities that flow so nicely into the harder sections. Layered leads that match the clean and powerful aura of the frontwoman’s equally clean vocals come off nice and sharp, with polished production helping them stand out rather than blend in with their peers. The fact that the songs themselves are so memorable is what truly takes this to greater heights. |
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