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AMPWALL Roundup: Volume III

6/22/2025

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Written by: The Administrator

Welcome back to AMPWALL Roundup, our (unfortunately infrequent) column dedicated to shining a little light on the music we slumbering scribes find whilst trawling through the explore page over on Ampwall. It's been a little while since we checked in, but rest assured: Ampwall is still cool. They have also updated the embed display since the last Roundup, which is exciting and much appreciated.

​
As far as introductory fluff goes, I've written myself into a bit of a corner here at this stage in the game, so let me quote the intro from Volume II: "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 many virtues of the new platform/marketplace/community. 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 (more!) bands I recommend checking out! 

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ACT OF IMPALEMENT - Profane Altar (Review)

4/15/2025

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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.


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BURNER - City 17 (Mini-Review)

3/25/2025

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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:

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Written by: The Administrator

In my humble opinion, Burner are on the precipice of being the Next Big Thing in heavy music. Their debut album, 2023's It All Returns to Nothing, was an absolute statement in sheer aggression, and almost certainly the hardest album of 2023. As I said in my favorites-of-the-year list, Burner deal in "vicious and pummeling stuff, and tap an endless well of ferocity. Hard as fuck."

Burner are back with a new single, and I'm pleased to report that it could very well qualify as their hardest track to date. "City 17," which explicitly discusses the violence and cultural genocide enacted against the Uyghur people under the Chinese Communist Party, embodies a uniquely menacing aura. It's an intense listen. It's very good.

Honestly, there's no shortage of words to describe how supremely heavy this track is. Indeed, any descriptor you might find lurking
in the shadowy liminal space between death metal and hardcore feels perfectly appropriate, and perhaps even understated. "City 17" is crushing, volatile, ferocious, skull-shattering, unforgiving, blistering, brutal, pugnacious, surly. It stomps and bludgeons. The guitar tone is truly massive, and the vocals hit a perfect emotive balance between bestial and distinguishable. The track does pull back around the two minute mark, and while the break from sonic bombardment should feel like a reprieve, a constant sense of tension pervades. The inevitable climax casts a dark shadow, and when it arrives, it does so with remarkable violence. The mighty breakdown absolutely clobbers. It is the aural equivalent of blunt force trauma. Incredible stuff.

Give it a listen below! I also recommend checking out the video here. Please note content warning for depictions of torture.
​
Burner - "City 17" was released M
arch 18, 2025 via Church Road Records.


Burner can be found:
Bandcamp
Linktree
Bluesky
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Favorite Albums of the Year 2023

11/30/2024

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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, t
hank you for your readership and support of artists! You're the best. Yes, you.


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ABORTED - Vault of Horrors (Review)

11/12/2024

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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.


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DEMO(LITION) DERBY: End Of All - DEMO

3/31/2024

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Written by: The Administrator

Upon discussing the state of our abyssal promo pit with the Village's own Pit Herder, we came to realize that there are a great many unsung demo tapes swimming in the depths. They often go unnoticed, unfairly so. As we were ruminating, the Pit Herder recommended that we ink-splattered scribes create, and I quote:  "a brand new column dedicated solely to demos that you will get excited about in the short term yet inevitably abandon in several month's time?"

To which I responded, "splendid idea!" 

And so here we are, having dredged a variety of delightful and terrifying specimens from amongst the pit's weeds, discarded carcasses, and other assorted detritus. Today's catch: the 3-track demo from Singapore's End Of All, released digitally on February 24th of this year. Let's get into it, shall we?


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AFTERBIRTH - Four Dimensional Flesh (An Olde Review from the Archives)

6/7/2022

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The Sleeping Village has been around for a few years now, and during that time, a lot of reviews have unceremoniously disappeared into the dark confines of our archives, destined to never see the light of the front page again. Music appreciation doesn't start and end upon release, and in that spirit, here is a review retrieved from the depths.

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Written by: The Administrator

To be frank, I approached Four Dimensional Flesh with immense trepidation. Brutal death metal and/or slam aren’t exactly locales I find myself frequenting with any kind of regularity--if I pass through, it’s usually a lone track in the midst of an otherwise innocuous playlist. While the dedication to slammin’ riffs and woodpecker-on-a-hot-tin-roof percussive fills are certainly attractive bedfellows, the trademark drainpipe gutturals and resonance chamber bree-brees really ain’t this scribes cup o’ vox.

And yet here we are, plumbing the gurgling pipes with a grim sense of glee. Why? Because
 Afterbirth strives to make slam interesting. 
And it is this quality that remains Four Dimensional Flesh’s greatest strength amongst strengths


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FRESH MEAT FRIDAY - Feb. 4th, 2022, Feat. Golgothan, Titanosaur, Iōhannēs, and Krystal Swords

2/3/2022

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On (occasional) Fridays, a wagon arrives at the Sleeping Village’s crumbling gates, stuffed to the brim with our sustenance. Today is the day we must offload all this week's new and noteworthy music, and so, in the process, we thought it would be worthwhile to share some of our choice picks from this veritable mass of fresh meat. This is what we’ll be listening to today at the Village HQ. We hope you join us in doing so! 

​On the docket for today, Feb. 4th, 2022: Golgothan, Titanosaur, Iōhannēs, and Krystal Swords

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Golgothan - Leech
(Lacerated Enemy Records)

If the promo utters the phrase "brutal death metal" and evokes the name of the almighty Aborted, there's an excellent chance I will enjoy what lurks inside. Case in point. This is a blaring and putrid affair, coated in gore and slime, yet gloriously boisterous in its presentation. The grooves are pythonian, the percussion is like unto a jackhammer, the belligerent attitude is present without feeling cringy, and the vocals are delightfully maniacal in their range. This is some seriously competent stuff--check out "Lard is My Shepard," "Gravy Train," or "Parent Organism" for particularly prime examples of what this crew can muster. I haven't heard many people hyping 'em up, which is an absolute shame--Leech is my go-to gym playlist these days, and I doubt it will leave rotation anytime soon. This is a killer album, and deserves a little time in the bandcamp day limelight.

Find it on bandcamp
here!

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Titanosaur - Absence of Universe
(
The Swamp Records)

Here's a fact: NY's one-man outfit Titanosaur keeps getting better and better. Absence of Universe is a culmination of potential, and here, a mighty formula hath been struck with stellar results. The Titanosaur approach overtly draws from the gruffly hard-rockin' appeal of Monster Magnet, Red Fang, and Motorhead, and yet this project delivers a sense of individuality through wry self awareness, notably pounding riffage, and thick application of late cretaceous groove. Axemanship aside, the rough 'n' ready vocals are a strong suit, and if you enjoy the gravelly aesthetic, there's a whole lot to love. Absence of Universe constitutes some really impressive stuff, delivering heft and earworms in equal measure. Titanosaur will inevitably gain some new fans off the back of the mighty beast. There's nothin' subtle about it, and that's what makes it so damn enjoyable.


Find it on bandcamp here!


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