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SOULMASS - Let Us Pray (Review)

2/23/2023

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Written by: The Administrator

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Given that this particular scribe's familiarity with (the reputedly well-acclaimed) Bloodborne verges on nonexistent, the thematic content lurking behind Soulmass' stellar Let Us Pray has zero impact on my experience. That's certainly not a bad thing–the music speaks for itself without the implicit weight of a fan's expectations when it comes to faithful lore.

And damn, does the music ever speak to me. This album has been in consistent rotation ever since I received the promo, effectively holding my January and February listening habits in a
fiercely tight and omnipresent stranglehold. One dreams of such albums at the top of the year.


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The Administrator's FAVORITE EPs of the Year 2022

12/24/2022

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Written by: The Administrator

Each year, I inevitably spend a whole lot o' time with EPs. Is this due to my bafflingly short attention span? Yes. Is it also because EPs often feel like the perfect vehicle for a band to flaunt their strengths in a concise and well-trimmed manner? Also yes. Listening to a well-constructed EP is perhaps my favorite way to spend time with music, and so here I am, an eclectic collection of favorites gripped in outstretched grubby fingers.

But first, some housekeeping! There are, assuming I counted correctly, 30 entries. I was planning on 20, but have no real interest in trimming a list of untrimmable favorites. In that spirit, hopefully you find something here that worms its way into your favorites as well.

This list is not sorted by genre despite featuring a lot of different genres. I apologize for the whiplash, but sorting feels antithetical to the overall notion that listening habits should not be confined for the sake of convenient lists. And lastly, this is utterly unranked--if something appears here, please know that it comes highly, highly recommended!

Anyways. Let's get into it.


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COMMUNITY FAVORITES: AOTY 2022 (Part 1)

12/21/2022

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Greetings, dear reader. It is once again listmas 'round these humble halls. Time, then, to look back the music that has defined our collective year. The non-exhaustive AOTY smorgasbord hath begun.

My personal EP and album lists shall follow in (less-than) good time, but before we get to that, the community speaks. This list is a collaborative effort, with ten distinct music writers, musicians, and fans lending a few words. Hopefully the variety of perspectives results in a list containing at least one or two releases that speak to you! This, of course, is far from exhaustive--indeed, every single one of ye could undoubtedly highlight a vast number of deserving albums not appearing here.

A massive thank you is in order to everyone who contributed words and energy to this lil' project. As always, we couldn't have done it without ye! Please check out the writer's respective projects and links. This list constitutes the first five entries, with another five to follow. Read on!


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Úzkost - Arise: Assemble! Conjoin Your Flame! (Review)

11/25/2022

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Written by: The Administrator

We slumbering townsfolk seldom find consensus when it comes to the world of music appreciation and unsolicited commentary, but we do enjoy some common ground from time to time. One such instance of is the inevitable positive reaction upon the release of new music from Pittsburgh's Úzkost. They've been dropping a string of consistently excellent and hard-hitting tunes over the past few years, with a clear plan to continue releasing singles across the coming year. 

​Self-described as "blackened and doomed death metal," this crew demonstrates a real knack for relentlessly disorienting (albeit engaging) songwriting. I absolutely loved the standalone "Mt'hr" released a month ago for its unique ability to balance undiluted and unhinged rage alongside highly memorable hooks. Needless to say, the announcement of another track following on the heels of "Mt'hr" was cause for much celebration 'round these parts. Enter "
Arise: Assemble! Conjoin Your Flame!"


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WORM - Bluenothing (Review)

11/15/2022

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Written by: Blackie Skulless

Since the band’s black metal inception, Worm have slowly moved away from that raw and punishing sound towards something far more layered, swiftly becoming a doom/death icon. Last year’s Foreverglade (review here!) saw a complete realization of this, cleaning up all of the loose ends that Gloomlord beheld. The early black metal influence certainly still peaked its head, but each subsequent record would see it become more and more of a background technique. This isn’t to say that it wasn’t present, just less obvious. 

And then Bluenothing happened. One year following the album that really sent them to a broader scope, Worm dropped an EP that takes the influence they mastered and brings forth more atmosphere and reflects more on the black metal. Fear not, as this is still packed with the bleak and empty voids of cleaner doom wails crossed with rhythms holding the force of a hydraulic press. But there’s a higher presence of keys to coincide with the higher guitar wails, and contrast the harsher death metal bottom.


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HORNED WOLF - Become Like They Are (Review)

7/31/2022

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Written by: The Administrator 

Let's start with the obvious. As anyone you has listened to their music will attest, attempting to pigeonhole or pin down
Horned Wolf in the span of a mere introductory paragraph (or, indeed, the span of a whole review) is a fairly fruitless activity. This crew demonstrates little regard for genre expectation or compositional convention on Become Like They Are, and, as a result, their work sticks out from the crowd in a big way. To be markedly different and hence produce unique results is always an excitingly quality. Refreshing, even.

I'll be upfront: I've spent a lot of time with this album this year. A scary amount. If it tops my list o' most listened albums, I won't be surprised in the slightest. If the brilliant title track isn't my most consumed song of the year, I'll eat my boots. Paradoxically, though, this obsessive listening has been to the detriment of my actual ability to wrap up the review. The "listening for enjoyment" phase never really ended, and the "listening for writing" phase never truly began in earnest. In retrospect, this is obviously a Very Good problem to have, as much of the time spent with Become Like They Are has been pure and unadulterated by notions of my own imposed narrative framing or turns of phrase. But! In any case, here we are. Let's get the fuck into it already.


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ENCHANTMENT - Cold Soul Embrace (Review)

6/27/2022

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Written by: The Voiceless Apparition

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Welcome back, my friends! I had stated in my previous post that I would do a review of this album, so here we are. For those who haven't yet read my interview with Mark Tierney, I'll keep this short and simple. This album is twenty eight years in the making. Enchantment were an unfortunately little known name in the early '90s British metal scene, but with the passing of time, things change. My first introduction to this band was about 6 years ago when I bought an original pressing of their debut album Dance the Marble Naked on CD. I was in love with their melodic yet crushing display of death and doom metal, so this is a really special album for me. So as you can see, I was very excited to see that they unexpectedly reformed to work on this album in question. The results are what we will now be hearing with Cold Soul Embrace.

The first taste we received of the album was last year's "As Greed as the Eye Beholds," which in turn is the opening track of the album. Almost immediately, you know you are in good hands. Everything about this song is dripping with atmosphere and melancholy: the opening morose melody, the crawling drums, and the gut-wrenching vocals. "A Swanlike Duet" starts out with some beautiful clean guitars before launching into some surprisingly rockin' riffs, but even with that in mind it is still a rather heavy affair. It's catchy and all, but never loses any bite. 


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FRESH MEAT FRIDAY: June 17th, 2022 Feat. Void Witch, Trocar, Valley of the Sun, and Inexorum

6/17/2022

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Every Friday, 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 new 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--and have been--listening to today here at the Village HQ. We hope you join us in doing so! 

This Friday, Bandcamp is holding their third annual Juneteenth fundraiser, where they donate 100% of their cut of sales to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. Win/win!

On the docket for today, June 17th, 2022:
Void Witch, Trocar, Valley of the Sun, and Inexorum

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Void Witch - Void Witch
(​Everlasting Spew Records)


Either you love Void Witch's 2021 demo, or you were, until now, unaware of Void Witch's 2021 demo. After much anticipation, said demo is reborn, having been bolstered with a new song and granted official "debut EP" status. The three tracks contained within are diagnostically bad to the bone, as engrossing as they are gruesome. "Boudoir Bloodfeast," the newest addition to the Void Witch repertoire, is a notably excellent track, with a keen sense of dynamic play between the component death-y and doom-y parts. Nothing sits or feels stagnant, and in my mind, it is that restless sense of movement that has quickly made Void Witch stand out despite their newcomer status. In good time, this EP is gonna  be considered a classic, so you should obviously check it out now and establish your legacy as a true fan of their early stuff.

Find it here!

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Trocar - Four Forfeit Digits
(Independent, released 6/14)

There's no question that "gross" and "goregrind" generally go hand-in-hand by sheer nature of the beast. That said, this debut EP from Trocar elevates the art of grossness to sincerely admirable levels. The first three tracks are blistering affairs, raging forth with a burbling putridity and a mechanized drive like unto a piece of flesh-mangling  machinery that unexpectedly kicks into high gear when you climb inside to clean out the gunk. While I particularly love "Orphaned Organs" for it's sheer absurdity, the standout track is closer "(Every Day Is) Halloween," which rolls forth with a distinctly electronic bounce, lending a new meaning to the "mechanized" descriptor. In a few short minutes Four Forfeit Digits features a dizzying array of sights and sounds, and ultimately serves to seriously whet my appetite for more. Good shit, 'nuff said.

Find it here!


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TEMPLE OF VOID - Summoning The Slayer (Review)

6/16/2022

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Written by: The Voiceless Apparition

Death, doom, and sorrow. The three words that best describe the death/doom metal powerhouse known as Temple of Void. For those of you who don't know who Temple of Void are, I'd highly suggest you rectify that because you won't be disappointed. Over the span of 9 years, this stellar band has been pushing the boundaries of death/doom, blending in elements of post rock, shoegaze, and much more into their sound. Their previous album The World that Was was viewed by many as a pinnacle of modern death/doom, and I certainly agree. There's a lot of hype and eyes on them, especially after signing to Relapse Records. So let's find out if they've reached new heights, or missed the mark.


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Interview with Mark Tierney of ENCHANTMENT

5/26/2022

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Interview by: Voiceless Apparition 

Much like all of you, I'm really excited to see what new releases will continue to be announced for this year. Plenty of new releases from new and old bands alike are inevitable. That's where Enchantment come in. 

Enchantment are a death/doom metal band that existed from 1991 until 1995, and released one album before breaking up, but then abruptly reunited in 2020 for a really special reason. I was lucky enough to have been given the opportunity to interview founding bassist Mark Tierney. Welcome to the world of Enchantment. 
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Voiceless Apparition: Welcome! Can you please state your role in Enchantment?

Mark Tierney: I'm Mark, I play bass and write/arrange any extra parts like keyboards, strings, choirs, etc. when required. I also was involved in the recording process on the new album, as it was mostly recorded at my house due to COVID restrictions.

VA: What was the impetus for forming Enchantment in 1991?

MT: We were all friends or friends of friends. I think we all just shared a love for the heavier side of music and were at similar early stages in our musical development. There was quite a good local band scene, although we were the only death metal band locally at the time, and it was a nice friendly environment to make loads of noise and refine our songs.


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