Sleeping Village Reviews
  • REVIEWS & PREMIERES
  • ARCHIVES
    • OLDE REVIEWS
    • OLDE INTERVIEWS
    • OLDE FEATURES
    • OLDE PREMIERES
  • SUBMIT FOR REVIEW!

BELL OF MIMIR - Nocturne (Review)

6/11/2025

0 Comments

 
Picture
Written by: Blackie Skulless

Some bands have a long history of EPs and demos that bring them to a full-length, others seem to hit the ground running immediately. Finnish doom metallers Bell Of Mimir fall in the latter category, with nothing on record before the year of our lord 2025, and only singles to lead up to the thunderous Nocturne. Brought to me by a most trusted doom metal source, they work within the traditional realm, avoiding any tacky fuzz or over the top stonerisms, sticking close to roots that err on the hinges of being epic. However, it may just be easier to say it’s a little louder in execution and a little sadder in vibe.

Despite having such a huge sound, Bell Of Mimir manages to keep things rather compact, staying within the framework of only six tracks on the longer side, but only one (barely) crossing the seven minute mark. The cloudy delivery works as a gradient of gloom, built on crawling riffs that rumble on slower melodies, absent of any sharp edges helped by the ever present bass. This can come off as overwhelming at times, but the howling cleanliness of the vocals that exude layers of hopelessness manage to sound as if it’s being welcomed, or even conjured. Yes, it’s admittedly one-sided across the board, but the brief runtime I’ve mentioned makes that digestible.


Read More
0 Comments

WARPSTORMER - WARPSTORMER (Review)

5/3/2025

0 Comments

 
Picture
Written by: The Administrator

Here's an established fact: I like WARPSTORMER. Back in 2022, their debut EP Here Comes Hell made quite a mark--as I said back then, said EP "unleashes riffs with the confidence of a seasoned act and the haste of a band excited to parade their entire arsenal in a single 20 minutes span." Needless to say, the promise of a full length was exciting. Their self-titled debut LP came out last November, and, in classic fashion, it's taken me a very long time to actually write about it. Apologies for tardiness, etc. etc.

WARPSTORMER plays a potent blend of stoner doom and thrash, a combination that feels simultaneously vigorous and sludgy. While the doomier stoner elements do frequently take center stage--the thrash is often more apparent in the roaring bombast than shredding speed per se--this album is notably forceful. WARPSTORMER feel like the bastard lovechild of High on Fire, The Sword, five gallons of diesel, and some high-octane guzzoline. And, while big punishing riffs often lead the charge, there are enough progressive and (dare I say?) cosmically inclined psych moments to lend the songwriting an expansive quality. With the exception of some very nice cleans that shine in the back half, the vocal delivery, which is raspy and striking in equal measure, fondly reminds me of the punchiness of Black Royal. While never unhinged, very little here feels overly restrained. WARPSTORMER is a powerful band, and isn't afraid to show it.


Read More
0 Comments

Favorite Albums of the Year 2023

11/30/2024

1 Comment

 
Picture
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.


Read More
1 Comment

REVERED AND REVILED ABOVE ALL OTHERS - Officers Down (Mini-Review)

10/4/2024

0 Comments

 
Picture
Written by: The Administrator

In the spirit of today's band in question, let's keep this intro short, shall we? Officers Down is a lean and mean two-track release from Revered and Reviled Above All Others, a historically lung-crushing doomviolence band. Over the past few years, I have personally found their intense and unique combination of suffocating brevity and overt fuck-the-police messaging to be quite alluring.

If you're unfamiliar with (the henceforth abbreviated) RRAAO, the title of this double single should tell you all you need to know. If, however, you're approaching this review with a degree of familiarity, please note that their latest is a little less crushing and a little more incendiary than prior releases. Of course, that's all quite subjective--this is still an exceptionally sludgy experience. Both tracks feature a muscular tone that can only be compared to the sensation of snorkeling in concrete. The percussion is a little more industrially militant, giving "Buried Evidence" in particular an invigorating presence. One could most certainly throw down to this song. One could, perhaps, sling a variety of blunt and/or flammable objects, if one were so inclined.

The vocals represent another evolution in the direction of immediacy. On "Bones of Anthropocene" in particular, they are more outwardly shouty and less like the all-consuming swallowed howls you could find dominating SWINEVOID or Toppling the Rotten Pillar. As a result, the lyrics are a tad easier to decipher. Somehow the fury is more palpable.

Of the two tracks here, I do prefer the aforementioned "Buried Evidence" for its more urgent motion. "Bones of Anthropocene" is a little more plodding and lacks a true climactic moment--the track ends fairly unexpectedly. It does act as a nice foil to the kinetic approach of Side A. All told, Officers Down is a very fine addition to the RRAAO body of work, and serves as a compelling teaser for whatever comes next. Check it out here!
​
Revered and Reviled Above All Others - Officers Down was released June 22nd, 2024


Revered and Reviled Above All Others can be found:​
Bandcamp
0 Comments

CRYPT SERMON - The Stygian Rose (Review)

7/22/2024

0 Comments

 
Picture
Written by: Blackie Skulless

Philadelphia's very own Crypt Sermon aren’t really anything new these days, and with only three albums stretched across nearly ten years, you can tell a lot went into all of them. While the band has always been something I’ve acknowledged as pretty solid, they never did anything exponential for me. That is, until now. The Ruins Of Fading Light took the doom metal world by storm five years ago, but The Stygian Rose took me by storm this year.

Formulaically speaking, the band hasn’t undergone any serious changes between records, putting emphasis on the “epic” in epic doom metal for years. Our latest outing stays pretty true to this label, however this is the one that absolutely finished off what I previously acknowledged as kinda cool into something truly immaculate. The themes around religion and medieval occult haven’t gone away, either. So what’s the big deal?

Perhaps I’m biased, but I think it boils down to a few things. I think that The Stygian Rose put more force behind the vocal passages, sped up more of the innards, and offered some tonal expressions that assault the listener in a way that previous records didn’t do to me. Certain guitar passages feel like they could fit into a speed metal song despite their crushing doom metal weight, and the way it flows so naturally is beautiful. Moreover, there’s a clearer aura to the vocals that remain clean, mostly avoiding anything harsh save for some rasp, yet they carry more conviction than what I find in a lot of extreme metal. Packing this into six long tunes makes for a muscular narrative that would almost feel overwhelming if things weren’t placed so wonderfully.


Read More
0 Comments

VEXING HEX - Solve Et Coagula (Review)

7/18/2024

0 Comments

 
Picture
Written by: Blackie Skulless 

Considering how much I loved the debut album by Indianapolis’s very own Vexing Hex, you can imagine my excitement upon hearing they’ve finally cooked up a follow up. Haunt was very much a spooky doom metal-meets-psychedelic/classic rock outing that often finds itself compared to the likes of Ghost. Now we get Solve Et Coagula hitting the surface several years later. The same stylistic grounding is very much present, but I’m glad to say it’s also derivative.

Mainly, the slower, doom-cladded riffing is a little more relaxed here in exchange for more blatant rock ‘n roll numbers that have a poppy front. Layers upon layers of synth and effect make themselves even more known, without compromising the tight riffs the band has long since built itself on. Moreover, the bass is more present than ever, enforcing an aggressive bottom as well as playing an important role in the rhythm itself. The outcome is quite literally a mix of songs that almost feel metal oriented, and straight up radio tunes.


Read More
0 Comments

FROM THE ARCHIVES: WOLF BLOOD - II (Review)

4/2/2024

0 Comments

 
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, however, is a timeless affair, and in that spirit, here is a review retrieved from the deep dark depths.

Picture
Written by: The Administrator (originally published July 6th, 2019)

Sometimes a band has a almost-but-not-quite grand debut, the kind of album that bears the weight of rookie flaws, but speaks of something larger to come. And then, sometimes, said band delivers tenfold on their next outing, absolutely shattering notions of sophomore slump. And sometimes the groggy-eyed scribe who said he'd review the album in a timely manner spends two months mulling over how best to put his enamorment​ into words. And that lands us here, with Wolf Blood’s II spinning for what seems the umpteenth time.

Wolf Blood is one of those bands who revel in throwing a bevy of ideas at the wall and hoping they stick. Unlike most who engage in such reckless activity, these folks are really damn good at making sure it all stays up there. It’s purely original stuff, and in this business, that's a significant and rare quality.


Read More
0 Comments

CANCERVO - III (Mini-Review)

3/29/2024

0 Comments

 
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 a doooomy album.

Picture
Written by: The Administrator

After a week of genre-hopping, it's high time for us slumbering scribes to return to our roots. That's right, folks: we're firing up some doom. More specifically, some long-form riff-centric darkly occult doom, courtesy of Italian doom mountaineers Cancervo. III is, well, their third outing, and I'm firmly of the opinion that it is their best work yet.

With one organ-heavy intro followed by four thick tracks, this album is built on a solid bedrock of droning monolithic riffs and a notably dragged-from-the-crypt vocal style. The whole affair feels ritualistic and borderline hypnotic--some of these tracks could be twice as long and I'd happily sink into their ample presence. Cancervo's approach is antiqued, albeit in a way that feels more referential to traditional doom and less like mere imitation. They've certainly cranked up the spooky factor, for one.
III is coated in a thick patina of mildew and dried blood. No bones about it: this album is impressively dark and unequivocally evil. Listening transports you to a candlelit catacomb, strapped to a sacrificial slab surrounded by hooded cultists. Or perhaps a moonlit forest, tied to a funeral pyre. A real witches-at-black-masses atmosphere. As it were. 

In terms of favorite tracks, "Sacrilegious Mass" and "Burn Your Child" are stone-cold bangers, and serve as near-perfect representations of the style. While each track herein is very solid in an individual light, the album does feel increasingly formulaic over the runtime. After each track's respective intro, the vocals are largely used to deliver mantra-like repetitions of a key phrase, and by the fourth track a little deviation would be nice to hear. That said, nothing here is worth skipping, and the notably short runtime was a smart move. For fans of old-school doom, I absolutely recommend checking this one out.


​Cancervo - III was released March 29th, 20244 via Electric Valley Records. Find it here!


Cancervo can be found:
Bandcamp
Instagram
0 Comments

NEGATIVE BLISS - The Good Life (Track Premiere)

3/27/2024

0 Comments

 
Picture
Written by: The Administrator

Welcome back, dear readers, to another track premiere! Pull up a chair, take off your boots. Get comfortable. Forget your worries. Stay a while.

​If the name Negative Bliss sounds familiar, it may be because we slumbering scribes refuse to shut up about them. Indeed, we're doing everything in our power to make sure you know what's up at all times. I reviewed their debut single a few weeks back, and now, after firmly establishing myself as a fanboy, we're
​honored to premiere their second single ahead of its release this Friday, March 29th. Entitled "The Good Life," this track demonstrates the band's right-out-of-the-gate willingness  to show a different side, a different sound.

As they are so new on the scene, a formal introduction feels in order. According to the band: "Negative Bliss formed when Jon--a drummer who had not played music in many years--put out an open call to find musicians and find a way back into music. A father of two small children, he hoped to find people with a similar passion for heavy music, a desire for camaraderie, and a shared understanding of middle-aged parenthood. He succeeded, and Negative Bliss was born. Formed in January 2023, the members of Negative Bliss quickly became close friends, and a tightly knit musical unit."

And here we are. Let's cut to the chase, shall we? Give "The Good Life" a listen below, and, as always, we'll meet you on the other side!


Read More
0 Comments

BOG MONKEY - Hollow (Review)

3/24/2024

0 Comments

 
Picture
Written by: The Administrator

What, dear reader, is more classically and quintessentially Sleeping Village Reviews behavior than dropping a review for an album that came out more than 12 months ago? I mean, come on. This is embarrassing. We slumbering scribes are notoriously--and demonstrably--bad at finishing stuff we started, but instead of letting this half-completed writeup die in the drafts, I thought it would be worthwhile to revisit and finally complete. Needless to say, I apologize to Bog Monkey for the extreme tardiness. This album is very good and merited a more prompt review. In any case, better late than never, I suppose.

So. 
Bog Monkey. A fuzzed out and swampy doom/sludge/stoner trio out of Atlanta. They released their debut album back in early March of 2023, and I consider it to be one of the better exemplars of the genre released last year. It also features one of my favorite album covers of 2023--purple swamp, simian skeletons, and ooze is an aesthetic holy trifecta as far as this scribe is concerned--but that's another story. The music itself is pretty damn addicting, and notably feels quite unique in a world where a new stoner doom band seemingly pops up on a daily basis. Bog Monkey's homegrown concoction utilizes a little hardcore attitude and a lot of  garage-esque grit. They almost seem to be a noisy homegrown rock band disguised as a doom outfit, and as a result their songwriting relies more on hard rockin' fun than a more straightforward or predictable stoner vibe.


Read More
0 Comments
<<Previous

    WELCOME!

    We provide thoughtful reviews of the music that wakes us from slumber. 
    ​
    Written by a highfalutin peasantry.


    Archives

    July 2025
    June 2025
    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    February 2020

    Categories

    All
    666
    Acid Rock
    Adventure
    Afrobeats
    A High Quality Death Metal Album
    Album Announcement
    Album Premiere
    Album Stream
    Alternative Rock
    Alt Metal
    Alt-metal
    Ambient
    Americana
    Ampwall
    Antifascist
    AOTY
    Atmospheric
    Atmospheric Black Metal
    Atmospheric Doom
    Avant Garde
    Beats
    Beat Tape
    Blackened
    Blackened Death Metal
    Blackened Doom
    Blackened Thrash
    Black Metal
    Black 'n' Roll
    Boom-Bap
    Brooklyn Artemis
    Brutal Death Metal
    Cinematic
    Classic Albums
    Classic Rock
    Compilation Album
    Concept Album
    Cosmic Death Metal
    Cover Song
    Crossover
    Crust
    Crust Punk
    Cybergrind
    Cyber Metal
    Dark Ambient
    Dark Metal
    Darksynth
    Deathcore
    Death Doom
    Deathened Black Metal
    Deathgrind
    Death Metal
    Death Thrash
    Demo
    Demo Tape
    Desert Rock
    Dissonant Death Metal
    Djent
    Doom
    Doom Folk
    Doomgaze
    Doom Metal
    Doomviolence
    Dream Metal
    Dream Pop
    Drone
    Dungeon Synth
    Duskwave
    EDM
    Electronic
    Electronica
    Electronicore
    Emo
    EP
    Epic Metal
    Ethereal
    Europower
    Experimental
    Extreme Metal
    Faery-synth
    Family Friendly
    Fantasy
    Folk
    Folk Metal
    Fresh Meat Friday
    From The Archives
    Funeral Doom
    Fuzz
    Goregrind
    Gothic
    Goth Rock
    Grind
    Grindcore
    Groove Metal
    Gross Death Metal
    Grunge
    Guest Post
    Gym
    Hardcore
    Hard Rock
    Harsh Noise
    Haunting
    Heavy Metal
    Heavy Psych
    Heavy Rock
    Hellenic Black Metal
    Hip Hop
    Hip-Hop
    Horror
    Horrorcore
    Indie Rock
    Industrial
    Industrial Metal
    Instrumental
    Instrumental Hip Hop
    Interview
    Jazz
    Jazz Rap
    Lists 2022
    Mars Metal
    Mathcore
    Melodic Black Metal
    Melodic Death Metal
    Melodic Metal
    Meme Reviews
    Metalcore
    Metallic Hardcore
    Metallic Sludge
    Metal Reviews
    Micro Reviews
    Mini Reviews
    Modern Metal
    Music Video
    Neoclassical Metal
    Noise
    Nu Metal
    Nu-metal
    NWOBHM
    NWOTHM
    Occult
    Olde-reviews
    Old-school-death-metal
    On-the-horizon
    Orchestral
    OSDM
    Playlist
    Playlist Curation
    Pop
    Pop Rock
    Pop-rock
    Post Hardcore
    Post-hardcore
    Post Metal
    Post-metal
    Post Rock
    Post-rock
    Post-sludge
    Powerdeath
    Power Electronics
    Power Metal
    Powerviolence
    Prog
    Progressive Death Metal
    Progressive Metal
    Progressive Rock
    Progressive Thrash
    Prog Rock
    Proto-metal
    Psych
    Punk
    Rap
    Rap Reviews
    Raw Black Metal
    Release Day Roundup
    Retro Rock
    Retrospective Reviews
    Reviews
    RnB
    Rock
    Rock & Roll
    Sci Fi
    Sci-fi
    Shoegaze
    Singer-songwriter
    Ska
    Skate Punk
    Skramz
    Slam
    Sludge
    Soundcloud
    Soundtrack
    Speed Metal
    Split Releases
    Stoner
    Stoner Doom
    Stoner Metal
    Stoner Rock
    Stoner Thrash
    Swedeath
    Swedish Death Metal
    Symphonic Black Metal
    Symphonic Metal
    Synth
    Synthwave
    Techdeath
    Technical Death Metal
    Thrash Metal
    Top 10
    Track Premiere
    Track Reviews
    Traditional Doom
    Traditional Metal
    Trap
    Trippy
    Two Of A Perfect Pair
    UKHC
    Underground Rap
    USPM
    Year End Lists

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • REVIEWS & PREMIERES
  • ARCHIVES
    • OLDE REVIEWS
    • OLDE INTERVIEWS
    • OLDE FEATURES
    • OLDE PREMIERES
  • SUBMIT FOR REVIEW!