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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Written by: The Administrator
As a someone who enjoys new music, there are fewer joys greater than "discovering" a band that has 0 monthly listeners on Spotify. And yes, that feeling isn't diminished even when the act of "discovery" actually refers to clicking a link that a band has emailed directly to me. In any case, we slumbering scribes are happy to get in on the ground floor--albeit a whole year after said email was received--and I hope that this review leads to a double-digit listener count for today's band in question. The band? Bighead, a solo act reveling in the kind of overt noisy goregrind grotesquery that makes me wish, for the reader's sake, that I could hide this review behind a tasteful blur. If you are preemptively imaging track titles and samples detailing medical procedures gone terribly wrong, that's exactly what Backwoods Medical Anomalies has in store. And for that reason, I highly recommend NOT clicking "read more" if gore and the assorted words and sounds that come with it don't sit well with your stomach. Otherwise, see you on the other side!
Welcome to another edition of DEMO(LITION) DERBY, a relatively new column dedicated solely to demos. Bolstering our underground cred since 2024! If you like reading about demos, check out our previous reviewhere!
Written by: The Administrator
If you've read our previous entries in the (obnoxiously entitled) DEMO(LITION DERBY series, you're undoubtably familiar with the toil and trouble endured by the Sleeping Village's own Pit Herder. Upon receiving permission to injudiciously trawl the depths of our inbox for demo tapes, said manager of the promo pit uncovered a veritable bounty of quality specimens. Which sure is convenient, 'cuz I personally love listening to and writing about demos. Today's catch comes from the goregrindy Cerebral Tumour, a band about which I know effectively nothing. To add to the air of mystery, the demo is the only listing under Stench Trench Productions, who appear to have released nothing else. According to the bandcamp description, Demo 1 technically contains 6 tracks proper alongside an intro and outro, but you'll also note that when you stream, the entire 10 minute and 30 second runtime is contained within a single track listed under "Cerebral Tumour - Demo I." That said, the track breaks are obvious, and with the short run time you won't be skipping around anyways. In any case, this whole experience reeks of unorthodox upload approach, and one that certainly bolsters the grimy ethos of inaccessibility, After the atmospheric, staticky, and borderline gothic intro, Cerebral Tumour get right into it with some massive and notably putrid riffage. This is dank and dark, plunged from the subterranean depths. The tone is loose and earthy and cavernous, firmly rejecting any sheen or polish. Nasty stuff, no doubt, and the general thrust of the tracks lends an aggression that plays well against the fetid sonic environment. Lest they be forgot, the vocals serve inordinately well to contribute to the existing aesthetic. Set deeply in the mix, these grinding gurgles and phlegmy roars feel truly primordial. If you're a connoisseur of gross and grindy fare, I don't suspect that you'll find Demo I revelatory or revolutionary by any stretch. But that's okay! More than okay, I'd argue. This is some dirty and disgusting music, plain and simple. If that's your thing, I highly recommend putting on a snorkel and wading in. I do hope that any releases past the demo don't lose the dense atmosphere and menacing tone--if they can keep this sound intact, Cerebral Tumour will be one to watch.
Cerebral Tumour - Demo I was released June 1st, 2024 via Stench Trench Productions. Find it here!
Cerebral Tumour can be found:
Bandcamp 
Written by: The Administrator
Let's clear this up right out of the gate: Trocar are gross. Not cutesy gross, but fundamentally and irrevocably gross. Repugnancy has been the name of the game for these (literal) organ grinders, and their debut full-length is accordingly stomach-churning. If you're unfamiliar with Trocar, just consider that the band composition consists of two members of Fluids (Jan Grotle and Walter Hale) alongside death metal connoisseur Schuler Benson, who you may know from @deathmetalradio infamy. Given the lineup, please extrapolate. The sum of the component parts is bound to be bloody, unsettling, grotesque. Anyways. The bluntly and accurately entitled Extremities was released April 5th via Selfmadegod Records, and if you've enjoyed Trocar's work thusfar across various splits and EPs, you'll enjoy this. Indeed, in my opinion, this is their best work yet. A genuine level up. It may be the sonic equivalent of a garbage bag filled with medical waste left in the sun for, oh, a couple of decades, but Extremities is the finest grind I've had pleasure of consuming in quite some time.
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 the little one-off reviews that were previously (and arbitrarily) deemed too short for publication. Here's a mini-review of an aggressive and crushing and seething EP.
Written by: The Administrator
There are several trigger phrases existing in the world of music promo that activate a deep and primal need to drop everything and listen immediately. One such heretofore unknown phrase is the dangerous "FFO Napalm Death/Godflesh," which Noosed unsuspectingly dropped in a brief message in regards to their new EP. Consider this particular agent activated on an immediate basis. I don't even have time to allow the headphones to connect; you already know I'm playing this shit through the phone speaker. Let's fuckin' go. Noosed play an abrasive and intrinsically violent conglomerate of noise, grind, crust, and sludge. There's a massive presence to the low end that feels oppressive on the basis of mere proximity. The riffage grinds with the sheer heft of damp cement. The percussion stomps forward with a grim intensity, like unto cast-iron industrial revolution machinery gone rogue. The vocals are raw and belligerent, yet tinged with a nihilistic sense of despair that lends an overall nuance to the project. The use of vocal samples is also a huge strong suit when it comes to driving home the thematic overtones. Although brief and fairly blistering, OMEN bludgeons with a sense of somber nuance. It's not industrial and it's not sludge, but it does a damn good job at sitting uncomfortably somewhere betwixt the two. Of course, OMEN is far from polished. That's arguably the crux of the project's inherent charm. There's a tangible rawness and strain seeping from these four-tracks-plus-an-intro, and that undiluted emotive weight certainly strikes a chord. Not an easy listen per se, but one worth immersing yourself in. Noosed - OMEN was released may 5th, 2023. Find it here!
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 the little one-off reviews that were previously (and arbitrarily) deemed too short for publication. Here's a mini-review of a short albeit very violent EP.
Written by: The Administrator
Greetings, dear reader. Do you have a mere 7 minutes of free space in your inevitably well-stocked music queue? If so, I highly recommend taking Anti Ritual's latest for a spin. Don't bother buckling up–regardless of safety precautions, you'll leave this brief encounter as bruised and battered as a crash test dummy after a double shift at the getting fucked up factory. Make no mistake: engaging with Green Terrorism’s fiery display of self-described “caustic black/grind hardcore” is an inevitably pulverizing and visceral affair. The general trend is breakneck percussion with breathless riffs to match, a thrashing fray accompanied by some truly pissed off rabid snarls. If you like harsh music that drives home its point in gloriously bloody fashion while hastily leaves the scene of the crime, ANTI RITUAL have ye covered. Blistering violence is the name of the game, and indeed, it is pretty damn telling when a project's arguably most languorous and borderline sludgy track (the stellar "The Ghost of Mary Shelley") still manages to clock in at a brisk one minute and forty six seconds. Green Terrorism is urgent and relentless and pugilistic to a fine-tuned degree. You can forget kid gloves--as they explicitly target those responsible for the capitalistic eradication of the global climate, ANTI RITUAL gleefully wield knuckledusters wrapped in bloodied barbed wire. And despite the outward grit and bluster, this project most certainly rewards repeat listens. The intent is crystal clear, and the execution is on point. If you're in the mood for violence, Green Terrorism comes highly recommended. ANTI RITUAL - Green Terrorism was released May 5th, 2023 via Indisciplinarian. Find it here!
ANTI RITUAL can be found:
Bandcamp 
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. FRESH MEAT FRIDAY: June 17th, 2022 Feat. Void Witch, Trocar, Valley of the Sun, and Inexorum6/17/2022
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
FRESH MEAT FRIDAY - January 28th, 2022, Feat. Rotborn, SARTORI, Mt. Echo, and Depleted Uranium1/28/2022 On (regrettably infrequent) 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, January 28th, 2022: Rotborn, SARTORI, Mt. Echo, and Depleted Uranium
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