Written by: The Administrator
Whomst among us is ambivalent about the ocean? I may be way off the mark, but it seems as though opinions towards the deep blue sea trend towards the extremes. Representing a certain landlubbery perspective, several of my fellow inksplattered scribes experience an abject terror when it comes to the ocean's vastness. As for me, I'm smitten by the serene chaos of breakers, the lushness and oddity of aquatic life, and the eventual call of the sodden void. Representing perhaps the pinnacle of oceanic fandom, Into The Deep demonstrates a deep fascination and reverence for the ocean. This is a fact that is immediately apparent--everything from their moniker to their artwork to their track titles and band bio and beyond reeks of brine. I absolutely love a band with a singular focus, and when they play music this good, I can't help but sing their praises. Blackfin came out Jan. 3rd, and I haven't stopped listening yet. It is my favorite EP of 2024 thusfar.
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Written by: The Administrator
With just a few tracks released to date, the first of which dropped July of 2022, Tooth & Dagger's rollout has been quite prolonged. Including today's song in question, this alt-metal band out of Birmingham will have released three singles by the end of 2024. Whether or not this is all culminating in a debut album remains to be seen, but in the meantime, they've given us some quality. Some bangers, dare I say. Your milage may vary dependent on tolerance for alt-metal in general, but I personally quite enjoy the genre's inherently orotund sense of emotive and sonic excess. Tooth & Dagger are thunderous and slick. Their output thusfar has been decently eclectic, evoking the radio-ready overblown emotion of 2000's-era modern metal, the bouncy hookiness of nu-metal, and the oversized physicality of groove metal. This latest single, "A.T.T.A.S," draws from similar inspiration, but also feels more massive. More pissed off. More angsty. In all respects, "A.T.T.A.S" hits hard. The slamming riff that effectively buries the calm-before-the-storm intro means business, and the guitar throughout seems intent on creating headbangable pockets. Speaking of pockets, the vocals move quite seamlessly between harsh to clean and back again. The cleans in particular lean heavily into an adolescent sneer--and this I mean in the best possible sense. There's an authenticity to the aesthetic, a warm nostalgia amidst the modern sheen. No question about it: "A.T.T.A.S" is a banger through and through, and here at the Sleeping Village, we celebrate bangers. Check it out below!
Tooth and Dagger can be found:
Linktree 
Written by: The Administrator
Ah, nu-metal. Occasionally umlauted, frequently maligned. My own affair with nu-metal was lustful but exceedingly brief. The tail end of the genre's heyday represented the first time I got to introduce music to my dad rather than the other way around. While my fascination with the seemingly unmatchable aggression of Slipknot or outspoken edge and jubilant oddity of System of a Down didn't exactly translate, we did spend several months exploring and enjoying Korn's discography together. That phase passed pretty quickly in favor of my era of angsty grunge revivalism, and nu-metal ceased to have any impact in my life or listening patterns beyond the occasional nostalgia trip. For myself, and, I can only imagine, many others, it was high time for something new that could capture the same swagger and violence and unbridled magic. And thus, the prolific Garry Brents' announcement of a forthcoming nu-metal project felt like a harbinger: a nu wave of nu-metal was inevitable. Quickly, some background. If you're unfamiliar, please note that Garry has made quite the name for himself over the past few years by benefit of a collection of monikers including Gonemage, Sallow Moth, Homeskin, and Cara Neir. Besides a common creative driving force, these projects share a certain unwillingness to abide by genre convention. Instead, his work seemed to attack expectations, using familiar sounds and motifs but subjecting them to a distinct subversion. Also of note is frequency, as Garry releases new music at a pace that is frankly intimidating. Multiple projects, multiple releases, one remarkably consistent ethos. This is all to say that I fully trust Garry to deliver good shit. This debut album from Memorrhage blew away all my expectations. Sorry to spoil, but this is one of my favorite albums of the year, full stop. Let's jumpdafuck into it, shall we? 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 doubleshot mini-review of two standalone singles.  Written by: The Administrator A few years back, I reviewed a thrashin' three track EP from a band named Corruption. I was suitably impressed, and have since returned to Dead Is The Soul when the thrash itch strikes. As such, when I finally--five months late--got around to a review request from a member of said band for an entirely different band influenced by the likes of Fear Factory and Sybreed, I gave the two attached singles a listen. Despite not exactly having a solid history with industrial or cyber metal, I found said singles to be were pretty damn enjoyable. "Electric Cuts," released on March 31st, utilizes a classic clean vs. harsh vocal vibe that provides a convenient contrast by benefit of its mere existence.  The track is built on a driving churn, which lends the verses an aggressive urgency. Things slow down significantly on the chorus, and then the driving riff returns with the same production line precision. While I typically avoid music with a blatantly inorganic aesthetic, the mechanized momentum on this track is quite nice and offers a headbangable bounce. "Synthetic Fields," the more recent of the singles and my favorite of the two, decidedly ups the ante on the cleans, bringing to mind the soaring ultra-polish of something like Skull Fist. It is sleek and manufactured, which serves fits to the general synthetic aesthetic pretty damn well. The chorus here is catchy and liable to run loops in my brain throughout the day. Much like the prior single, "Synthetic Fields" is overtly bouncy and thus quite fun. Bottom line? While I suspect Kaosware is a harder sell for the typical Sleeping Village readers and passers-by, I do recommend giving 'em a listen if you enjoy modern industrial metal with a cyber sheen. Kaosware - "Electric Cuts" was released March 31st, 2023. "Synthetic Fields" was released May 26th, 2023. Find Kaosware via linktree here! 
Written by: The Administrator
It's been quite some time since today's project in question was released, but god-tier stoner riffs are always gonna get the time of day 'round these parts. Moreover, when they are this damn enjoyable, you can bet your ass they'll be stuck in rotation for a good long while. When it comes to god-tier stoner riffs, the subtly monikered ROBOT DEATH MONKEY have decidedly got the goods, delivering a cheekily flippant EP with rough 'n' tumble component parts aplenty. Intergalactic Party Powder is chock full o' groove, a crude sense of humor, an apparent love for the swagger of Orange Goblin's catalog, and a healthy dose of Neil Fallon's phlegm nasty sneer. The riffs are big. The attitude is off the charts. Let's party. 
Written by: The Administrator
Our council of shadowy and ink-splattered scribes have decreed the following: Wednesdays are for epic progressive opuses. Or at least...that's what this Wednesday is for. Next week may very well deliver something entirely different, but that's to be expected. We're a fickle crew, after all. In any case, today is for epic progressive opuses. Thankfully, Dallas' own Onward We March was kind enough to approach us with a track for premiere, and what a track it is: a 17-minute-and-change odyssey through the necromantic gates of Hades. "Nekromanteion" is a track that bears the weight of its breadth quite well, delivering both in terms of narrative intrigue and gloriously engaging composition. Without further ado, check out "Nekromanteion" below! Sink into its expansive environs. As always, we'll meet ye on the other side. |
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