Written by: The Administrator
One of my most-listened EPs of 2020 was Deserts of Mars' stellar Return From The Void, an eclectic and addictive 5-track project that effectively consumed my listening habits for the better part of a year. I'm fairly certain that these tracks are permanently and physically etched upon my brain, and I ended my (very extensive) review by predicating that I would inevitably be listening Return From The Void until the band released something new. Little did I know that new music from the Mars camp would be a loooong time coming. But! I am happy to report that Deserts of Mars have successfully maintained a prominent position in rotation whenever the urge for some familiar stoner metal hits. Which is, y'know, quite often. I am also happy to report that the mighty Dead Planet Exodus, released independently on Oct. 18th, was well worth the wait. Self-describing their hefty and irresistible style as "Mars Metal," Deserts of Mars exists in a fuzzy and occasionally tempestuous zone between stoner rock, grunge, doom, and a little trad metal attitude strewn about as well. This thing is loaded up with hard rockin' riffs and sci-fi flourishes galore, and immediately establishes a well-defined interplanetary aesthetic--not cosmic per se, but rugged and dusty. This is a concept album through and through, with the interwoven crash-landed-on-an-hostile-alien-planet storyline proving an engaging and consistent framework. And not to be overshadowed by the narrative, the music itself is likewise engaging and consistent. If you're looking for a brief review: Dead Planet Exodus is a wonderful album that successfully builds a world and capitalizes on pent-up potential, and I have very much enjoyed spending time with it over the past few months. If you're looking for a significantly longer review: I've got you covered. Read on below!
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Written by: The Administrator
When I crave some fuzzy riffage that embodies the laborious act of clambering through a swamp in pea-soup fog, I turn to Green Hog Band. These fellas have been putting in the work for a few years now, routinely dropping fresh batches of fuzzy 'n' scuzzy motorcycle-revving stoner doom. This latest, Fuzz Realm, was released back in June of this year and subsequently sat in the ol' promo pile for far too long. But better late than never, says I. Let's dive straight into this tarpit. Even before hitting play, I already felt exceptionally familiar with the contents of Fuzz Realm. That's a strong indication that Green Hog Band have built themselves a cohesive identity. This is dirty stuff. Every thick riff is coated in a greasy patina of motor oil and cigar ash. Meanwhile, the clean-yet-demonic vocals--delivered in both Russian and English--have been chained to a Harley and dragged across gravel for, I dunno, a lifetime and a half? In terms of elements that feel a little fresh in the Green Hog Band playbook, a distinct occult influence peers through the cracks in terms of samples and general spooky ambience. Put it all together, and the formula speaks for itself. The Fuzz Realm aesthetic is dark, menacing, and, in case I have not been clear, heavy as ever-living hell. While everything here feels like it would fit comfortably on any stoner metal playlist of your choosing, closer "Phantom" is perhaps my favorite track, as it balances softer passages with throat-crushing guitar dropping in to remind the audience who is boss. I also love "Nightmare Creatures" for that simple and endlessly earwormy riff. The aforementioned vocals add a little unique flair and flavor, but at the end of the day, these eight tracks--along with the Green Hog Band catalog in general--are built upon and sustained by that sweet, sweet heft and fuzz. The riffs and songs don't necessarily stick in my head after the album is done, but they really don't need to. They make their impact in the moment, and that, I would argue, is significantly more important. Green Hog Band - Fuzz Realm was released June 20th, 2024 via The Swamp Records. Find it here! On the very occasional Friday, a wagon arrives at the Sleeping Village’s crumbling gates, stuffed to the brim with 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 choice cuts 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! On the docket for today, April 12th, 2024 Necrot, Corvus Corone, Heavy Temple, and Exist
Written by: The Administrator
Prepare yourself, dear reader, for some stoner doom. Some lumbering stoner doom. Some lumbering mammothian stoner doom. Some lumbering mammothian psychedelic stoner doom. Some lumbering mammothian psychedelic groove-laden fuzzy megafaunic stoner doom. Some... Anyways, that's what we're dealing with here. Acid Mammoth are back for a fourth round in the ol' riff arena, Supersonic Megafauna Collision as their champion. If you're familiar with this crew's past work, you know the score. Acid Mammoth are, in my book, one of the premiere stoner doom bands active today. They are consistent, colorful, and make music that doesn't get bogged down in its own aura and atmosphere. The riffs are repetitive yet groovy and classically hooky, and the songwriting is intriguing enough to leave room for a little psych meandering without losing the thread too entirely. While I personally enjoy the vocal tone and find it to contrast nicely with the fuzzed out heft, I can see the vocals being a sticking point for some--they embrace a whining reediness. I've seen complaints that the album doesn't provide enough variation, and while the general scope of the album is pretty well established by the second track, we're not exactly here for innovation. If you're inclined to be bored by long-form psychedelic doom, this won't change your mind on the genre, particularly as the album approaches the tail end. But! Supersonic Megafauna Collision isn't about innovation--it is about the charming and quality reproduction of a formula that has been proven to work exceptionally well. I consider this the band's best work yet. If you're on the hunt for that good ol' lumbering mammothian psychedelic groove-laden fuzzy megafaunic stoner doom, Acid Mammoth will do nicely. Acid Mammoth - Supersonic Megafauna Collision was released April 5th, 2024 via Heavy Psych Sounds. Find it here!
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.
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.
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.
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! 
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. ON THE HORIZON: Madame Frankenstein - The Eyes Of The Mountain Are Mine (Brazilian Stoner Doom)1/3/2024 
Written by: The Administrator
Given our newfound sense of productivity here at our humble slumbering township, it is high time, methinks, to bring back a frequently forgotten Sleeping Village feature. That's right, dear reader. It's time once more for On The Horizon. Not a review per se, nor an album announcement, but rather a third secret thing that lurks awkwardly betwixt the two. Today, we gaze towards what appears to be the second full length from Brazilian stoned doomsters Madame Frankenstein. I heard (and quite enjoyed) their debut album released last year, which served as a collection of loose singles and EPs dropped throughout 2023. The bluntly entitled Doom brought a familiar fuzzy approach alongside some thin and filtered vocals that served well to exemplify the detached psychedelic vibe. The general aesthetic presented in their cover artwork across the album and singles was quite nice as well. Doom demonstrated some notable promise in a subgenre that has no shortage of fresh blood, but regrettably seemed to have missed the press circuit--I was a little surprised to see so few folks in the stoner doom scene talking about Madame Frankenstein. In any case, February of this year will see the release of a new six track project entitled The Eyes Of The Mountain Are Mine. I'm hopeful for a little more deserved fanfare this time around. 
Written by: The Administrator
Another year, another batch of outstanding EPs! I personally have a strong affinity for releases of the short, concise, and otherwise succinct persuasion, and so my weekly listening is often informed by what new EPs have dropped. The following includes those that made a significant impact and stuck around in my rotation. This list--although perhaps a term such as "loose collection" or "heap" would be a better choice--has not been trimmed or edited to meet a specific quantity. I just kept adding stuff until I hit 23 entries, which felt like an appropriate number, and so here we are. Like last year's extravaganza, this list features a bunch of different genres but is not sorted by genre. My year is defined by eclectic listening habits, and while my albums lists will be divided into hip hop and metal for sake of reading convenience, no such editorial courtesy is reflected here. And lastly, this is utterly unranked. If something appears here, please know that it comes highly, highly recommended. Without further ado, let's dive in!
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, we discuss a redux of a very fine track from a very fine band.
Written by: The Administrator Gosh. I love when a band issues a remixed and revitalized redux of an older track, and I particularly love when this very same scenario occurs with a track that I love from a band that, indeed, I love. Mothman and The Thunderbirds is a project that this particular scribe has enjoyed greatly from inception, and I'm firmly of the mind that everything under the Mothman moniker is exceptionally well done. 2021's debut Into The Hollow embraced a willingness to explore, and everything since--the (objectively perfect) cover of "96 Quite Bitter Beings," the dynamic split with World Eaters, the trippier "Gazer" EP*--continue the trend of good music that doesn't feel particularly confined by anything other than the quality of that which came before. So, then. Into this equation enters a redux of, arguably, one of my favorite tracks from Into The Hollow, featuring the remixing and remastering chops of Egor Lappo. "The Simpsons = Real Hollow" is an anomaly in the midst of the original tracklist, as guest vocals are provided by Kirby, wife of project leader Alex Parkinson. Promo material calls said vocal performance "soaring" and "sardonic," both apt descriptors. I would add "youthful"--not unrefined or adolescent, but rather filled to the brim with the kind of jubilant enthusiasm that feels almost impossible to contain. The original featured excellent vocals, and the redux'd version truly allows Kirby's voice to shine, contrasting wonderfully with Alex's bellowed backing interjections while sitting nicely in the mix. The chorus is catchy as fuck. Otherwise, the new version feels crisp and clean across the board. Alex's new bassline pummels with significantly more oomph. The track's rockin' central riff carries itself with the same familiar momentum--an urgency that doesn't quite let up, lending the whole track an energetic edge. This is the mix/master that the track deserves, and another testament to the quality of Lappo's work. As mentioned in our review of "96 Quite Bitter Beings," this outsourced production adds a notable level of polish. It sounds great. 'Nuff said. Mothman and The Thunderbirds - "The Simpsons = Real Footage (2023 Redux) was released Sept. 22nd, 2023, and can be found here. You can also listen below! How convenient is that? |
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