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Interview with the band in question to follow shortly! Stay tuned, dear readers. -Ed.  Written by: The Voiceless Apparition
So here we are. Another year, another opportunity to spotlight up-and-coming bands. 2021 is going to be an extremely busy year for myself, and for all of the other villagers too, I presume. 2020 may have fucked everything up, but this year will be bringing A LOT of new music. But we'll get to that another time. Today, I'm really happy to be able to review the debut album from Texas death metal heavyweights Frozen Soul. It's amazing how far they have come for literally only forming two years ago. They released their critically acclaimed debut demo Encased in Ice through the always stellar Maggot Stomp back in 2018. They toured the U.S. a few times in 2019, and while 2020 may have put a stop to their touring, they managed to sign to fucking Century Media Records! When I heard that they had signed with them I actually screamed. It makes me so happy to see the love and support that they have been receiving since they formed and that praise only continues to grow with the release of their debut album Crypt of Ice.
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Written by: Blackie Skulless
Probably one of the more anticipated debuts of our time, Midnight Spell finally cast their vision from the Between The Eyes demo into full-length format. For those unaware, these Miami, Florida based metal maniacs cast an old school-inspired heavy metal dish with leanings towards glam and speed alike. So it should go without saying that their style is pretty concise, with Sky Destroyer capitalizing on vocal harmony and gentle force. Weirdly, this did not grab me the way I anticipated off the bat, but not necessarily in a negative sense, either. There’s a bit of a split between the two halves, and the back half made the front half easier to appreciate. Essentially, it eases you in strictly familiar territory, using on-the-nose tactics. “Midnight Ride” is a striking number, filled with booming drums and powerful vocals to blend in perfectly with the classic metal revival acts. You also get the soothing “Lady Of The Moonlight,” capturing early Dokken feels with its calm approach despite harder rhythms. The bassline and solo in particular are swell. 
Written by: The Administrator
If you run in the death blues circle, (an admittedly select group,) you are undoubtedly familiar with 20 Watt Tombstone. Hell, if you like blues rock or stoner doom in general, there's a good chance you've heard the name. These guys play a down 'n' dirty amalgamation of ZZ Top-esque groovy southern blues rock with a grimy Clutchian desert-rock edge. In other words, these are hard rockin' tunes from the backwoods. There's nothing flashy in their formula: just heavy riffs, gritty vocals, and the spirit of Americana. 20 Watt Tombstone's next release is a brief-yet-tantalizing affair: a 2-track EP featuring two bangin' cover songs. Side A is a rollicking cover of the (oft-underappreciated) "Just Got Paid" by the aforementioned ZZ Top. Side B, a rendition of "Midnight Train to Memphis” by Chris Stapleton, offers a slightly more somber--although no less hefty--side of 20 Watt Tombstone. Though small in stature, this release packs a damn fine one-two punch. 
Written by: Blackie Skulless
Anthropophagy: (noun) the eating of human flesh by human beings. So in other words, I’m reviewing an album that’s just a fancy word for cannibalism. It should come as no surprise that Sadistic Drive are a death metal band that explore the gore and stench to extreme levels. Hailing from Finland, they’re quite fresh off the grid, taking formation in 2018, and dropping Anthropophagy last year. Just from that and looking at the sleeve, you’ll get exactly what you’re thinking. Chaotic blasting with slamming features and guttural growls take a heavy precedence, filling the proverbial chalice with nothing but slime and grime. An obvious love of horror fills the cracks, as bodily sounds, screams, and samples ooze over to blend some songs together. But surprisingly, the riffing is pretty concise and doesn’t sound as sloppy as it could. 
Written by: Blackie Skulless
Not far from my hometown comes a compilation that dropped late last year consisting of two releases from the Philadelphia-based band Alement. One side consists of the EP Onward, which dropped in 2019. The other bears The Hunter from two years prior, thus the two smashed together as Onward / The Hunter. Caligari Records was swell enough to drop both onto one compact tape, as they fit a lot into a quick six-track listen. Across the board, you get a sense of punky riffs and attitude that pass through thrashy territory, creating lots of sweaty angst and hard rhythms. Painted atop due to harsh soundscapes and production comes a crust-drenched tint. This works well with the use of build-up and suspense, thanks to noisy gradients. Moreover, bass takes a very high precedence here, teaming up well with the raspy and grunt-like vocals. 
Written by: Blackie Skulless
At the end of every year, I always discover something that I find to be so good that it could have made my top twenty list, but finding it just a hair too late stops that. Skelethal are 2020’s edition, and their sophomore record Unveiling The Threshold did not fail to deliver one bit. This death metal outfit from France upholds an OSDM aesthetic, ringing in tones traditional of the Swedish scene and pumping in some deeper songwriting. One of the first things that caught my attention was the incredible mix, allowing the buzzsaw riffs, rowdy wails, and striking leads to complement each other perfectly. Even the threatening blow of the drums blasts don’t overpower anything, which can happen when production is left just a bit raw. Moreover, the vocals stray away from getting too guttural, rather stick to a raspier approach to stand out from the pack.  Let it be know: Sleeping Village stalwart Izzy doesn't skimp when it comes to year end lists. As such, we'll be publishing, over the course of the next few days, a series of genre-specific Top 20 lists proudly bearing the Izzy stamp of approval. As "death" in and of itself tends to be a broad descriptor the assorted sub-genres existing under the umbrella have been labeled for yer convenience.
Says Izzy in regards to this list: "A summary of 2020's death metal to me is "everyone else liked it but I don't get it", very few of the years most popular releases clicked with me, so while I don't think any of my picks here are controversial, I think there is more underground-ish releases. Enjoy!"  Written by: The Voiceless Apparition
Hello everyone! So we are finally in the homestretch of 2020. This has been an absolutely insane year, no denying that. Even with all of the struggle and division, we still had new music to get us through it. Let's just hope that next year will be better. Having said that, it's time for Album of the Year lists, and I'm excited to see many of my reviewing friends lists. But for now, I suppose it's my time. This was a difficult list to order. There were SO many stellar albums, so many in fact that I've had to leave off of the list. First I will give my honorable mentions list. Then: onward to the Top 10!  Written by: The Voiceless Apparition
Here's an interesting question for you fine folks: think back to what you were doing 16 years ago. What were you doing? 16 years ago the underground enigma known as Anders Odden was releasing what was the "last" Cadaver album, Necrosis. But sadly, not a lot of people know who Cadaver is, and that's a damn shame. Cadaver are arguably the first death metal band to have ever come from Norway. They released two stellar albums in the early 1990's before abruptly disbanding in 1993. After reforming, changing their name twice, and releasing two more albums, Cadaver have returned with Edder and Bile. Anders Odden is the sole remaining original member (a lone wolf if you will), but this time around he is joined by one of the best drummers in all of extreme metal, and one of my personal drumming influences, Dirk fucking Verbeuren! So what has this 16 year hiatus done for Cadaver? Let's dive right in... 
Written by: Blackie Skulless
Maggot Heart caught my attention for the sole fact that their cassette Dusk To Dusk was released through Caligari Records, despite not fitting with that label’s general ideal. Instead of being composed of extreme or filthy metal, it is rooted somewhere in the noise rock and post-punk spectrum. The delivery itself is clean and the frontwoman’s voice is captivating, but I think the fitting factor is that it’s still somewhat eerie. That allows it to appeal to a broader scope of fans. For the most part, Maggot Heart achieve this due to a very dominating bass presence passed through a somewhat degraded quality thanks to weird reverberation and rough production. Glazing that above a very concise bottom is what gives Dusk To Dusk such a strong identity. It focuses a lot on stompier riffs, showing itself in “Big Kross.” B-side opener “Strange Women” also highlights this by using a repetitive but catchy pattern. |
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We provide thoughtful reviews of music that is heavy, gloomy...and loud enough to wake us from slumber. Written by a highfalutin peasantry!
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