Written by: The Administrator
Full disclosure: this haggard scribe is not exactly what one would safety consider a connoisseur when it comes to the weird world of grindcore and deathgrind. A certain base of familiarity feels like a requirement in an environment defined largely by extreme abrasivity and extreme...well, extremity, and I'm always left questioning whether my casual enjoyment of a grind-adjacent release will translate in the eyes of people who drink deep of the genre's turbulent waters. While the classics are always fun to revisit, and I'll dabble here or there when it comes to stuff that particularly grind-knowledgable people seem to universally enjoy, grind is a space in which I'm happy to take recommendations...but less happy being the recommend-er. Today, however, I can hardly resist putting in a good word. Narakah is a Pittsburgh-based deathgrind outfit with an apparent knack for infusing the style of the early aughts with a fresh-faced flair. Their latest effort--the 12 minute Blast Haven--is an incredibly strong showing of Discordance Axis-esque chaos with a notable focus on intriguing composition.
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 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: Arzou
2020 has been quite the year and we aren’t even halfway done with it. For almost six months we’ve been dealing with pain, sorrow, anger, resentment, and of course, political and social issues. So much so that it’s safe to say that most people have felt like they’re going insane! I know I have. I’ve been cooped up indoors for 69 days! (nice). Luckily, grindcore duo Human Obliteration felt the same way and instead of writing countless facebook posts about how shit sucks, they instead released their latest album “Definition of Insanity” for us to eagerly enjoy with our ear holes. Straight off the bat, if you haven’t listened to this album: do it. It’s 18 minutes long, which is shorter than your average episode of anime. Trust me, it’s worth it, and a much better use of your time. It’s okay. Your body pillow and cheap instant ramen can wait. Now that I assume you’ve listened to the album we can continue. If you haven’t that’s okay. I don’t forgive you.  It's pretty cool to see bands that we reviewed in the primordial instagram-bound days of the Sleeping Village's life releasing new music. One such group is WAKE, the Canadian extreme metal outfit responsible for one of the albums that became fodder for one of my earliest reviews. WAKE are coming back in a big way with their forthcoming LP Devouring Ruin, out March 27th from Translation Loss Records. While we drink deep of their latest offering, please accept this (admittedly dated) republication of our review of 2018's Misery Rites. Without further ado:
Despite short runtimes, listening to a grind/death/hardcore album from top-to-bottom is often an exhausting affair. Look, for example, to Mammoth Grinder’s (then-recent) latest, Cosmic Crypt. On paper & in practice every song sounded great, and there’s a reason for that. Essentially, every subsequent track on the album was a copy-paste of the (admittedly fantastic) one before. However, despite personally loving the Mammoth sound, it lost its charm too quickly without variance. It fell apart as an album, and as a self-avowed “album guy,” structural integrity of the vehicle in question is always taken into consideration. Conversely, Full of Hell’s Trumpeting Ecstasy is a good example of an album chock full o’ brutal music that maintains variety, and, as a result, is something I can (and will) return to without fear of listening fatigue.  Guest Post: Carcassbomb (of Noob Heavy)
Experimentation is my magic word… and my safe word. It’s an approach that can really go anywhere, including some dumb places, but Rat King challenge song writing conventions in a far more subtle way that makes for an interesting listen without alienating fans of experimented genre in anyway. Previously with their 2016 debut LP Garbage Island they had a similarly experimental take on sludge so it’s interesting to see they have taken their approach into the realm of death/grind, a completely different arena. Here’s the thing though, they fucking pulled it off and in my opinion this release is both a better album and a better representation of their signature craft. There’s been an evolution here that I respect and admire. Vicious Inhumanity will be released Jan 17th via their very own label Within The Mind Records, CD, Vinyl and cassette, so dig in mother fuckers. They’re also giving away CDs to two lucky people, entries close on release day so there’s time. |
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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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