Written by: Blackie Skulless
Haunt mastermind Trevor Church and Co. have basically been churning out endless material since I discovered them in late 2018 around the release of the debut album. Sticking to a pretty traditional style of heavy metal, they made their first mild shift in early 2020 with Mind Freeze, a record that I admittedly simp for. This marked the first of a gradual step towards synthier, perhaps poppier songs that had more chorus-based structures. Although I thought Flashback was a bit of an awkward transition, the latest full-length Beautiful Distraction basically steps in and ties up loose ends. Continuing off of the prior idea, you get a better executed version of these accessible tactics molded with firm heavy metal riffing. The layering especially is the best that Haunt have done with the trade-offs between guitar/keyboard and how they follow each other. Allowing for songs to flow from one to the next easier, they can now squeeze in different writing directions smoothly. That, in and of itself, is one of the biggest standouts.
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Written by: The Administrator
As both a (card-carrying) metalhead and nerd, I absolutely live for the occasional convergence of A. metal and B. nerd stuff. Luckily for this particularly highfalutin scribe, the Sleeping Village effectively has a band on retainer for such stuff: namely, Underking, the solo project of one Maxwell Jeffries. You may recognize the name from our premiere of the Avatar: The Last Airbender-inspired "Dragon of the West." His latest barn-burner of a track, entitled "Shadow I've Become," dives unabashedly into the mythos of Star Wars, taking as its tortured protagonist our favorite son of Dathomir. That's right, dear readers: it's time for a little Maul. Obviously, however, you don't need to be a Star Wars fan to enjoy this offering. While flitting between a variety of loosely defined genres, the track itself is built on a hotbed of hard-hitting riffage and disgustingly infectious vocal hooks. 
Written by: The Administrator
When we're not locked in our drafty scriptorium, daily existence here at the Sleeping Village is inevitably beset by the type of backbreaking labor inherent to a (pseudo) medieval township. The grind is real, and, as such, an occasional dose of the weird and wonderful is a bit of a necessity. Hence, the promise of self-declared "space disco synth metal," courtesy of Alpha Boötis, seemed like a likely candidate for injecting a lil' excitement into mid-afternoon drudgery. And boy, is it ever. I seldom write reviews immediately after consuming the music in question, but after jamming this two-track-plus-a-cover EP about eight times over the span of the past few hours, I feel somewhat moved to say my piece post-haste. Let's get to it.  Written by: Lord Hsrah
It’s time for German heavy metal today, after a long time to be honest, and Elmsfire are here to present their latest offering, Wings of Reckoning. Dusseldorf based quartet Elmsfire have been around since a bit more than two decades and have had their own share of multiple lineup changes over the years, but that hasn't let this machine stop from churning out records, as Wings of Reckoning is their sixth. Frequent lineup shifts saw fellow compatriot band Van Canto singer, Ross Thompson, get enlisted to take care of vocal duties. The only constant that's been in the band is the main core, the heart of the whole group, the guitar duo of Germano and Doro, who not only team up for guitar duties but also split bass duties for the album. 
Written by: Lord Hsrah
You ever seen Spike or Tom from Tom and Jerry? Seen how they react when their ever-so-cunning and sharp eyes spot a thick chunk of steak, and how their tongues just hang out as their mouth waters at the thought of devouring it? Yeah, that's always me when someone mentions atmospheric black metal! I'm a big fan of the emotions this particular sub-genre invokes, the scenes it creates in my head, the visions it shows me thereafter, and just the overall things I feel when listening to an ABM album - it's one of my favorite things, especially in the rainy season, which is right now where I live. If you ask me, The Lightbringers' From The Void To Existence was a good one to spend some time with as I watched the waters trickle down the window panes of my room. Let's discuss. 
Written by: Loveloth
Avast ye dirty landlubbers and hear me tale! Name's Tentaclebeard, cap'n Tentaclebeard, and allow me to blow yer breeches away with this mighty tale of adventure, loot, friendship, and grog--many barrels of it. During me long, scurvy-ridden life I met plenty of folk but naught compare to this group of swashbucklers. Three moons ago, me crew and aye careened near a wee island rumoured to have treasure. 'Twas a hot, dry day, like most in these cursed lands but aye'll never forget the moment we weighed anchor. On the beach, five odd-lookin' lads scurried along after burying something shiny in the sands. Didn't take long before the buggers were caught for me crew is an experienced lot but so were these lads it be turnin' out. Calm as that Tortugan one-eyed drunkard these scurvy dogs were. Even me trusty parrot squawked in anger but even with ol' Bertha yellin' the fivetet remain'd cool, cool as the northern winds up in... arrrr ye get the point. Where was aye? Aye, 'twas a...blimey, get me some grog laddie, have ye no respect for old sea dogs like yarr's truly? What kind of wenches owns this bilge-sucking tavern anyway, bunch of landlubbers, don't even get me drinks...arrrgh, back to me tale. 
Written by: Lord Hsrah
2020 has most definitely proven to be an immensely dreadful year--and that's saying the least in every way. It is in these times of turmoil and unrest that we often turn to the arts for comfort and solace and peace, to find an escape from all the chaos around us. And of all the arts and recreations, the one singular thing that lights our lives up is music, and, thankfully, for the power metal geek that I am, this year hasn't been short of providing power metal in decent abundance. Today I'm feeling like some driving symphonies, some operatic vocals, some ballads...and guess what! I have just the thing on hand that I'm looking for. Let's take a look at Northern Irish symphonic power metallers Ravenlight's first full-length album, Project Genesis.  Written by: Lord Hsrah
What comes to your mind when someone mentions power metal in a conversation? Enchanting and melodic music? Trailblazing, blistering solos faster than Flash zipping and unzipping his pants? Soaring clean vocals much higher than your worst LSD trip? The most grandest of grand and rich choruses that they can afford buying a villa on a beach in LA? Because when I found Ascension (UK) guitarist Fraser Edwards' The Architect in my inbox, I was more than assured that I'll be getting all those things in a single package (not the villa, of course,) and that I wouldn't be disappointed. Being the sucker that I am for some tasty and exquisite power metal, Fraser definitely dropped a banger of an album, and this time with a much louder bang than his previous one, of which I'm sure, the sound of explosion will reverberate even outside Japan.  Written by: Lord Hsrah
Beyond the Red Mirror follows after a long 5-year wait since German power metal titans Blind Guardian's last studio release, which was 2010's At the Edge of Time. The record received warm and positive reception from both fans and the media alike. Beyond the Red Mirror, however, is a completely different gravy compared to At the Edge... or some of their releases of the 21st century such as A Twist In The Myth, which saw the band move increasingly to a more progressive direction. Released by Nuclear Blast, Beyond the Red Mirror is a concept album that loosely follows the events of their 1995 masterpiece Imaginations From the Other Side. And like it's prequel, this is a very riff driven album that was the Krefeld-formed band's style for the 80's and the first part of their 90's records. The orchestral elements climb higher up the pecking order of the song composition percentage, taking the band to a more classical side. This is also the first album to feature new bassist, Barend Courbois, following the departure of long time session bass player, Oliver Holzwarth, who left the German outfit after filling in for bass duties, both live and in the studio for 13 years.  In the drafty scriptorum of this Sleeping Village, power metal--and, by extension, said genre's upper echelon--serves a remarkably utilitarian purpose: pumping us the fuck up. In the turbulent seas of heavy music, very little rivals the charybdian draw of power metal's trademark infectious chest-pounding braggadocio.
As such, regardless of your contradictory opinions, and despite the (generally) bloody subject matter, an untouchable positivity reigns eternal in this particular arena. There's nothing like a little dose of Powerwolf or Judicator or Blind Guardian or Turisas or Falconer or Sabaton to banish a bad mood. Soaring vocals, lusty choral battlecries, meathook melodies, stomping riffage, and the promise of (obnoxiously) omniscient keyboard provide, for better or for worse, a highly energetic and uplifting experience. And, for that alone, power metal has earned a perpetual timeshare in our township. |
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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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