I like reading other peoples ‘end of year’ lists just in case there is something on there that I’ve missed. Why, just this year alone I discovered the rather wonderful Colin Stetson via some list or other, and I’m sure…
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It’s kind of preposterous that of all of the dedicated writers here at the Sleeping Shaman that I should be one of the ones to attempt to round up the year in heavy music on its behalf. For starters, I…
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I recently submitted this to the Roadburn Top 10 albums of the year, if you haven’t submitted yours yet, you can do so here, but I thought I’d post the list here as well. 2011 has been a seriously good…
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In the fertile vineyards of heaviness, 2011 has been a good year and good, filthy rock music really is in its element right now. With greater press recognition, sold-out festivals, ever active promotions agencies, tons of new bands launching and…
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Buzz Osbourne once stated, that in the general public and music press’s scramble to pigeonhole the Melvins as the godfathers of whatever genre is currently in vogue (grunge, drone, sludge…), people seem to gloss over just how genuinely weird his…
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It seems I’m having trouble remembering what happened in 2009, all I can assess is there was an onslaught of forgettable albums baring a few exceptions. So I will have to look back and work out what the fuck happened….
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Q. What defines a great moment in film? A. When you can’t look away – when your eyes are fixed on the screen and everything else in your life is temporarily forgotten. The moment absorbs you, you are lost in…
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I am now approaching the middle of my life and I often find myself reminiscing about my drug experiences. Not that I’ve given up wanting to alter my state, I still have alcohol (often) and a smoke (sometimes), it’s just…
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So dear readers of The Shaman it has come to that time of the year, when we reflect on the past 12 months we have just lived and hastily bury it in the memory. The good times, not so good…
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Sludge is a thick mud or sediment, greasy, foul and noxious. Sounds good already. But when it comes to music, what the fuck do we mean by sludge? Like any label (and indeed it is a label, just like ‘grindcore’…
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