Broken EarthSomniphobia

What’s Somniphobia you ask? Medical professionals have described it as the intense anxiety and terror that surrounds sleep.

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It’s spooky stuff, and fittingly, it’s influenced Broken Earth’s single of the same name.

Ominous opening synths hark back to classic scare-fests like The Nightmare On Elm Street. If the legendary Wes Craven was still around, we have no doubt he’d be slamming a credit card down on the table, insisting the band take his money. From these melodies, the track transitions into unbridled brutality. There is syncopated instrumentation and breakdowns that may as well come with a tag reading just add a pit.

Somniphobia is the kind of track that could punch you in the face, and leave you asking for more.

And we can’t go past the tandem vocals of Raph Smith and guitarist Ben Robinson. They’ve left us feeling like the Old El Paso girl. And with so much strength in both their haunting, clean vocals and deep sludgy growls there’s really no reason to not have both! But the band’s biggest strength lies in their vulnerability. Somniphobia shines for its candid expression of mental health struggles, and it will undoubtedly set many important conversations in motion. Somniphobia is one powerful listen. Thematically and sonically intense; it’s the kind of track that could punch you in the face and leave you asking for more. And as for Broken Earth, they’ve cemented their status as technical wizards who are damn good at what they do. If they continue on this path, they’ll be dominating the Oz heavy scene in no time.

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