In case you’re asking yourself “Where did El Cuervo go and why has he been replaced by a handsome, bearded wizard who is also ripped and buff?” rest assured that all is well with the original EP wrangler. In what could only be described as a Christmas miracle, he has passed the privilege of organizing AMG’s yearly EP post unto myself and Dolphin WhisEPerer so that he might finally have the time to catch up on reading all the comments on his Opeth review. Let it be known that we treat this gravest of responsibilities with the utmost respect.
But enough faffing about, the most important thing is this cornucopia of EP’s, splits, singles, and demos we’ve arranged for you. Shorter-form releases like these are the patron saint of hidden gems. Rarely do they fall in the same hype cycle typically reserved for LP’s, so once a year we like to pay our respects to the oft-overlooked, unsung heroes of our metal community. They provide a necessary space for both fledgling and established bands to experiment with wild ideas that might not sustain a full release, or they can be a great outlet for bands to focus on their strongest material without weaker songs diluting the overall experience. Come, rejoice! Take a well-deserved break from the exhausting bloat of boring, regular albums, and bask in the majesty of the tighter focus and accessibility of short-form release with your bearded pal, Mystikus Hugebeard!
Make sure to return for Part II so that our Dolphin may Whisper1 to you of a whole new collection of releases!
Lathe // Hillclimber – Lathe are what you get when you mix the pedal steel and blues of country music with the atmosphere, weight and build-ups of post-metal. Hillclimber is written for a new lineup, adding an additional guitarist and a bassist, and it shows in the added density of their sound. As with their previous work, Hillclimber builds as it goes. “Weave” provides an almost spacey opening with a simple, twangy guitar melody and pedal steel embellishment. By “Blood,” trem-picked pedal steel, pounding drums and big riffs trade places with amp noise. Hillclimber isn’t revolutionary, hewing close stylistically to the post-ier, less dancy or rocky side of Tongue of Silver. But the riffs are big, the melodies pretty, and the atmosphere dense, and it says promising things about the new lineup. – Sentynel
Mammoth Grinder // Undying Spectral Resonance – Ever since the early 2010s Entombedcore wave fizzled out, I’ve longed for a band to revive that sound. With Undying Spectral Resonance, Mammoth Grinder seem to have answered the call. The band’s punky take on Swedeath has long offered Power Trip drummer Chris Ulsh a brawny way to flex his guitar and vocal abilities, but I never expected him to break Mammoth Grinder’s recording silence with something this heavy. Throughout most of these 14 minutes, Ulsh offers a hoarse roar that’s monstrous, a guitar tone that could crush boulders, and riffs that are downright punishing. “Corpse of Divinant” plows forward on muscular grooves that will have your inner hardcore kiddo dripping with arousal, while “Obsessed with Death” closes out the EP with a D-beating for the ages. Plopping an atmospheric synth interlude in the middle of a five-song tracklist was an odd choice, but at least it makes the midpaced lurch of “Decrease the Peace” sound even more massive. Let’s just hope we get more from these guys sooner rather than later. – Mark Z.
Undying Spectral Resonance by Mammoth Grinder
Glassbone // Deaf to Suffering – Frens of the blog know that I love me some good slam. The harder it hammers, the better. And while there were several tectonic options released this year, none hit the way latecomer EP Deaf to Suffering has. Courtesy of French buzzsaw hardcore/slam brutalists Glassbone, Deaf to Suffering springs into action with the absolutely devastating “Post Mortem Declaration” and doesn’t let up for nearly twenty minutes of high-octane, hook-laden, filthy slam. Highlight “In Your Guts” sends me into a feral state with rabid riffs that are as lethal as the disease itself. “Sanctified By the Blade” transforms my body into this musclebound mass of testosterone mountainous enough to flatten entire plots of sequoia trees. The title track even brings a certain old-school death vitriol, characterized best by a classic sounding solo, that adds substantial dynamics to Glassbone’s slam-based concoction. Every song offers its own voice while still maintaining the status quo of total demolition, and yet it feels like Deaf to Suffering elevates the slamscape past the norm and into the extraordinary. –TheKenWord
Deaf to Suffering – EP by Glassbone
Counterparts // Heaven Let Them Die – Counterparts is renowned for their confrontational and vulnerable take on melodic hardcore and notable contributions to metalcore. Heaven Let Them Die is the Canadians’ heaviest release by far, delivering the weight of its title in its clear influence from vocalist Brendan Murphy’s time in caustic hardcore act End. With crushing riffs and breakdowns ripped at vicious speed, vocals spit with vitriol and venom, there’s a distinct weight, both aurally and existentially, that gives Heaven Let Them Die its power. From its reverb-laden plods that let the haunting leads guide the blastbeat-inclusive fury (“A Martyr Left Alive,” “Praise No Artery Intact”), to all-out assaults that abuse tempos with their punishing heft (“With Loving Arms Disfigured,” “No Lamb Was Lost”), it’s hard to believe that this is the same group that released You’re Not You Anymore or A Eulogy For Those Still Here. Punishing, vitriolic, and existentially weighty, Counterparts embarks on unforeseen journeys of blasphemy and pain. Closer “Heaven Let Them Die” exemplifies this act’s strengths, tying up the common lyrical motif screamed with throat-shredding intensity, that you’ll be howling for days: “HEAVEN… LET THEM… DIIIIIIEEEEEEEE!!!” – Dear Hollow
Heaven Let Them Die by Counterparts
夢遊病者 (Sleepwalker) // Delirium Pathomutageno Adductum2 – The last outing by Russian/Japanese/American experimental, avant-garde, blackened noise outfit 夢遊病者, Noč Na Krayu Sveta, was my favorite EP of 2021. This year’s Delirium Pathomutageno Adductum is, if anything, even more unhinged. Like stepping into one of those nightmares that you don’t initially realise is a nightmare, parts of DPA are strangely soothing and delicate, wrapping you in lullaby-like melodies. But then, sometimes without you even noticing at first, warped melodies weave their way into the mix, before distorted, blackened vocals creep in, even as half-heard blast beats start to pound in the background. Shifting through their chameleonic palette, 夢遊病者 deploy bouzouki, uke, vibraphone, church organ and more, alongside more standard instrumentation, to create soundscapes worthy of the title Delirium. Tracked across three continents, this doubtless adds to the disconcerting sense of dizzying vertigo that infuses much of the EP, furthered by contributions from various gospel, Americana, and jazz guests. If you’re looking for a really weird night in, check this out, especially the closing duo of “Telepath Transport Wing” and “Aurum Iris Loop.” – Carcharodon
Delirium Pathomutageno Adductum by 夢遊病者
Entheos // An End to Everything – As Entheos continues to move into waters with increased breaks into clean, melodic refrains as peak points—a step first taken with 2023’s Time Will Take Us All—a continued adherence to their riff-led, groove-centered brand of techy death metal remains vital to their impact. Chunky riff after chunky riff after chunky riff hits first and repeatedly allows An End to Everything to crackle as the leanest both in length and pit-stirring effect of any Entheos album since 2016’s The Infinite Nothing. But more than just offering slinky slide-to-triplet rushes (“And End to Everything”) or snaking staccato beatings (“Life in Slow Motion”), Entheos offers throat-ripping breeeees, snarls, and hissing goblin assaults via Chaney Crabb’s extreme vocal commitment. Though comparable to frequent touring mates Alluvial3 in tone and tumble, Crabb delivers the necessary differentiation, complete with melodic chorus cries that stick like anthemic ear candy to an audience who patiently awaits sweet indulgence. Fit for a fifteen-minute power set, a pre-meeting energy blitz, or simply a destructive arm-throwing about your own home, An End to Everything feels both complete as a short-form work and steadfast a promise that Entheos plans to continue on a grooving path to success. – Dolphin Whisperer
An End to Everything by ENTHEOS
Sylvaine // Eg Er Framand – Widely maligned for their ear-splitting volume and indecipherable vertical chords, pipe organs have a softer, ethereal side that often goes overlooked. Sylvaine’s gorgeous EP pits her otherworldly voice against hypnotic, shimmering high organ registrations, a duet custom-built to melt this frozen heart. Organs are designed for the spaces they inhabit,4 ensuring their resonance melds with the architecture of their home, and the descending spiral motif that bookends “Dagsens Auga Sloknar Ut” and “Tussmørke” duplicates this integration into Sylvaine’s music. There’s something of the eternal about this EP, its vibrating vocal harmonies and sustained wind tones suspending the passage of time and evoking both dusk and dawn. My 2024 opened with a death and ended with a birth; I can think of few soundtracks more fitting than Eg Er Framand. – Iceberg
Persefone // Lingua Ignota Pt. 1 – How shall I put this? What Carcharodon is to Kanonenfieber, I consider myself to Persefone. These Andorrans have always been a masterclass of blending insanely good musicianship with effortless technicality and rousing melodic movements. After longtime vocalist Marc Pia was replaced by Eternal Storm’s Daniel R. Flys, I feared that my beloved Persefone was gone, but I’m happy to say Lingua Ignota Pt. 1 dispelled my doubts. For one, it utilizes what Persefone has always done best; the music growing in intensity at the end of “Lingua Ignota” channels the iconic escalations from “Living Waves” (Aathma) and “Spiritual Migration (Spiritual Migration). However, as always, Lingua Ignota Pt. 1 is another step in Persefone’s evolution. “One Word” is one of Persefone’s most direct songs to date, with a powerful, memorable chorus betwixt tight, technical riffage, and adds a new dimension with Flys’ clean vocals joining Miguel Espinosa’s previously solo cleans. “Abyssal Communication” closes the EP with moving ambience, which Persefone has always loved to do, but follows Metanoia’s further emphasis on synth tones and is pleasantly dynamic, working well as a standalone track instead of just a send-off. It’s all fantastic, because it’s quintessentially Persefone, only now in a bite-sized and endlessly replayable size. Compact and to the point, yet still offering a wide breadth of intoxicating riffs and solos, Lingua Ignota Pt. 1 stands strong in their discography and even brings back a consistency I felt was slightly missing from 2022’s Metanoia. – Mystikus Hugebeard
Lingua Ignota: Part I by Persefone
Dislimn // Esmee – You never appreciate how good Bandcamp can be until a band doesn’t have one, and it has made Dislimn tragically difficult to find. I was lucky to stumble upon them in the promo sump whereupon I made a mental note to check later, but most people lack that kind of resource. Dislimn’s Esmee is a lovely piece of shimmering doomgaze with a heavy stoner edge, and I think they deserve a fair bit more attention than they’ve received. It’s a queer mix of stoner, prog, and post that lands through Dislimn’s impeccable vibes and simple but gripping songwriting. Esmee starts off gentle; the radio-friendly post-lite opener “Anxiety” is the perfect tune to float through a depressive dreamlike haze, but as time passes, the music develops some bite. The riffs in tracks like “Esmee’s Story” and “In My Mind” are straightforward, memorable, and crunchy with just the right amount of fuzz, while vocalist Alix’s dreamlike ever-soft vocals serenely soar above. “Gullfoss” is a bit of an oddball; a rockin’ and a rollin’ riffy jaunt sandwiched between emotive, brooding doomgaze is a bit of a lurch, but it grows on you. Overall, Esmee is the sort of unassuming EP that stealthily sinks its claws into you. I’ve returned to Esmee’s dreamy gloom many a time now, and I reckon you will too. – Mystikus Hugebeard
The post EP / Split / Single Roundup of 2024, Part 1 appeared first on Angry Metal Guy.