Another week and another handful of awesome EPs released into the music world. Let’s look at some of them, shall we?

Less Than Jake: Uncharted

The legendary 3rd wave ska band are back with their first new release since 2020. The band certainly haven’t lost a beat in their four years away from the studio. I was immediately transported back to the early 2000s from the opening track and didn’t leave there until 22 minutes later. All seven tracks on this thing are awesome too; just good fun, up-tempo goodness. My favourite songs are ‘Walking Pipebomb’ ‘Not My Problem’ and ‘Sunny Side’, but as I said, there really isn’t a bad track on the EP. Less Than Jake have been consistently great since they broke out, and I’m so glad they are finally returning to releasing new music again. We definitely don’t get enough ska punk these days, as there aren’t many bands coming up and the older ones have slowed down their releases, so it’s always amazing when we finally get drip-fed some. This is an easy 9/10. It very much took me back to my childhood and shows that Less Than Jake haven’t lost a step!

Lurking Terror: A World In Darkness

The American death metal band released their much anticipated debut EP today, and it’s a damn solid release at that! It’s got somehow both a real old-school feel to it, with hints of Slayer, but also a modern edge. Heck, it also has just a hint of blackened to it, with plenty of Venom influence, too! And, much like with the above EP, all five tracks across its 15-minute runtime are pretty great. My favourite song is probably ‘End of Days’, though, it goes hard. It’s certainly a release worth checking out for anyone into the heavier end of metal, and the band are going to go far if this is anything to go off! 8/10

Trollwar: Tales from the Frozen Wastes

Last but certainly not least this week, we have some amazing folk-death out of Canada. It’s awesome too, a real epic slab of heaviness, catchiness and power. It’s like a more power metal-infused Amon Amarth, and I loved every second of it. From the huge intro into the amazing ‘The Unseen One’, the release starts off incredibly strong. Then you have the other three tracks which are equally amazing, and it really makes for a solid EP. Somehow I’d never heard of the band before despite them having three albums out, but I’ll definitely be going back to check those out now! The band have a big new fan in me, and this is another easy 8/10!