Though we are in the home stretch of the year, we still have some awesome EPs being released for us to dive into. Let’s check them out!
Wounded in Forest: Antihuman Artist
The debut EP from the Finnish death metallers is a 22-minute powerhouse of heaviness. The riffing is awesome, the drumming relentless, and the duel vocalled screams lend themselves perfectly to the sound! It’s a pretty traditional sound for the genre, but the varied screams and shrieks definitely add an interesting element, as well as the great production giving it a more modern feel. Tracks like karaoke the Son of a Bitch’ and ‘Godspeed Filthy Warrior’ are personal highlights, but there isn’t a weak link on this whole release, it going by in a flash! It’s certainly not a release for everyone, but it’s a must for anyone with even a passing interest in death metal. It’s a very easy 7.5/10 from us!
Josiah Kaye & The Bonnevilles: Winter
While we don’t typically talk about cover releases often, this is a fantastic collection of countrified tracks for, to state the obvious, the winter season, and is a really great listen! From the traditional ‘Silent Night’ to ‘Silver Bells’ to more modern stuff like a better version on 1975’s ‘Wintering’, it’s packed full of fantastic, fitting tracks. And somehow, a basic Americana-folk arrangement still somehow carries a festive feel to it throughout. It’s a simple, beautiful release that honestly I’d happily listen to not just for the festive season. If you’re into country-folk stuff, and aren’t a grinch, do yourselves a favour and check this out! His vocals are incredible and it’s insane that this is my first introduction to Josiah, I’ll have to keep a closer eye on him for his original stuff. 8/10, it would have gotten even higher if they were original tracks!
Kakihara: Love Songs, Pt. 2
The first release from the Scottish hardcore band in a couple of years honestly threw me through a loop a little. Firstly, where is part 1? Secondly, I didn’t expect hardcore heading into this, but I was blasted by crazy heaviness for a solid just eight minutes across its five tracks. Honestly, it’s fucking awesome! Any regular readers of this site this year will know just how much I’ve gotten into hardcore, and this is no different, capping off the year in aggressive, heavy style. The flow through the whole thing is exceptional; I barely knowing where one track ends and the other starts without looking. And from the crushing instrumentation to the brutal vocals, it’s all performed so well! I can’t pick highlight tracks, it’s all one big performance and all of it slaps. Do yourselves a favour and check this out ASAP, you won’t be disappointed! 9/10, DAMN.