Some bands gave us their best music using the most refined format. The most obvious examples that come to mind are "Haunting the Chapel" and "Fiend for Blood".
These two releases belong in absolute top-ten metal records of all time for me, they don't share a second of filler between two of them, both innovative, raw and timeless.
What are the best (metal) EPs for You?
Two absolute classics to kick off the thread! I'd have to go with
Absu - In The Eyes of Ioldanach, the version of Mannanan on this is even better than on Tara.
Belial - Wisdom of Darkness. Better than any of their full lengths.
Macabre - Grim Reality. Absolutely ripping from start to finish. Not my favourite Macabre release but the speed and venom on this one is insane.
Isen Torr - Mighty and Superior. Does this count seeing as how it's the only thing they released? Either way it's a classic.
On that note, Death's Crown Is Victory could probably make my list as well.
Quote from: Slaughterday on July 09, 2021, 11:46:22 PM
Two absolute classics to kick off the thread! I'd have to go with
Absu - In The Eyes of Ioldanach, the version of Mannanan on this is even better than on Tara.
Belial - Wisdom of Darkness. Better than any of their full lengths.
Macabre - Grim Reality. Absolutely ripping from start to finish. Not my favourite Macabre release but the speed and venom on this one is insane.
Isen Torr - Mighty and Superior. Does this count seeing as how it's the only thing they released? Either way it's a classic.
On that note, Death's Crown Is Victory could probably make my list as well.
Was only typing out the Absu one as you posted. Great tunes off it.
Jesu: Heart Ache hands down for me. They've/he's never topped it (under that name, anyway).
For me, Pentecost III is the best thing Anathema ever did and it's what comes to mind when I think of great EPs.
Quote from: Carnage on July 10, 2021, 12:08:35 AM
Jesu: Heart Ache hands down for me. They've/he's never topped it (under that name, anyway).
I do think he's topped it but only in the s/t. Both are outstanding anyway. I think after Silver the quality dipped until "Everyday...but I love the majority of Jesu regardless.
There's a few class EPs. As well as than the Jesu mentioned above:
Deathspell Omega - "Drought"
NIN - "Broken"
Meshuggah - "I"
First three that come to mind from my favourites.
Eve of The Conqueror by Gospel of the Horns is probably the EP that has got most spins alongside the two from Primordial.
Quote from: Anton Arcane on July 10, 2021, 12:23:34 AM
For me, Pentecost III is the best thing Anathema ever did and it's what comes to mind when I think of great EPs.
Yup! Good call...
I have a hard time classing it as an EP, though.
It's over 37mins, like.
Over 40mins if you include the hidden track.
Pentecost III is a good shout, Crestfallen deserves a mention too.
Sticking with Peaceville, My Dying Bride's Symphonaire Infernus Et Spera Empyrium is up there.
Some good types so far. Never heard the one from Gospel of the Horns.
Just remembered that"Reclaim" is the best release under Keep of Kalessin moniker for me.
Mercyful Fate s/t EP has to get a shout here too. Along with Melissa it's their best material.
Quote from: koper on July 10, 2021, 08:13:56 AM
Some good types so far. Never heard the one from Gospel of the Horns
Few great riffs jammed in to this short blast
https://youtu.be/UAm-jI-oF6E
Despise The Sun by Suffocation really hits the spot. I'd love to see that played live with Frank on vocals. Serious chops on that EP.
All the Cathedral ones.
Deathspell Omega - Kenose, Chaining the Katechon, Diabolus Absconditus, Mass Grave Aesthetics
Grave Miasma - Exalted Emanation
CdG - Spectres Over Transylvania
Katharsis - Fourth Reich
Too many to list.
Hellripper - Black Arts and Alchemy
Sodom - In the Sign of Evil
Voivod - Post Society
Quote from: Pip on July 10, 2021, 01:44:30 PM
Hellripper - Black Arts and Alchemy
Sodom - In the Sign of Evil
Voivod - Post Society
Best Sodom release IMO, rough!
Nuclear Assault: The Plague EP (best track: Cross of Iron)
Speaking of thrash EPs, Return To The Apocalyptic City was my introduction to Testament and remains to be my favourite release from them.
Quote from: leatherface on July 10, 2021, 02:20:35 PM
Nuclear Assault: The Plague EP (best track: Cross of Iron)
Good shout
I'd add
Kreator - Flag of Hate
Pagan Altar - The Time Lord
Satan - Into the future
Possessed- The eyes of horror
With more recent releases I'd add
Galaxy - Lost from the start
Gorguts - Pleiades' dust
Reversed - Widow Recluse
I'm enjoying the Darkthrone and Cirith Ungol eps, and the re-released Night Demon ep.
The 200 Stab Wounds ep is good too
The Senzar ep is great
Therapy?: Teethgrinder, shortsharpshock, Face The Strange EPs all excellent.
Dead Can Dance: Garden Of The Arcane Delights, the first step from their goth rock sound to what they eventually became.
Metallica: Garage Days Re-Revisited. Might be a covers EP but back in the day was still on a high level.
Massacre: Inhuman Condition. Nice coda to From Beyond.
Anthrax: Armed And Dangerous. The Sex Pistols cover is a bit shit but otherwise mighty stuff.
An honourable mention for SAP and Jar of Flies. 2 brilliant EP's.
In addition to some of the ones I've seen (Nuke, Slayer, Kreator etc), I'd add
Helloween - Helloween EP
Toxik - Breaking Class
Rhapsody - Rain of a Thousand Flames
Forbidden - Raw Evil
Sacred Reich - Surf Nicaragua
Paradise Lost - Seals the Sense
Overkill - Fuck You
But when it comes down to the best ever?
In Flames - Subterranean.
Carcass- Tools of the trade!
Queensryche Self titled EP
Good shout on Jar of Flies/Sap. Let me add Babyteeth to the list.
Solstice 'Halcyon needs a mention.
^
And Pleasure Death, I prefer that to Babyteeth TBH.
Another vote for Sap & Jar Of Flies.
Sap & Jar of Flies here too.
There's quite a few rather great Irish e.ps that I'm fond of. The best one being Ground Of Ruins Cloaked In Doctrine. An excellent e.p and one I still listen to quite regularly. Pity they never released a full length.
Mourning Of The Heretic released two really cool e.p's as well.
I'm really digging the new Incessant one too.
I'd mention the Mass Extinction one in terms of Irish EPs.
Shit how could I forget the kings of the format...Sadistic Intent! Never released anything but EPs.
Timeghouls 2 EPs. The second ep is some of the best death metal ever recorded. 2 songs is enough to perfectly distinguish a specific style. They never released an album, which is one of the biggest what coulda beens in music.
Vanitas - ceremony, one of those random 1ep band camp bands I heard years ago that never did anything of note since
Grand Belials key - triumph of the hordes, unlike the rest of their material. Sloppy, more traditionally BM & has one of the worst played (but woulnt change it) solos. Objectively terrible music but hard to beat
Blood incantation - interdimensional extinction, great riffs & great artwork & before the hype train got rolling
Personally, best EPs overall:
CELTIC FROST - Morbid Tales AND Emperor's Return
Best Black Metal EP:
CARPATHIAN FOREST - Through Chasm, Caves and Titan Woods
I've been spinning Gehenna's "First Spell" a lot recently though...
Those two Celtic Frost are excellent alright. Related, I'd also place Apocalyptic Raids pretty high on my list.
Agalloch - Of Stone, Wind and Pillor' is a great EP. The improvement their cover of Kneel to the Cross is on the original. Unbeatable.
Quote from: Caomhaoin on July 11, 2021, 09:01:28 PM
Agalloch - Of Stone, Wind and Pillor' is a great EP. The improvement their cover of Kneel to the Cross is on the original. Unbeatable.
One of the best covers by anyone ever.
Great thread. Cold Dark Place by Mastodon is class.
Quote from: 101_North on July 10, 2021, 07:13:36 PM
An honourable mention for SAP and Jar of Flies. 2 brilliant EP's.
Classics
I'm surprised Bolzer hasn't been mentioned
2 classic EPs
3 even
Good call, Aura is a whopper but Hero just knocked it out of the park. Lese Majesty was great too!
Quote from: Jward on July 12, 2021, 10:57:53 AM
I'm surprised Bolzer hasn't been mentioned
2 classic EPs
3 even
Yes, definitely 3!
Cold Dark Place is a great listen too, really like it a lot.
14 minutes of absolute perfection from Ilenkus, this is up in my favourites of all time, from anywhere
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6P84MF4xSc
Quote from: Mower Liberation Front on July 10, 2021, 07:49:36 PM
But when it comes down to the best ever?
In Flames - Subterranean.
Amazing ep, and Black Ash Inheritance isn't bad either.
Loads of brilliant eps mentioned already (Haunting the Chapel :-*), I would add:
Dimension Zero - Penetrations from the Lost World
The Graveyard Dirt eps x 2
Metallica: The $5.98 E.P.: Garage Days Re-Revisited
The original one with the goofy cover picture (not the re-release). Released right before '..and Justice For All', remember buying it at the time, still got the tape (minus inlay sadly). A solid release but nothing special, not supposed to be . Best track: The Small Hours.
Quote from: Yung Led Zeppelin on July 13, 2021, 12:18:41 PM
14 minutes of absolute perfection from Ilenkus, this is up in my favourites of all time, from anywhere
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6P84MF4xSc
Good call man. And not forgetting that if we were doing a "The best videos" thread, Ilenkus would there again more than merit their place:
https://youtu.be/D5t6zMD0qWI
A shame they never got around to releasing a full length.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tv_b3UCK5Sg
EPs are great, the right length to include something of substance and rarely outstay their welcome. They're the perfect place for bands to experiment without ruining the flow of an album and sometimes re-record/update older tunes (probably the only context in my book where its fully permissible). Preferable place for cover versions too.
Though they can be totally ruined when there's some godawful and irrelevant dance remixes included. Even worse when its multiple variation of the same tune.
Great ones that spring to mind -
Armoured Angel - Stigmartyr
Cathedral – Soul Sacrifice and the Static Majik/Cosmic Funeral EP
Entombed – Crawl (best thing they ever did!)
Samael – Rebellion (perfect example of an ep – New track, Cover song, rerecorded tracks and some experimentation)
Aeon - Dark Order (albums never did anything for me)
Cardinal Sin – Spiteful Intents (ex-Dissection/Marduk - pity they never did any more)
Slayer – Haunting the Chapel
Summoning – Nightshade Forests
Paul Chain Violet Theatre – Detaching from Satan
St Vitus – The Walking Dead & Thirsty & Miserable
Autopsy – Retribution for the Dead
Reverent Bizzare – Harbinger of Metal (taking the piss a bit with the EP tag, with a runtime of over 70 mins)
Quote from: vinterland on July 22, 2021, 03:33:33 PM
A shame they never got around to releasing a full length.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tv_b3UCK5Sg
Beat me to it as I was typing :abbath:
Elder's Spires Burn/Release EP is great, it hinted at something a bit more ambitious which they would go on to do with Lore a couple of years later.
Quote from: Noisymute on July 22, 2021, 03:59:32 PM
Quote from: vinterland on July 22, 2021, 03:33:33 PM
A shame they never got around to releasing a full length.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tv_b3UCK5Sg
Beat me to it as I was typing :abbath:
Great minds and all that!
A band in a similar vein who did go on to release a couple of full lengths. Lead singer Henke Forss also did vocals on In Flames' Subterranean. The Swedish title is a direct translation of track number two "Sorrow Flew on Black Wings." A cover version, not untypical to eps is also included as well as an almost obligatory instrumental.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UoMd_HtYZE
Cannibal Corpse - Worm Infested, is a quality EP.
Three cracking Corpse songs and three great covers- Demons Night - Accept
Confessions - Possessed
No Remorse - Metallica
Its the one I've listened to most often by a long shot but that said I don't have a whole heap of EPs.
Oddsocks Revival (Sligo band) - East of jacksonville, is fucking brilliant too, on the non-metal end of things.
Has Confessor's s/t EP been mentioned yet? The title track is superb and the two amazing Trouble covers outdo the originals IMO.
It hasn't. Always a controversial mention! The Captain Beefheart of doom metal haha. I agree on the title track, but wouldn't go quite so far about the Trouble covers myself! Might throw it on here now; I bought it off, I think, the boul Goatlord way, way back in the day.
A shout for Dark Tranquillity's "Enter Suicidal Anglels" with three solid tracks before one of the most bizarre outros I've ever come across. Zodijackyl Light hinted at what would turn out to be their magnum opus in The Mind's I.
Quote from: Black Shepherd Carnage on July 22, 2021, 06:52:19 PM
It hasn't. Always a controversial mention! The Captain Beefheart of doom metal haha. I agree on the title track, but wouldn't go quite so far about the Trouble covers myself! Might throw it on here now; I bought it off, I think, the boul Goatlord way, way back in the day.
I've never owned it, bar in a roundabout way - all three tracks are on the Gods Of Grind CD. Superb band, if headache inducing at times. That drummer is a force of nature.
Ah, of course! There's a Gods of Grind tour sticker on the sleeve.
Plenty of great EPs already mentioned.
Dark Funeral self titled EP.
Emperor self titled EP.
Moonspell under the moonspell EP.
Anathema crestfallen,pentecost III EP
Primordial The burning season EP.
Burzum Aske EP.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFMuSI9s8hM
This came out about six years or so ago, I think they were an Australian band. Very good trad HM/epic Pagan Altar type stuff. I don't think they released anything else though.
Speaking of Pagan Altar, The Time Lord EP is another good one.
God shout on The Time Lord. Unreal. I'll have to give Zodiac a spin.
Cradle of Filth-Vempire. A band often derided for a variety of reasons I won't go into here. There's still no doubt in my mind that Vempire was an outstanding ep and "Queen of Winter Throned" and "Nocturnal Supremacy" have stood the test of time over a quarter of a century later. Not bad for an ep which was mainly released to loosen the shackles of contractual obligation.
Dimmu Borgir-Devil's Path. Suffice to say the two cover versions of Nocturnal Fear could scarcely be deemed essential but the title track is surely one of the best songs they've ever penned along with a staple of their live sets in "Master of Disharmony."
Sepultura - Beastial Devastation
Sacred Reich - Surf Nicaragua
Destruction- Sentence of Death
Agent Steel - Mad Locust
Napalm Death - Leaders not Followers Part 1
Dissection - Where Dead Angels
Mayhem - Deathcrush
Emperor-reverence/emperor/wrath of the tyrant
Destroyer 666 - Terror Abraxas/of wolves/call of the wild
Surely the Zyklon b ep is in contention
https://youtu.be/nrfEf0dwvu0
Their best release IMO.
Parish - God's Right Hand
Should be of interest to Pagan Altar fans
Ten Ton Slug - Blood And Slime.
Its an absolute fucking ripper of an ep.
Not sure if it's been mentioned already but Katatonia's "For Funerals to Come" has to be worth a shout. Especially for those, like myself, who wish they'd continued the style witnessed on "Dance of December Souls."
'Dance of December Souls' is great. I must have a listen to that EP.
Sounds of Decay by Katatonia one if the best eps ever! ,peak katatonia for me!
Quote from: vinterland on August 11, 2021, 09:42:04 AM
Not sure if it's been mentioned already but Katatonia's "For Funerals to Come" has to be worth a shout. Especially for those, like myself, who wish they'd continued the style witnessed on "Dance of December Souls."
I listened to that last night. I'll need to pick it up and give it some proper attention as it sounds cool but some of the chaotic drumming sounds bizarre. I'm not sure if it's bizarre good or bad yet...
Hard to beat In the sign of Evil.
Hecatomb by Repugnant, probably my favourite post 2000 EP. jeez, came out in 1999, had 2003 in my head, still one of the best though.
Also Dead Congregation - Purifying Consecrated ground deserves a mention.
Purifying consecrated ground has just been reissued on vinyl too. Great one to add to the collection
Quote from: Carnage on July 25, 2021, 12:31:53 AM
https://youtu.be/nrfEf0dwvu0
Their best release IMO.
Quote from: Carnage on July 25, 2021, 12:31:53 AM
https://youtu.be/nrfEf0dwvu0
Their best release IMO.
Would nearly have to agree with you there
Mick Harris played it to Scott Burns, & explained that this was the sound they were looking for when recording Harmony Corruption
I'd say Scott was mortified :laugh:
Scorn have some great EPs btw
Quote from: Eoin McLove on August 13, 2021, 11:42:41 AM
Quote from: vinterland on August 11, 2021, 09:42:04 AM
Not sure if it's been mentioned already but Katatonia's "For Funerals to Come" has to be worth a shout. Especially for those, like myself, who wish they'd continued the style witnessed on "Dance of December Souls."
I listened to that last night. I'll need to pick it up and give it some proper attention as it sounds cool but some of the chaotic drumming sounds bizarre. I'm not sure if it's bizarre good or bad yet...
The drums on "For funerals to come" are a taint on what could have been their best output. They sound as if they had been programmed even though there's a human feel to it. It's still a fantastic EP, but "Sounds of Decay" is neck in neck with "Dance of December Souls" IMO.