Top 5 Metal EPs of 2013 (sort of).
EPs are great as they can launch a band or act as a stopgap between full lengths and still keep you interested in the music your favourites are producing. These five are really great and mostly metal. You may notice the one that sticks out like the proverbial sore thumb. It's necessary.
Ash Borer - Bloodlands
Gilead Media
Ash Borer's strand of black metal is engaging and deep. They're way ahead of their peers and this EP shows that they aren't anywhere near done. Listen.
Bölzer - Aura
Iron Bonehead Productions
Bölzer's Aura would probably be the best release of the year if it was a full length and could be counted for the best records list. Instead, its home is here and it rightly takes a place for one of the most incredible works of blackened metal in 2013. Buy.
Burial - Rival Dealer
Hyperdub Records
Surprise! A new Burial EP. The electonic producer is one of the most seretive on the scene and so springing this on unsuspecting fans was perfect. Buy.
Liar In Wait - Translations of the Lost
Profound Lore Records
Goth has never sounded so good and Liar In Wait bring a fresh take to the heady darkness with Translations of the Lost. Listen.
Opium Lord - The Calendrical Cycle - Prologue: The Healer
Thirty Days of Night Records
Birmingham based Opium Lord have found themselves in many other bands in their past and their skills are put to the fore in this short, but definitely not sweet doomed out, sludgy monstrosity. Buy.
