(Andy Synn promises to review more EPs this year… we’ll see about that!)
Every year I promise that I’m going to feature and review more EPs here at NCS… and every year I fail spectacularly at this, and have to jam in all the short-form releases of the year into my annual “List Week” instead.
But, mark my words, this year things are going to be different! Although, I might have said that before…
OBSCURE SPHINX – EMOVERE
We’re going to start things out with the long-awaited new release from a band who have been firm favourites of ours here at NCS for a long time now (in fact it’s been over eleven years since they released this magnum opus,2013’s Void Mother, and almost eight years since the excellent Epitaphs).
So to say that the anticipation – and our expectations – for Obscure Sphinx‘s new EP were pretty high would be something of an understatement, but thankfully the band have once again failed to disappoint.
One thing which soon becomes clear during stunning opener “Scarcity Hunter” is that while the band have lost none of their prodigious sonic power – the heaving guitars still distort the gravity around them while the low, brooding bass lines rumble like the moving of tectonic plates – they’ve also managed to imbue their sound with a little more moody melody as well, with the shimmering, shivering second half of the track in particular showcasing a more melodically vulnerable approach that’s more Amenra than Cult of Luna this time around.
Of course, the multi-faceted, viscerally emotive, and instantly recognisable vocals of frontwoman Zofia Fraś remain one of the major selling points of the band – with her raw-throated howls and captivating cleans during “As I Stood Upon the Shore” helping to remind both new and old listeners just why she’s considered one of the most versatile and inimitable vocalists out there by so many – but it’s still clear that Emovere is a true group effort, one which not only gives each member of the band a chance to shine (the extravagant ebb and flow of “Nethergrove” especially gives the entire group the space they need to push themselves, both individually and collectively) but which also demonstrates just how creatively cohesive they are as a unit.
Honestly, the only slight disappointment here is that Emovere isn’t a full-length album… but, even then, after waiting for so long I’m still happy to have any amount of Obscure Sphinx, and hopefully the follow-up (whatever form it may take) won’t take quite as long to appear!
SLAUGHTERSUN – BLACK MARROW
Do you like riffs? Because Black Marrow, the debut EP from New Jersey’s Slaughtersun is absolutely full of some of the most technically twisted, yet unnervingly infectious, riffs you’re likely to have heard so far this year.
The kicker? These aren’t guitar riffs… they’re red-hot, razor-sharp violin riffs, all backed up by a hefty, bass-heavy bottom end and some eye-openingly intense drumming that serves to make this unusual, unorthodox take on Technical Death Metal perfect for fans of bands like Abysmal Dawn and Soreption.
First track proper “Fall of the Firmament” is an obvious highlight, featuring some of the most ridiculously catchy riffs and rhythms on the entire EP while also introducing you to the immensely impressive talents of each member of the band (violinist and band-leader Ben Karas obviously gets a lot of the attention, but vocalist Justin Hillman should also be praised for his powerhouse performance, while the technical talents of bassist Cody McCorry and drummer Jason Quinones ensure that the rhythm section is just as worthy of your acclaim).
Things get a little thrashier, and a little groovier, during “Relentless Thelemic”, which sits somewhere between Psycroptic and Lamb of God on the heaviness scale, while “Ready Cell Awaits” pushes the band’s sound towards an even more unpredictable and technical direction not dissimilar to Gorod at their most extreme (with possibly an extra dash of Necrophagist thrown in for good measure), suggesting that while the band’s creative format is certainly different, the end result isn’t quite as “groundbreaking” as the hype suggests.
At the same time, however, much of that hype is justified, if only for just how good the band’s scorching songwriting (and outstanding instrumental abilities) can be, with the climactic title track successfully recapturing many of the same highs as the EP’s aforementioned opener, especially as it layers more and more proggy melody and unconventional hookiness throughout its stellar second half, ending the recording with a promise that the best is still to come from this particular project!
ΘΛΊΨΙΣ – SERVANTS OF APATHY
I think one of my favourite things in the world is stumbling across a band and just instantly clicking with their overall vibe and vision.
Case in point, while I may have overlooked the debut album from Hellenic Black Metal hellions Θλίψις (pronounced “Thlipsis“) back in 2023 (although our own DGR didn’t), from the moment I heard “Servants of Apathy” – the opening title track of their new EP – it was love at first sight (or sound).
Not only does the aforementioned opener immediately grab your attention with a mix of seething energy and scathing intensity – whose shameless hookiness and unapologetic, in your face attitude recalls the best of the best of bands like Woe, Uprising, and Trespasser – but it turns out that the group themselves, rather than indulging in the usual Satanic and/or nihilistic sensibilities associated with the genre, have dedicated their music to the oppressed and downtrodden (in this case by expressing their solidarity with the people of Palestine).
Sure, they’re far from the first band in Black Metal to embody the three Rs – revolution, rebellion, and resistance – and I’m certain they won’t be the last, but their obvious passion and conviction still gives their sound an extra edge which, to my ears at least, just seems to cut that little bit deeper.
And while the sleek, scalpel-sharp guitar melodies of “Servants of Apathy” have quickly made the song a firm favourite (and a shoe-in for this year’s “Most Infectious” list), the rest of the record hits just as hard (and cuts just as deeply), with the bold, heroic swagger (and prominent, pulsing bass-lines) of dynamic mid-EP mini-epic “Lament of a Dying Land” and the even more epic, riff-driven catharsis of closer “Ξυράφια Απελπισίας” taking the band’s sound to new heights without abandoning their roots in the process.