Review Summary: The blitz before the warfare.
Mayhem, the band which doesn't need any introduction, always somehow re-wrote, or at least added something new to the concept of black metal with their progressive approach - noone can deny this. This was true to this little EP as well, these two songs brought the first earnests of the upcoming warfare, offering something new and fresh after 7 years of silence back then.
The EP consist, as mentioned before, only two songs: 'Psywar', taken from 'Esoteric Warfare', but with an alternative mastering; and 'From Beyond the Event Horizon' which was recorded back in 2012, in Budapest, when the band had one of its first demoing-songwriting sessions for their 5th album (this song can be found only in this EP).
The overall sound is very similar to the LP (duh): the unorthodox, somehow unpredictable song-structures make this a pleasant listen who like progressive taste in their black metal. But there are some differences, which are coming from the different mix and mastering (everyting is mastered by Teloch): the EP is more shady, sinister but probably more atmospheric. Compared to the LP, the drums and Attila's vocals are a bit less dominant and alltogether what you can hear is slightly more "blunt", or in other words, "less cutting" - if you know what I mean. But this is not bad at all: everyting is well organised and balanced, the whole sound is tight and clean, even the demoed second song - which might have been a huge step forward from 'Ordo ad Chao' back then. I'd like to also highlight the fact that the bass is more audible; especially in 'From Beyond the Event Horizon' adds a lot to the overall atmosphere, moving slowly in the background. Furthermore, of course, we can't overlook the fact: this short EP was Teloch's first appearance with the band. And he did a great job filling Blasphemer's emptied position: he delivered the first foretastes of some exciting riffs, both in technical and atmospheric aspects as well.
To cut it short now, 'Psywar' is just as great as 'Esoteric Warfare': the blitz before warfare which is worthy for a listen - at least just for the song 'From Beyond the Event Horizon'.
Bonus points for the sick artwork.
