A Very Ignimbrite 2012: EPs
I am proud to present the second installment of my 2012 rankings, this time a list of my favorite EPs of the year. Enjoy. |
| 45 |  | Lustre
Of Strength and Solace
black metal/blackgaze/post-rock - not perfect, but it does make me really want to check out these guys' back catalogue. solid stuff here. |
| 44 |  | Beauty of Sirin
Taina Tsvetka
blackgaze - short yet pretty enjoyable. |
| 43 |  | Iron Throne
Demo 2012
sludge metal - see 39 and 41 |
| 42 |  | Desolate Oasis
When Dreams Become Reality
blackgaze/post-metal - it ain't pulled off perfectly, but this accomplished what it was trying to do pretty successfully as far as these underground one-man black metal projects go. |
| 41 |  | Meanders
Promo 2012
post-metal - again, a debut hurt by bad production that displays a lot of potential. |
| 40 | | Can't Fake Nature
High Tide/Low Tide
post-rock/post-metal - instrumental stuff that's nothing super original, but it'll get you going if you're into this kind of thing. |
| 39 |  | A City Sorrow Built
Songs
screamo/post-rock - it was brought down by subpar production, but these guys have mad potential. |
| 38 |  | Sleeping Peonies
s l o w l y d i s a p p e a r i n g
blackgaze - shoutout to my boy Noctus. this wasn't as good as Ghosts and Other Things, but Sleeping Peonies are still one of the more enjoyable blackgaze projects out there. |
| 37 |  | Lunaire
With the Same Smile as Those Days
post-rock/blackgaze - very pretty stuff here |
| 36 |  | White Ward
Illusions
black metal - a bit monotonous, but the production's decent and the riffs are particularly good. |
| 35 |  | 6 Degrees
II
post-metal - bad production, but good ideas. |
| 34 |  | Gaunt
Demo
black metal - 33 |
| 33 |  | With Daggers
Widower
metalcore/hardcore - simple and well-executed stuff. |
| 32 |  | Enemy Noise
No Control, No Parade
hardcore - I forget who it is, but this band has a Sputniker in it. I think I may have promised whoever it was a review a long time ago and for not following through with that, I'm sorry... |
| 31 |  | Nous Etions
Limbes
screamo/post-rock - yeah |
| 30 |  | Irreversible
Ashes
post-metal/stoner metal - I didn't love this as much as other people did, but it's still some very solid post-metal with a ton of unique ideas involved. |
| 29 |  | Astronoid
November
blackgaze - short, sweet, melancholic, and very pretty. |
| 28 |  | Rodha
Raw
sludge metal/hardcore - heavy |
| 27 |  | Chronos
Appalachia
post-metal - see 8 and 16. these guys are gonna drop a full-length soon, and it will be one of the best post-metal records of the year. also check out 2011's The Grips of Winter and their split with The Mire (one of the best splits of 2012) |
| 26 |  | Ostrov
Noumenal
sludgy hardcore - say it all |
| 25 | | Celephais
Tir n'a n'Og
atmospheric black metal/folk - instrumental folky atmospheric black metal that you'll love if you're into this genre in any capacity. |
| 24 |  | Echoes (UK)
With an Eye on the Shoreline and a Hand to the Sea
post-hardcore/post-metal - like a slightly less atmospheric Devil Sold His Soul. |
| 23 |  | Vales
Clarity
screamo/post-rock - not perfect, but these guys have massive potential. love me some British female-fronted, post-rock tinged screamo. |
| 22 |  | Blut Aus Nord
What Once Was... Liber II
black metal - a wonderfully metal, evil-sounding counterbalance to the weirdness that was Cosmosophy. |
| 21 |  | Calvaiire
Rigorisme
hardcore/crust punk - short but oh-so-sweet ass-ripping pissed-off hardcore. |
| 20 |  | Atlantis
La Petite Mort
post-rock/electronic - like Lights Out Asia, but heavier and with more of a focus on post-rock |
| 19 |  | Pelican
Ataraxia/Taraxis
post-rock/post-metal - imo the best thing they've done in a long time. the riffs are strong with this one. |
| 18 |  | Earthmass
Lunar Dawn (Keep, Relic, and Ritual)
post-metal - a single 20-minute post-metal track that I cannot get enough of. these guys need to make a full-length. |
| 17 |  | Crown
The One
post-metal/industrial - |
| 16 |  | Cerna
Restoring Life
instrumental atmospheric black metal/post-metal - another case of a disappointingly short EP that would be absolutely incredible if it were expanded upon. |
| 15 |  | Vallendusk
Vallendusk
atmospheric black metal - pretty blatant WitTR/Woods of Desolation worship, but it rules hard so idgaf |
| 14 |  | Coastlines
Life in Shifts
hardcore/metalcore - rips |
| 13 | | Bien A Toi
Diriger, S?duire, Convaincre
screamo/post-rock - one of the best screamo/post-rock discoveries of the year, this one with more of an emphasis on the post-rock side of their sound. |
| 12 |  | Chrome Waves
Chrome Waves
atmospheric black metal - it's pretty unoriginal, but I'm a sucker for this kind of thing and Chrome Waves pull it off so well that I really can't complain. |
| 11 |  | Daniel Rossen
Silent Hour/Golden Mile
folk - really pretty, quirky folk rock from the Grizzly Bears dude. |
| 10 |  | Fire in the Cave
Fire in the Cave
sludge metal/black metal - Atmospheric sludge metal with a few black metal flourishes... If you know me at all, then you'll know that that description alone was enough to make me drool. Fortunately, this lives up to expectations. |
| 9 |  | Torture Chain
Time is but a Doorway to the Incinerator
black metal - Raw, slightly atmospheric black metal that absolutely rips. Get this immediately. |
| 8 |  | Tempest (Can)
Solace
post-metal/hardcore - This would have been so much higher on here had it not been for its 2 song, sub-10 minute length, but #8 ain't nothin' to sneeze at. I could try and describe this, but instead I'll just direct you to their bandcamp (it's free) and assure you that these dudes have big things on the horizon.
http://consume.forgediniron.ca/album/solace |
| 7 |  | Crippled Black Phoenix
No Sadness or Farewell
post-rock/progressive rock - At over 45 minutes long, I still have no idea how CBP decided to market this as an EP, but they did so that's where it will stay. Imagine a mix of epic post-rock and 70s prog rock throwback. Yeah, this is that good. |
| 6 |  | Deathspell Omega
Drought
avant-garde black metal - This was my first taste of DsO, and boy, did it deliver. This EP literally sounds like the aural personification of a drought, and while I've been told that this is different from their other work, this still makes me want to go on a massive DsO binge. Like, right now. |
| 5 |  | Direwolves
Me from Myself, to Banish
hardcore/crust punk - Pretty simple stuff, but it gets you going like no fucking other. The vocals are killer, and the production is fantastic. |
| 4 | | Taste the Void
Sun's Heat
post-metal/screamo - They best way to describe this is as a combination of the oppressive post-metal stylings of Amenra and the pissed-off metallic hardcore of Converge. Between Walls is one of my favorite tracks of the year, in no small part due to a killer "breakdown"-ish section t the end of the track. |
| 3 |  | Agalloch
Faustian Echoes
atmospheric black metal - This blows Marrow out of the water, and it stands as one of my favorite Agalloch releases to date. It's definitely one of their more metallic efforts, and this is not a bad thing by any means. |
| 2 |  | The March
Crawl Space
post-metal/hardcore - Along the lines of Selenites and Taste the Void, The March play a ridiculosuly awesome blend of hardcore and aggressive post-metal, the crunchy bass and stellar production being highlights. This is something you need ASAP. |
| 1 |  | Toluca
Act I
atmopsheric black metal/screamo - This EP was one of the biggest surprises of 2012 for me. I had no idea who these guys were, and I still know very little about them but for the fact that they play some of the best screamo-tinged atmospheric black metal that I've ever heard. Refer to my review for more information, but rest assured that this rules hard. |
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