(Andy Synn recommends you carve out some time in your schedule to check out these 3 EPs)
Last year, after several years of promising – but, ultimately failing to deliver on those promises – I actually managed to listen to (significantly) more EPs than the year(s) prior.
So in 2026 I’m going to try and continue that trend – or, at the very least, try to stay about on a par with last year’s numbers – beginning with this terrifying triptych of deathly delights from Guyođ (AUT), Low (NL), and Nightmarer (US/DE).
GUYOĐ – DEATH THROES OF A DROWNING GOD
Comprising four tracks of chest-crushing, light-swallowing, asphyxiatingly heavy Death Metal – marrying the dirge-like weight of classic Incantation and the doom-laden darkness of early Paradise Lost, twisted and twined together with threads of writhing dissonance and eerie, unsettling synths reminiscent of Mayhem at their most maddeningly infectious – interspersed with a series of disturbingly dark ambient noise-scapes, Guyođ‘s new EP (the follow-up to 2023’s Heart of Thy Abyss album) is both a harrowing and haunting affair, from beginning to end.
And while it possesses an undeniably raw sense of intensity – “A Thousand Invisible Eyes” (the shortest of the EP’s four “proper” tracks) is just under 6 minutes of gargantuan, groaning guitars and desolate, discordant anti-melody, juxtaposed against punishing passages of surging, blackened vitriol and moments of bleak, brooding calm, while the hellish Black/Death/Doom hybrid that is “Behind Walls of Ice” possesses an almost Teitanblood level of grim, gruelling ferocity – there’s unquestionably a steely-eyed method to the band’s musical madness.
As a testament to this, the EP clearly and purposefully progresses towards a titanic climax in the shape of “Hestia Drowning” (which is not to downplay the irresistible gravity of the aptly-named “Vortex of Infinite Despair” by any means) whose morbid majesty – all seething blastbeats, stomping grooves, and keening melodies that slowly build towards an absolutely massive, and utterly mesmerising crescendo – definitively marks Guyođ out as a band capable of being far greater (and grimmer) than the mere sum of their parts!
LOW – THROUGH THE PENTAGON INTO MASS SUBMISSION
Pure buzz-saw belligerence and angle-grinding groove… that’s the name of the game when it comes to Through the Pentagon Into Mass Submission, the debut EP from Dutch death-dealers Low.
From the first charred, churning riff of “WHG III” to the final ear-splitting cymbal crash of “In Sickness We Trust” the duo (vocalist Joost Silvrants handling the brutal, bowel-quaking gutturals, with instrumentalist Maurice van den Broek being responsible for all the guitars, bass, and drums) don’t pull any punches as they lurch from one gruesome Death-Doom anthem to the next.
That’s not to say there isn’t any nuance to their sound – both the aforementioned tracks benefit massively from the inclusion of some moody melodic lead guitar work, while the former in particular also delivers its fair share of hefty, head-bangable hooks as well – but it’s obvious throughout this EP that the band’s primary focus is on giving birth to something as primal and primitive as possible.
The chunky chugs and heaving, almost hypnotic, rhythms of the Obituary-esque “The Hidden Crown”, for example, will hit you right in that undeveloped, proto-caveman section of your brain, while there’s something almost primordial about the booming, bass-heavy grooves and hanging chords of “Architect of Control”.
And then there’s “Pitch Black Philanthropist”, arguably the EP’s best (and most brutal) track, which showcases just a touch more modern sharpness – somewhat reminiscent, both at its nastiest and at its grooviest, of Blood Red Throne (especially when the vocals switch up to a strangulated snarl at key moments) – without sacrificing an ounce of the band’s crude, but crushingly effective, intensity.
NIGHTMARER – HELL INTERFACE
I must admit to being a little disappointed when I heard that the first new Nightmarer music since Deformit Adrift was going to be an EP, rather than a full-length album.
But, having come to my senses and remembering just how good 2021’s Monolith of Corrosion EP was, I soon came around to the idea… especially once outstanding opener “Extinction Burst” (arguably one of the band’s best tracks yet) kicked itself into high gear in a barrage of abrasive, dissonant fury and pounding, pin-point precise blastery, only to then collapse under its own weight and density into some of the most ominous and oppressively atmospheric work of the group’s career (allowing drummer Paul Seidel to show off his skills even more) before ramping back up to an absolutely colossal crescendo which also features some unexpected (but undeniably effective) use of subtle clean vocals.
While I’m on the subject, it’s important to note that the band’s line-up now includes a second vocalist, Christian Kolf (Labyrinth of Stars, Valborg, etc), which has allowed them to expand their vocal range a little further… not just through the occasional use of some creepy-yet-cathartic cleans (which reappear during the gloomy mid-section of “Crawl of Time”) but also by contrasting Kolf’s anguished howl with Collett’s animalistic growl.
It’s also worth mentioning that, much like Monolith of Corrosion (though less explicitly), the four tracks which make up Hell Interface seem designed to flow seamlessly into one another, with the brooding, off-kilter opening bars of “Shame Spiral” making much more sense in the overall context of the EP, allowing for the seamless transition of one song into the next, with the subsequent shift into the even more atmosphere-heavy dissonance and mood-drenched discordance of “Crawl of Time” (another major highlight, especially its complex percussive patterns) and the ultra-aggressive, anxiety-inducing assault of “Hell Interface” allowing you barely a moment to catch your breath or collect your thoughts before the next sonic barrage begins!