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The Obelisk Presents: The Top 20 EPs, Demos and Singles of 2013
I've been trying to get this one on the page for a couple weeks now — really since last year if you want to go back that far — and I finally just decided to do it. Granted, it's already 2014, but I'm pretty used to being behind the times, so I hope you'll indulge me on this one.
The thing is, of course we already did the Top 20 Albums of 2013, but that leaves an awful lot out in terms of quality shorter releases. Demos, singles, EPs, splits — whatever it might be — there's a lot more to the story of a year in music than who's putting out what full-length. That might be true now more than ever, with digital releases and artists having the ability to more or less give a song-by-song feed of new material should they so choose. Since this is the first time I've done this list, I've kept the presentation pretty basic, but there's a lot to dig into here anyway in terms of the quality of the music and what people were able to accomplish in, in some cases, just one or two tracks.
My basis for judgment here is basically the same as with the full-albums list, and by that I mean how much I listened to something played a huge role, and it's not just how important I think an EP or a split or a demo was that got it included on this list — though of course that stuff matters as well. Like spelling, repeat listens count. And it goes without saying these are my picks and have nothing to do with the Readers Poll, the results of which are here.
Okay, let's do this:
The Top 20 Short Releases of 2013
1. The Machine/Sungrazer, Split
2. Dozer, Vultures
3. Mars Red Sky, Be My Guide
4. Black Thai, Seasons of Might
5. Wo Fat/Egypt, Cyclopean Riffs Split 12″
6. Young Hunter, Embers at the Foot of Dark Mountain
7. Shroud Eater, Dead Ends
8. Steak, Corned Beef Colossus
9. Geezer, Gage
10. The Golden Grass, One More Time b/w Tornado 7″
11. Trippy Wicked and the Cosmic Children of the Knight, Underground
12. King Buffalo, Demo
13. Groan, Ride the Snake
14. Crypt Sermon, Demo MMXIII
15. Stubb, Under a Spell b/w Bullets Rain 7″
16. Salem's Pot, Watch Me Kill You Tape
17. Undersmile/Coma Wall, Wood and Wire Split
18. Second Grave, Antithesis
19. Sinister Haze, Demo
20. Olde Growth, Owl
Honorable mention has to go to the Fatso Jetson/Yawning Man split, C.O.C.'s Megalodon EP, which was right on but which I didn't really hear enough to include. The Gates of Slumber's Stormcrow as well.
Just a couple notes: In the case of Olde Growth, putting them last was actually more about not being sure when the official release date of Owl was than anything else. I actually listened to that quite a bit, and "Tears of Blood" remains my favorite work of the duo's to date. In terms of demos, it was a good year for doom debuts, with Crypt Sermon and Sinister Haze both showing some malevolent classicism, and King Buffalo's demo grew on me almost immediately upon hearing it and right away made me look forward to whatever might come next from them.
I was a little hesitant to put a split in the number one spot, but The Machine's riff for "Awe" alone made it necessary. I've kept this disc on my person for almost the entire year and continue to have no regrets in doing so. For Dozer, yeah, it was a collection of older material, but I still enjoyed the crap out of it. Both Mars Red Sky and Black Thai signaled considerable creative growth in four-song EPs, and the Wo Fat and Egypt split more than lived up to its mission. The riff lives in bands like that, and as we get further into stylistic nuance and subgenre development, it's those groups who are holding on to the Heavy.
Young Hunter are one of the most promising bands I've heard in the last three years. Flat out. Killer release. Ditto that in a much different context for Shroud Eater, whose take on heavy only got more sinister and more effective with Dead Ends. Steak emerge as tops among the five British bands — a quarter of the list! — here. Their Corned Beef Colossus also had the best title I heard all year, and though Trippy Wicked, Groan, Stubb, and Undersmile/Coma Wall (the latter earning bonus points for putting out a split with themselves) all thrilled, Steak's potential got them that spot. Time for a full-length, guys.
Not to leave out New York — though the geographical alignment is a coincidence — Geezer's Gage tapped into a jammier feel that I thought suited the band remarkably well, and The Golden Grass' debut single offered one of the most charming irony-free good times I've heard in a long while. The Salem's Pot cassette was one of my most-listened-to tapes this year, last mentioned but not at all least, Second Grave's Antithesis probably would've clocked in higher if I'd had more time with it, but was definitely one I wanted to put in here anyway.
As I said, a lot of really astounding shorter outings, and worthy of attention in their own right. If I missed anything, I hope you'll let me know in the comments.
Tags: Black Thai, Coma Wall, Crypt Sermon, Dozer, Egypt, Geezer, Groan, King Buffalo, Mars Red Sky, Olde Growth, Salem's Pot, Second Grave, Shroud Eater, Sinister Haze, Steak, Stubb, Sungrazer, The Golden Grass, The Machine, Top 20 of 2013, Top 20 Short Releases of 2013, Trippy Wicked and the Cosmic Children of the Knight, Undersmile, Wo Fat, Young Hunter
This entry was posted	on Thursday, January 2nd, 2014 at 6:37 pm	and is filed under Features. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
9 Responses to "The Obelisk Presents: The Top 20 EPs, Demos and Singles of 2013"
Lucas Klaukien says:
Doctor Smoke
doctorsmoke.bandcamp.com/album/demo-2013
Crypt Trip
http://crypttrip.bandcamp.com/album/crypt-trip-ep
Not sure if you heard these, but they are worthy of your attention.
"Antithesis" included in the Obelisk's top 20 of 2013 | Second Grave says:
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What a great list–happy to say I have most of these. Especially digging Shroud Eater and Second Grave these days. Great stuff…Olde Growth, too…great stuff.
Clint says:
I'll second Lucas's mention of Doctor Smoke, sensational demo from those fellas. In addition, Aleph Null's "Belladonna" EP from Jan 2013 is unmissable!
http://alephnull.bandcamp.com/
Lots of goodness in your list tho, gotta say.
Also Sunburster, with their 'Solar Bipolar' release, a very worthy listen – http://sunburster.bandcamp.com/
Hard to put together these lists when they are a top 10 or top 20, especially so seeing how prolific 2013 was for great music.
THINNING THE HERD – we put out a great record this year, even if neglected! Peace Homie!
Great List! Norwegian stoners Warp Riders have a nice ep they released at the end of November. Digging their sound.
Ricardo Mora says:
I hope you can check a finnish ensemble called Mansion. They will be in the next Roadburn, and to me their debut EP it's one of the best releases of the year.
http://weshalllive.bandcamp.com/
JJ I'm sorry i just looked for your Mansion review… Anyway that EP just hit me hard and it stayed with me