In recent times, Kosmokrator's EP from last year and the Aversio Humanitatis EP from this year are both fantastic

another one that i forgot previously is mansion - we shall live... i guess it's debatable if it's metal or not, tho' they are listed on the archives as doom metal/rock. in any case, it's a wonderful ep

One of my absolute favourite recordings of all time is Divine Eve's As The Angels Weep. Awesome mix of Morbid Tales era Frost meets early 90's Sunlight Sound.

Other killer EP's not yet mentioned that I love:

Dawn - Sorgh Pa Svarte Vingar Flogh
Beyond Dawn - Longing For Scarlet Days
Aeternus - Dark Sorcery
My Dying Bride - The Thrash Of Naked Limbs
Misery - Insidious
Vader - Reign Forever World

That's just a few that I can think of. I'll second (or third) Vempire, Rebellion, The Sleeping Gods and For Funerals To Come.

One that hasn't been mentioned yet is Dethroned, Conquered and Forgotten by Judas Iscariot. 21 minutes of black metal, no filler, pure killer.

I have to say that I really enjoy EPs, because their usually shorter length is very nice if you want to check out a band, and you can replay an EP a lot so it can get you hooked. Good gateway releases - definitely happened to me with Bolzer, and helped a lot when I was new to Katatonia, DSO (especially Mass Grave Aesthetics), and Mgla (Mdlosci).

Voivod - Post Society
No weak note, just a package of great new material.

John Arch - Twist Of Fate
Two new songs with a very emotional and dreamy atmosphere, and you know... it's John Arch doing what he does best.

Nevermore - In Memory
The title track is one of my favorites, "The Sorrowed Man" is one of their best soft songs, and "Optimist Or Pessimist" one of their best heavy ones.

Katatonia - Saw You Drown
I heard this before I got the re-release of "Discouraged Ones" which features the two bonus tracks that find Katatonia experimenting a fair bit, and I spin it a lot. The title cut is a long-time favorite.

One more: Reverend Bizarre - Harbinger of Metal. That's how I got to know them. The Wandering Jew is still one of my all time favorite songs.

Meshuggah - I
I always enjoyed this little experiment.

Solefald - Norrønaskogen. Kosmopolis Nord
A fantastic little teaser for the following album.

Vattnet Viskar - Vattnet Viskar
A great debut for a band that haven taken a turn far away from this recently.

While Heaven Wept - Sorrow Of The Angels
The opening epic was for the longest time one of my favourite clean vocal metal tracks, and even inspired a doom project.

For a great (IMO) non-metal example:
The Dillinger Escape Plan feat. Mike Patton - Irony Is A Dead Scene
Pure madness mixed with pure madness = gold.

Also, the EP champions (at least in the 90's and early 00's) are Motorpsycho.

Most of my favorites are all thrash metal EPs from the 80s. That was the era of the cool EP. Here are ten of my all time favorites.

Acid Reign - Moshkinstein (Goddess and Motherly Love are two of their best tunes)

Celtic Frost - Morbid Tales (my favorite Celtic Frost release)

Destruction - Sentence Of Death (ferocious)

Kreator - Flag Of Hate (Awakening Of The Gods is a KILLER track)

Metallica - The $5.98 EP - Garage Days Re-Revisited (always loved it)

Possessed - The Eyes Of Horror (a step up and also the end of the era)

Powermad - The Madness Begins (one of my all time favorite bands!)

Sacred Reich - Surf Nicaragua (title track is probably their best song)

Slayer - Haunting The Chapel (hard to deny Chemical Warfare)

Sodom - In The Sign Of Evil (total blasphemy and a killer debut)

Kingdom and Reign Forever World by Vader were already mentioned, but Sothis, Blood, and The Art of War are also excellent releases.
Peter's vocals were stronger on De Profundis, but in some ways I prefer the recording and production quality on Sothis - they lend an ethereal or mystical touch to the songs, which works surprisingly well with the heavily thrash influenced death metal Vader was playing at the time.

Slayer - Haunting the Chapel, if they count, Carcass and Napalm Death Peel Sessions, that Voivod Cockroaches picture disc 12", Burzum - Aske, Godflesh - Slavestate, Celtic Frost, Hellhammer, Sodom, Destruction, Mayhem, etc. There are loads really.

What a fantastic release (even if the jazz prefix is a bit of a stretch)! A marriage of Nazgul, Bal-Sagoth, and the DK64 soundtrack - a recipe for the feast of the gods!

Brutality - Ruins of Humans
Gruesome - Fragments of Psyche
Kreator - Flag of Hate
Queensrÿche - s/t
Sortilège - s/t
Slayer - Haunting the Chapel
Suffocation - Human Waste
Unbidden - Slaughtering the Vile

Ahh yes, this EP probably stands as their best work. Although I did enjoy their two following full lengths. The newest one isn't bad, but it's a complete 180. Not much of a metal band anymore, hardly even the same band if you look at the line-up compared to that debut EP.

Some EP's mentioned that I just have to second:
Mayhem - Wolf's Layer Abyss
Bolzer - Aura
Alice in Chains - Jar of Flies
Burzum - Aske
Alcest - Le Secret

EPs can be an interesting format. A lot of bands will treat them as a glorified demo, a chance to experiment or as a place to throw a couple b-sides that got axed from an LP. But there definitely are quite a few that stand on their own as a cohesive and complete work. This thread got me thinking what it is about a good EP that I love so much... I enjoy an engrossing long album, but there's something about a to-the-point succinct slab of music in the form of an EP that can be tremendously satisfying. I think it takes talent to deliver 20 mins of fantastic music while leaving the listener satisfied without needing more.

Here are a couple of my favorites from the top of my head:
Agalloch - Faustian Echoes
I actually prefer this over Of Stone, Wind, and Pillor and The White. The song itself stands up there with "Black Lake Niðstång" as the band's most fleshed out and well written movement. Also probably the most black metal track they ever made

Blood Incantation - Interdimensional Extinction
Haunting, disgusting riff-filled death metal. Really impressed me for a debut release from a band. Even with their excellent follow up LP, this release still gets frequent plays from me.

Clutch - Impetus
Fun little EP, has some of the band's best rockers.

Njiqahdda - Nil Vaaartului Nji
There are plenty of high quality Eps from Njiqahdda, but this is my favorite. The two songs on here are among my favorites in the bands prolific catalog.

My all time favorite EP, bar-none, no contest:
Amesoeurs - Ruines humaines
I would give this EP a perfect score without even weighting the fact that it's only 16 minutes. All three songs were so original, highly creative and jaw-droppingly blissful. There are few albums or EPs where I wouldn't change a thing, or have at least some minor critique, but I truly regard Ruines humaines as a perfect release. Too bad the band was never able to capture lightning in a bottle again. The follow up LP was good but lost the magic of Ruines..... Shortly after they broke up and never had a chance to top it.

I also have to mention the band that I think has utterly mastered the EP format unlike any other project I've seen before. I'm speaking of Deathspell Omega. Rarely do you come across a discography where the EPs are absolutely as essential a listening experience as the LPs (this is arguably the case with the aforementioned Agalloch as well, but not quite to the same extent as DsO). It's a tough conclusion to draw, and I've thought a lot about it, but I do think that Deathspell Omega's best moments are on their EPs.
The follwoing are all top-notch quality EPs imo:
Kénôse
Chaining the Katechon
Mass Grave Aesthetics
Diabolus Absconditus
Drought

There is the never ending debate as to whether "Morbid Tales" is an EP or an LP or a mini-LP.

In my mind, it's an LP- the vinyl version I have is eight tracks and roughly 28 minutes of playing time, which is roughly equivalent to "Reign in Blood" and only slightly shorter than "Peace Sells but Who'se Buying." Some versions only have six tracks, which would still qualify as a mini-LP rather than an EP (with the distinction, again, being the total running length. EP's typically run less than 20 minutes, whereas mini LP's are slightly longer and will contain at least 5-6 tracks.)

If you consider "Morbid Tales" as an EP then it is on my list for sure, though I would rather list "Emperor's Return" which is indisputably an EP.

Celtic Frost - Morbid Tales
Mercyful Fate - Mercyful Fate
Dark Age - Dark Age
Slayer - Haunting the Chapel
Queensrÿche - Queensrÿche
Jag Panzer - Tyrants
Amorphis - Privilege of Evil
Kreator - Flag of Hate
Savatage - The Dungeons Are Calling
Sodom - In the Sign of Evil

I'll post more later.

I'll be including 7" records as I count them as EPs. Some people classify them separately but I don't. Also some may technically be demos but I care more about length than I do technical terms.

Abazagorath - The Spirit of Hate for Mankind
Abigail - Confound Eternal
Amesoeurs - Ruines Humaines
Annthennath - Paeans Of Apostasy
Aquilus - Arbor
Blood of the Moon - MMXII
Burzum - Aske
Carpathian Forest - Through Chasm, Caves And Titan Woods
Celtic Frost - Morbid Tales
Celtic Frost - Emperor's Return
Cloak - S/T 7"
Cultes Des Ghoules / Szron - Ridden With Holy Grace / The Black Prophecy 7"
Cult of Daath - Doomed by the Witch
Daemonlord - The End of the Era
Darkthrone - Cromlech
Death of Kings - Knifehammer
Dimmu Borgir - Godless Savage Garden
Doomslaughter - Downfall Proclamator
Drudkh - Anti Urban
Forteresse - Traditionalisme
Grand Belial's Key - Triumph of the Hordes
Heron - Ritual
Ifing - Against the Weald
Impious Baptism - Seventh Seal of Abominable Extermination
Katatonia - For Funerals to Come...
Mayhem - Deathcrush
Mayhem - Wolf's Lair Abyss
Mercyful Fate - S/T
Moonblood - Sob a lua do bode
Nocturnal Damnation - Sadogoat Warmageddon Command
Nocturnal Graves - Profanation of Innocence
Okketaehm - Stones
Peste Noire - Macabre transcendance...
Peste Noire - Lorraine Rehearsal
Phobia - Get up and Kill
Radioactive Vomit - Witchblood
Rippikoulu - Musta Seremonia
Rotting Christ - Αποκαθήλωσις
Ruins / Slaughtered Priest - Towards The Altar
Sadistic Ritual - Edge of the Knife
Satanic Warmaster - Black Katharsis
Satanic Warmaster - ...Of the Night
Shadow of the Destroyer - Funeral Dust
Skeletonwitch - The Apothic Gloom
Solar Temple - Rays of Brilliance
Tombs - All Empires Fall
The True Werwolf - C.N.N./0373
Vociferian - Universal Hate Decades Ultimatum
Wings of War - Prepare for War
Witchfinder General - Soviet Invasion
Wolvserpent - Blood Seed
Xasthur - S/T
Yellow Eyes - Stillicide

One of my favorite Ep's that has not been mentioned is Forest of Shadows Where Dreams Turn to Dust ep. As far as sorrowful melodic death/doom goes, this is top tier. He had a great balance between catchy clean melodies in the choruses to contrast with the dirges he would typically go for in the verses. Wish he would have continued and evolved on this sound rather than making such a drastic change.

Although M-A lists that project as active I have not seen or heard anything from him in years. Last album or release was 9 years ago.

Been mentioned a few times but the John Arch Twist of Fate EP is fantastic. Especially Relentless, such a great song. The vocals and melodies are top shelf.

The last Gorguts release was pretty wild too

That EP has been on my wantlist for some time now... I haven't seen it for a reasonable price anywhere, though I haven't searched all too thoroughly either. I enjoy the two full-lengths though.

One more EP I remembered:
- Decoryah "Breathing the Blue"
Goes well with the full-length "Fall-Dark Waters" though (had them on once CD together with no proper booklet for a while - and was a bit shocked that these were two separate releases).

That is indeed a really good one. Have you listened to Njiijn Vortii - Codex I? That may be my favorite EP of theirs.



p.s. I have quite a few Njiqahdda CDs for sale if anyone's interested... Some of what I've got are extremely rare.

Ceremony - The Days Before the Death
Deteriorot - Manifested Apparitions of Unholy Spirits
Grave Miasma - Exalted Emanation
Grave Miasma - Realm of Evoked Doom
Immolation - Providence
Incantation - Entrantment of Evil
Incantation - The Forsaken Mourning of Angelic Anguish
Morpheus Descends - Horror of the Truth
Morpheus Descends - From Blackened Crypts
Mortician - Mortal Massacre
Slayer - Haunting the Chapel
Symphony of Grief - Our Blessed Conqueror
Thorr's Hammer - Dommedagsnatt

Godflesh - Godflesh
Jesu - Heart Ache & Dethroned
Leviathan - The Blind Wound
Anaal Nathrakh - Total Fucking Necro
Neurosis - Sovereign
Agoraphobic Nosebleed - Arc
Agalloch - Faustian Echoes

And one more:
- The Ascendant "The Spiritual Death" EP
Very decent deathblack

Vader has been mentioned a few times, but I'd like to add their "Art Of War" EP.

Plenty of great ones mentioned and too many for me to second, but here are some obvious ones that need no introduction:

Abigor- Orkblut (You could actually include both parts of Opus IV and Apocalypse here too.)

Anathema- Pentecost III (By far their best work.)

For some more obscure ones we have

Heavy Load- Metal Conquest

Highway Chile- For the Wild and Lonely (This one finally saw a re-release, previously available only on cassette or record. Excellent early 80's Scandinavian traditional metal.)

Kyprian's Circle- Noitatulen vartija (This ones about as rare as that Vintersemestre EP mentioned a while back and just as good.)

Edit: Can't believe I forgot Sorhin- Skogsgriftens rike

There are too many to count man. One that I keep returning to over and over and over is IOTUNN's The Wizard Falls EP from 2016. The songwriting on that one is so interesting and different - like a mix of progressive power metal, groovy thrash metal and just a touch of the Gothenburg melo death sound.
The performance is a little wonky once in a while, but to me that just adds personality and makes it stand out even more. It compliments the music brilliantly.
My only gripe with that EP is that even though it's supposed to be well produced, I have yet to hear it translate well to any listening medium. I've streamed it and played it from CD, on lo-fi and hi-fi equipment, in the car, through headphones, everything, I just don't think the production job is that great.

Manowar - Thunder in the Sky
4 good songs hidden on an EP.

They should have just added The dawn of Battle and I Believe, then it might have gone through as an album. Not shorter than Fighting the World it would be.

Cradle of Filth - V Empire

It faster, more technical, more brutal, than nearly anything they've done, and the production is crisp and clear without sounding less devastating and evil.

All of these have been mentioned I believe (so I will second, third, etc. those) but these are some of my favorites.

Alice in Chains - Jar of Flies
Agalloch - Faustian Echoes
Amorphis - Privilege of Evil
Cradle of Filth - V Empire
Reverend Bizarre - Harbinger of Metal
Slayer - Haunting the Chapel
Vader - Reign Forever World (enjoy their cover of "Freezing Moon")
Venenum - Venenum (Killer EP, haunting melodies with a great raw sound)

The one I can think of is Grave's ...and Here I Die... Satisfied.

Yeah, after Gods of War (which only had a few good songs in my opinion) I didn't have much hope for Manowar, but TITS (oh god, I wonder if they thought about that abbreviation....) was pretty good. Could've done without the countless versions of that one song, though.

Queensryche - s/t
Pretty Maids - s/t
Witchkiller - Day Of The Saxons
Ratt - s/t
Glacier - s/t
Hellion - s/t
Slayer - Haunting The Chapel
Agent Steel - Mad Locust Rising
H-Bomb - Coup De Metal
Torch - Fire Raiser
Sortilege - s/t
Dark Age - s/t
Defender - City A Mortis
Savatage - The Dungeon's Are Calling
Anthrax - Armes & Dangerous

Got a feeling I posted in this thread before but I couldn't find my comment. Sorry if it's a repeat:

Havukruunu - Rautaa ja Tulta
One of my favorite albums from one of my favorite bands. The solo on the second track can always put me in a good mood. The digipak with the bonus tracks is phenomenal.

Hermóðr - Carved in Ice
Very relaxing. I love mix of the vocals. The sound has a real warmth to it - ironic I suppose.

Celtic Frost - Morbid Tales
Doubt I really need to say too much. Thick guitar tone, crunchy riffs. I still say this was Frost's best release.

Danzig - Thrall Demonsweatlive
The new tracks are amazingly good while the live tracks show off how good Glenn used to be live. I still want to track down a picture disc of this someday.

Samhain - Unholy Passion
Not quite metal but a great EP nonetheless. Very moody and sloppy.

Honorable mention to Abigor's Opus IV. Supposedly a combination of two EPs but no one listens to it like that.

No Running Wild - Wild Animal?

Rrrrroar!

The riff of Tear Down the Walls is one of my favourites, also, the rerecord of Chains and Leather is for me better than the original

Here's my list:

Annthennath - Paeans of Apostasy
Asphyx - Crush the Cenotaph
Autopsy - All their EP's
Dawn - Sorgh Pa Svarte Vingar Fløgh
Dead Congregation - Purifying Consecrated Ground
Dismember - Pieces
Immolation - Providence
Suffocation - Human Waste
Suffocation - Despise the Sun
Vader - Sothis

Sarcofago - Rotting
MA considers it an EP so I'll include it. More complex and better produced than INRI (admittedly, most things are), but still ugly as fuck.

Sorrow - Forgotten Sunrise
Excellent death/doom and one of the two releases from this little-talked about band. Only flaw is the crappy cover art.

The Impious Crusade - Impiety
If you're familiar with Impiety you know what to expect: blast-heavy black metal with some death and thrash thrown in for good measure. The songwriting is much stronger than the preceding album, Ravage and Conquer, which was frankly tiresome.

Advent of the Nuclear Baphomet - Impiety
Another unrelenting twenty minutes of madness from these Singaporeans.

Kittie - Paperdoll EP
I'll probably get shit for this. One of the rare times that live versions of songs are far better than the studio recording. Sure, there's still the painful psuedo-rapping on "Brackish", but the vocals are deeper, the sound more raw and there's a youthful energy that makes the nu-riffs easier to swallow. The one non-live track is a more metallic remix of "Paperdoll"--the only decent track from Spit.

Mythic - Mourning in the Winter Solstice
Listening to this it's obvious this band could have gone onto great things, and two thirds of them did, in the band Derketa. (The other third would form Demonic Christ which isn't bad either.)

Impaled Nazarene - Motorpenis
With that name, how can you go wrong? Obvious influence from Lemmy and company. The three cover songs are good too.

Autopsy - The Tomb Within
Hell of a way to kick off a comeback. They were in top form with this one.

Autopsy - Fiend for Blood
Perfect bridge between Mental Funeral and Acts of the Unspeakable. Prime Autopsy from the era when they were untouchable.

I forgot to mention Dismember - Misanthropic

One of my all-time favorites has to be Jesu - Silver.

This EP changed my perception of metal almost entirely and I just love it to death. It never gets old.

Amesoeur's Ruines Humaines was amazing too, and it still stands among my favorite releases ever.

Agalloch's White EP needs an honorable mention as well.

Mantar's The Spell was a breath of fresh air and had some amazingly aggressive drumming.

Anathema's Crestfallen, Manowar's Defender (which is different to the Fighting the World version) Metallica's Creeping Death and Solstice's Death's Crown is Victory are excellent EP's, and haven't yet been discussed in this thread.