10 Best Hard Rock & Heavy Metal EPs Of 2017
8. Schammasch – The Maldoror Chants: Hermaphrodite
Black metal has been a thing of beauty in 2017, with some of the best heavy records of the year coming from the dangerous and eclectic subgenre. Names like Wolves in the Throne Room and Sun of the Sleepless have outdone themselves this year with new full-length albums, but let’s not forget that the Swiss mavens Schammasch also crafted extreme metal perfection with their new EP The Maldoror Chants: Hermaphrodite.
A tonal sequel to the band’s three-disc magnum opus Triangle (2016), Hermaphrodite expands upon the experimentalism and dark ambience that perpetuated its full-length predecessor. Letting one song segue into the next without interruption, there’s a flow to this EP that few other artists in 2017 have been able to master, perfectly adding to the more atmospheric sound that Hermaphrodite elicits.
Owing just as much to operatic doom and dark orchestral music as it does to true black metal, Schammasch’s EP is one that anybody within the hardcore metal fan-base should explore. It may seem “weird” or avant-garde upon first listen, but that just makes it all the more intriguing, unique and charismatic.