GBHBL’s Top 10 EPs of 2025
It’s been a fantastic year for music, with great releases across the entire spectrum of rock and metal. So, as is the yearly tradition, here is our top 10 EPs of 2024. Two lists, one chosen by Brendan and the other chosen by Carl. Enjoy, and if you prefer the list in video format, you can watch/listen to us talk about them below.
10 – Carl: Last Hyena – Suspect Your Elders (Self Released)
Released on September 26th, 2025. A band capable of creating deep immersion with a single track, let alone four, Last Hyena return with several impressive efforts that take the listener on a deep and rewarding journey. A powerful journey with intense quirks throughout, expertly meshing different genres together to create something wholly unique to them.
Read our full review here.
10 – Brendan: Edit The Tide – The Space Between Seconds (Self Released)
Welsh alt-metal outfit Edit The Tide returned on November 21st with their EP The Space Between Seconds, and it was another statement of how quickly they’ve been growing. Formed in 2023, the Bridgend band had already made waves with their debut last year, but this release really showed their knack for blending heartfelt melody with punchy alt-metal heaviness. The vocals are consistently strong, the musicianship tight, and the songwriting flowed with confidence, variety, and emotion. Polished hooks met heavier bursts perfectly, making the EP feel both accessible but still weighty. The Space Between Seconds left a big impression on me this year.
Read our full review here.
9 – Carl: Archers – Temporary High (SBG Records)
Out on 13th June via SBG Records. A band who pour so much passion into all aspects of their sound, experiment, but never pointlessly, and show off a stunning amount of range. A band with incredibly talented individual members, but together, create something unforgettable. Yes, I am gushing, but for good reason. Temporary High is a brilliant release, and Archers are a brilliant band.
Read our full review here.
9 – Brendan: Mastiff – For All the Dead Dreams (Church Road Records)
Mastiff’s For All the Dead Dreams came out on October 24th via Church Road Records, and it’s unsurprisingly a heavy as hell record, from start to finish. Mastiff are known for leaving it all out there and here, they seem angrier and more intense than ever. There is a bit more of a hardcore tint to things and plenty of heavy breakdowns but still, also plenty of riffs and groove. It’s a high-octane release, full of energy and intensity, and with smart songwriting too. It’s a superb EP from a top band.
Read our full review here.
8 – Carl: Mind Wolf – Chalet (Self Released)
Released on January 17th, 2025. Five tracks long, Chalet is everything I love about grungy stoner rock that has been warped by the desert sun and comes at me under the influence of many psychedelics. It moves and it freaking grooves in all the best ways.
Read our full review here.
8 – Brendan: Stellvris – Shatter & Bloom (Self Released)
Stellvris released their explosive EP Shatter & Bloom on November 7th, and it’s a record that really hits hard. The European metal outfit have always leaned into honesty and emotion, and here they turned that pain into power with an intense, high-energy statement. The EP blends melody, heaviness, and even electronic elements without ever feeling messy, and the band’s talent shines through—killer rhythm work, strong guitar and bass tones, and a versatile vocalist all wrapped in crisp, punchy production. It’s a top EP.
Read our full review here.
7 – Carl: Vanitas – Journey to the Sun (Self Released)
Released on August 15th, 2025. If you’re not on the Vanitas train yet, this EP will guarantee you’re jumping aboard. It is the perfect showcase of who they are and the perfect distillation of everything that makes them great. It really is staggering to hear just how definable their sound has become and how comfortable their evolution has been.
Read our full review here.
7 – Brendan: Omnivide – Arise (Seek and Strike)
Omnivide’s EP Arise landed on October 10th, and it’s been a heavily played release for me this year. It’s technical, but not in a way that feels like flexing just for the sake of it—the drumming hits hard, the guitars are sharp without hogging the spotlight, and the push and pull between clean and harsh vocals gives it real personality. There’s a cinematic edge too, little orchestral touches that make key moments land without feeling overdone. It’s the kind of record that rewards multiple spins, and it got them, and that’s why it made my list.
Read our full review here.
6 – Carl: Davghter – Mask Casket (Self Released)
Released on December 1st, 2025. A mighty release that showcases immense creativity born from the souls of those who believe in what they are doing. This is black metal with feeling, black metal with a point, and black metal that everyone can embrace.
Read our full review here.
6 – Brendan: Indian Nightmare – Banished Into Endless Chaos (High Roller Records)
Five years after their last LP, By Ancient Force, Indian Nightmare returned with the EP Banished Into Endless Chaos, released on February 21st via High Roller Records. It’s only three tracks long, but they’re absolute bangers. The Berlin-based tribal metal punks blended thrash, classic heavy metal, and gothic punk into something really unique, and the energy on this thing is insane. It sounds killer on record, but you can feel this would be even better live—you can almost feel the sweat and chaos coming off it. It’s the kind of short, punchy anarchy that sticks with you long after it’s over and it certainly got and still gets a lot of playtime from me.
Read our full review here.
5 – Carl: Death Goals – Survival Is an Act of Defiance (Self Released)
Released on August 29th, 2025. It’s such a creative listen, and each track offers up something different, but equally important. Death Goals are a band you can rely on for great music and once again, they deliver.
Read our full review here.
5 – Ars Onirica – 2.5 Nighttime (Ardua Music)
Italian melodic doom/death project Ars Onirica returned with the haunting EP 2.5 Nighttime, released on October 24th via Ardua Music, and it completely blew me away. I wasn’t sure what to expect going in, but it’s a remarkable, immaculately produced release full of feeling and emotion—it’s more something you experience than just listen to. Vocals and musicianship are strong throughout, but where the EP really hooked me was in the songwriting—the flow and the consistency across all five tracks. It’s essentially one singular, immersive experience that I have, and still do, return to regularly.
Read our full review here.
4 – Carl: Sypha – Borderland (Self Released)
Released on January 24th, 2025. Pick any positive word you want, it applies to this debut EP. It’s a great release with three absolute bangers that shows how much potential there is in this band. Sypha have arrived, and now it’s time for the world to take note.
Read our full review here.
4 – Brendan: Carach Angren – The Cult of Kariba (Season of Mist)
Carach Angren released The Cult of Kariba on October 17th, delivering yet another remarkable chapter in their history. Revisiting the myth of the White Lady, Carach Angren introduce Kariba, a vengeful witch resurrected by a secret cult as they hit us with their signature combination of theatrical black metal, folklore and occultism. It’s a really special release, full of drama and theatre, packed with creativity and variety and of course, plenty of darkness and blackened metal too. It’s one of the year’s most compelling releases and a favourite of mine that I have gone back to regularly since its release.
Read our full review here.
3 – Carl: Halfway Home – Winter (Self Released)
Released on March 20th, 2025. A cathartic journey through the darkest corners of anxiety and depression, Winter is an emotional release. One that wears its heart on its sleeve and is all the better for it. Halfway Home’s willingness to be so authentically honest adds so much impact to the gloom that surrounds this EP, but it’s heartening to see it end up in a more uplifting place, showing that it is possible to come out the other side, battle-worn but unbroken.
Read our full review here.
3 – Brendan: Corroding Soul – Corroding Soul (Self Released)
Atmospheric black metal project, Corroding Soul, delivered a masterclass in emotional intensity with the independent release of their self-titled EP on the 24th of January. The EP is tremendously engaging and a fine example of how to create atmosphere. The whole release is so carefully crafted, where everything has been pieced together meticulously to create a stunning overall soundscape. This is up there with the very best of atmospheric/post black metal delivering powerfully emotional and impassioned music that made it comfortably one of my favourite releases of 2025.
Read our full review here.
2 – Carl: Mastiff – For All the Dead Dreams (Church Road Records)
Released on October 24th, 2025, via Church Road Records. As extreme as always, but with a bit more beatdown to their name, Mastiff’s new EP leans heavily and aggressively towards the hardcore scene, and with that comes some of the nastiest, ugliest, and angriest music the band has put out to date.
Read our full review here.
2 – Brendan: Baelfyr – Empowered By Hatred (Self Released)
Baelfyr released Empowered By Hatred on August 8th, and it quickly became one of my standout listens of the year. The EP is dark, heavy, and atmospheric, yet surprisingly catchy and groovy, with a creativity that makes every track feel purposeful. The songwriting is top-notch, flowing seamlessly from start to finish. It’s a tight, no-fluff collection of bangers that really announced Baelfyr to me and gave me one of my favourite Eps of the whole year.
Read our full review here.
1 – Carl: War Honey – All You’ll Ever Be Good For (Self Released)
Released on June 8th, 2025. One of the most creative records I’ve heard all year. Call ‘em alternative if you want, but War Honey are quite undefinable and this EP shows off an incredibly developed and varied musical palette.
Read our full review here.
1 – Brendan: Existentialist – Terminal (Seek & Strike)
Colchester-based symphonic death/deathcore band Existentialist released their EP Terminal on June 27th via Seek & Strike, and it immediately stood out as something special. Built around a trilogy of songs that flow as one, it’s a stunning example of modern metal and deathcore pushing beyond its usual limits. It reminded me of Lorna Shore’s Pain Remains trilogy in how it blends heaviness, darkness, and aggression with real passion and emotion. It’s a remarkable release that demanded attention, and I kept coming back to it again and again.
Read our full review here.
