Ontario blackened punk quartet the Long Dark Road recently released a new, self-titled EP. However, one might argue the EP case as its measly four tracks clock in at roughly seven, eight, nine, and ten minutes long, with a total runtime that breaches 35 minutes. So, despite the lack of songs, it still serves as a pretty fulfilling listen with lots of variation to offer.
Throwing in ideas derived from punk, black metal, rock, and more, The Long Dark Road could easily appeal to fans of anything from Deafheaven, to Sparta, to Guttermouth, to the Bled, and any unusual combination in between. The band’s composer Jeremy Cavan was in fact highly inspired by Deafheaven’s 2013 album Sunbather but wanted to continue breaking down the barriers of the black metal genre by lessening the use of what’s typically an incessant scream, which Cavan says “causes the scream to lose all its impact and tends to destroy all other perceivable emotions other than anger.”
You can listen to the band’s new EP in full below. It’s a great soundtrack for blowing off some steam.
Digital and vinyl copies of The Long Dark Road are available now through Bandcamp.
