On his new EP, Phil Elverum, also known as Mount Eerie, delivers the sort of urgent spastic thrashing that devotees have been longing for since the dissolution of his previous band, The Microphones. Its six songs, most of which clock in at less than four minutes, are multi-faceted gems that evolve from start to finish, rather than leaning on conventional verse-chorus structures. Leading off with “Appetite,” Elverum begins with familiar restrained strumming and subdued vocals, but the lyrical passage “constantly waking up/ to obliteration!” triggers an eruption of huge, thrashing riffs. This style recurs throughout the album, blending speed metal ferocity with loud, sludgy chords and majestic fretwork that would sound familiar to a Slayer fan.

Although every song integrates this musical theme in some form, each one has its own unique character. “Domesticated Dog” is a pop-tinged delight, somehow channelling the long-deceased spirit of pre-crappy Weezer, while “Don’t Smoke” is a diatribe against cigarettes that eventually morphs into an existentialist rant (“Is it because there’s a little part of you that wants to be dead?”). “Stop Singing” closes the album, a slow-burner that takes its time cresting towards a cacophonous climax of shredding. Based on this EP, fans can look forward to a full-on return to form from Elverum on next year’s anticipated Wind’s Poem.