There’s a reason I spend a substantial amount of time combing the extreme music underground for obscure bands instead of listening to the latest boring ALL THAT REMAINS or SUICIDE SILENCE album for the hundredth time. VATTNET VISKAR’S self titled EP is that reason.

If you aren’t familiar with the band yet (and you probably aren’t because you’re not as cool and underground as me), they play a style of multi-hyphenate metal that defies easy categorization. Their primary style is black metal but there’s doom, death and post-metal influence as well. Yeah, I know, VATTNET VISKAR sound suspiciously like a band hipsters would enjoy. But if you’re going to write off this band based on its fans, you’re missing out on something great here. You’re also a douche.

As I said before, VATTNET VISKAR are a band that defy categorization. There’s plenty of blast beats and tremolo picking to appease the “trve kvlt” crowd, but these claustrophobic musical passages frequently open up to a soundscape of droning guitars and slow, grinding tempos. There’s even some lonely acoustic guitar work at one point. Although the EP is split in to tracks, the best way to experience this composition is as a whole. At roughly 27 minutes in length, that’s not such a task, and you’ll be rewarded with one of the best heavy music experiences of 2012.

Somehow VATTNET VISKAR have created something that’s at once apocalyptic, soaring, expansive and claustrophobic. But also relentlessly vicious. Now that Century Media have signed these guys, expect them to start getting much more (well deserved) press. But, for now, check out their Bandcamp site to stream their demo and EP for free. Or you could dish out a measly four dollars to support an amazing up-and-coming band, you cheap jerk.