New York punks Warthog have a mystique about them. Warthog make thundering, scabrous hardcore punk with metal majesty and basement intensity, and they’ve honed their attack to the point where they seem like they’re channeling mystical elements whenever they let loose. Warthog also go long stretches of time without releasing any new music, so whenever they do something new, it feels like an event. This morning, we got a new Warthog EP, and it hits real hard.

Warthog’s new EP is self-titled, and it’s actually their third self-titled EP; the members of Warthog evidently do not care whether or not you can keep their shit straight. (The last self-titled Warthog EP came out in 2018.) The new EP only features three songs, but then Warthog really only have one song, and they keep bringing back new variations on it. That’s not a complaint. Their one song rules extremely hard, and getting three new versions of it today — or really two, since they already shared the opener “Four Walls” — feels huge.

Gotta be real for a second here. Last night, the Chisel played in Richmond with Dark Thoughts, Public Acid, and Quarantine. I’m sick with COVID, so I didn’t get to go. That shit sucks, and I’m really bummed about it. This new Warthog EP seems specifically engineered to make me feel better about missing that exact show, and I’m grateful. Stream it below.

The Warthog EP is out now on Toxic State in the US and Static Shock in Europe.