A most greatest EP

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DESPITE the title, System Of A Down's Lonely Day EP is like bumping into an old friend.

Poor grammar aside – "the most loneliest" indeed – the title track is a polished, atmospheric track taken from their 2005 album Hypnotize that typifies the band's stadium-shaking sound. However this is followed by a glut of older rarities beginning with Shame, a glorious cover version and collaboration with the Wu-Tang Clan which sees Serj Tankian stepping into ODB's larger-than-life shoes.

Accompanying this are System Of A Down's reworking of Black Sabbath's Snowblind and a cover of Berlin's Metro, and completing the spread is Marmalade, a track originally cut from the band's eponymous debut.

Although there's nothing new here for the band's hardcore followers - which will not dispel the rumours the band are not to record together again - Lonely Day is a timely reminder that the metal landscape is all the more desolate without them.