CHAOS & CARNAGE 2025 w/ DYING FETUS / CRADLE OF FILTH + SPECIAL GUEST

DYING FETUS established a reputation for uncompromising integrity with a slew of classic albums and today rides a resurgence of respect and esteem with a new generation. As Revolver Magazine wrote upon the release of their first new material since 2017’s Wrong One To Fuck With: “Their unique sound has always straddled the line between extreme metal instrumentation and heavy hardcore chugginess, and right now, they’re extremely well-regarded by many of today’s heavy-hitting hardcore acts, as well as their fair share of death metal and deathcore up-and-comers.”

Recorded in Baltimore with longtime producer Steve Wright (Future Islands) and mixed by Mark Lewis (Cannibal Corpse), Make Them Beg For Death contains every Dying Fetus hallmark. The veteran death metal band’s ninth album is fast, intense, and brimming with unstoppable grooves.

Monstrous riffs, blast beats, unstoppable hooks, and earth-moving grooves define their catalog. The Black Dahlia Murder, Suicide Silence, and Whitechapel co-headlined tours with Dying Fetus in recent years, a testament to the veteran band’s continued relevance and respect in the genre.

Decibel Magazine inducted the band’s zeitgeist third album, Destroy the Opposition (2000), into their prestigious Hall Of Fame, next to genre-defining classics from the likes of Metallica and Slayer. Metal Injection hailed Wrong One to Fuck With as a “menacing motherfucker.” The band continually refines its unique take on death, grind, and hardcore with a combination of virtuosity and ferocity, inescapably catchy hooks and punishing breakdowns, and a lack of pretension.

“We put our own twist on death metal,” explains co-vocalist/guitarist John Gallagher, who co-founded the group in 1991. “We were like most bands, starting in the garage, drinking beer, having a little fun on the weekend, finding the right amps through trial and error. We blended aspects of bands we liked – Suffocation, Obituary, Deicide, and Cannibal Corpse, among others; the dual vocal approach of Carcass – and made them our own. ‘Let’s make it moshy, let’s make it slammy.’”

Surprisingly, the band took a few cues from early Agnostic Front and Madball and even a bit of Rage Against The Machine, whose debut album arrived in 1992. “I wanted to take some of that groove and put it into death metal,” Gallagher says. Internal Bleeding, arguably the first band to do “all slam, all the time,” was another influence; their native New York was just a few hours away from the Dying Fetus home base in Maryland. “That whole New York scene really inspired us. It was a big part of our development, as all of our bands were continually influenced by each other.”

Eschewing leather and spikes in favor of t-shirts, and shorts, the “street level” look of Dying Fetus ruffled some feathers in elitist metal circles but helped the music crossover to other scenes. That no-frills approach is the norm today; some death metal bands even sell branded basketball shorts.

Early demos and a pair of albums on smaller labels led to the landmark release of Destroy the Opposition. The high-speed Stop At Nothing (2003) introduced bassist Sean Beasley, who began sharing vocal duties with Gallagher on the excessively brutal War of Attrition (2007).

Drummer Trey Williams rounded out the modern, definitive Dying Fetus lineup beginning with the tech-metal masterpiece, Descend into Depravity (2009). “Outstanding technical bands like Necrophagist were out at that time,” Beasley remembers. “I wrote songs with like 25 riffs in them.”

While no less technically proficient, Reign Supreme (2012) pushed the band’s groovier side back to the forefront. (“Second Skin” even appeared in an episode of South Park.) Five years later, “Dying Fetus hit the mark again” (Exclaim!) with the ruthless and crushing Wrong One To Fuck With.

Hatebreed, As I Lay Dying, Knocked Loose, GWAR, Morbid Angel, and Six Feet Under are just a few bands who’ve taken Dying Fetus on tour over the years. In 2014, the fan-driven and tongue-in-cheek “What About Dying Fetus?” hashtag campaign earned them a mainstage spot at the UK’s Download Festival, playing before the likes of Bring Me The Horizon, Fall Out Boy, and Linkin Park.

Make Them Beg For Death, set for release in 2023, delivers savage beatdowns equally designed to pulverize and mesmerize. “It follows on from where Wrong One To Fuck With left off,” Williams promises. “We don’t need to participate in the technical death metal arms race. We’ve got the big guns, and we’ve proven that. It’s all about pointing them in the right direction, so to speak.”  

To the men of Dying Fetus, the mission is straightforward. “The philosophy is the same now as it was when the band started,” Gallagher confirms. “To write catchy riffs and to make it memorable. Whatever style of music you’re doing, make it something people want to hear repeatedly.”

Formed in 2007, Italian Symphonic Death Metal maestros FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE are finally back with their fifth and brand new album titled Opera, a gut-wrenching musical journey inspired by the tragic mountain climbing accident that occurred to their frontman and mastermind Francesco Paoli, in 2021.

“The best stories always come from pain, it's a bitter truth yet undeniable,” says Francesco. “That's why human struggles have always been an unending source of inspiration for artists throughout history. But one thing is creating art that gives voice to someone else’s tribulations, another is accepting to bare your soul to the world and reveal your weaknesses and frailties, while attempting to turn them into new resources for your own creativity. It's a dangerous game, since we never know what our twisted mind has in store for us, but it's a game you must play if you really want to bring your art to the highest level and leave a trace that has a deeper meaning, not just mere entertainment for distracted people.”

“After my fall, I woke up in a hospital, underwent several surgeries, constantly getting terrible news and spending many months not knowing if I would ever be able to play an instrument again. I felt condemned. Fear, painkillers, wheelchairs have been daily food for my frustration. Retracing what happened that day, as well as the days, months, years after, has been such an exhausting and frightening journey, in which I had to face my demons once again and deal with memories I hoped I had left behind.”

“Was all this worth it? Let the others tell. All I can say is that, although it was clear that this was the right thing to do, we could not even remotely imagine how strongly this process would have affected our songwriting, igniting our creativity and reinvigorating our attitude after years of deep coma due to the pandemic. We managed to turn one of the worst things in life into a work of art, that embodies our personal and artistic growth and takes the listeners on a rollercoaster of emotions, where they can experience what I've been through hand in hand with me. It's a waking nightmare but that's how life is sometimes, just scary.”

The whole album is structured like a 10-act theatrical piece, as the title itself, Opera, draws a clear thread with the everlasting tradition of Italian classical music theater and its icons, from Giuseppe Verdi to Giacomo Puccini, combining it with the epic brutality of death and symphonic metal, which has become their trademark sound.

On the trail of such powerful heritage, embodied by Veronica Bordacchini’s outstanding vocal performance, each chapter enlightens a different angle of Francesco’s story, both musically and lyrically.

Francesco adds: “In my visionary representation of this journey, that begins with my near death experience and culminates in a much desired physical and psychological rebirth, I wanted to frame every single step of my calvary, as if they were acts of an "Opera Lirica", with dialogues or even confessions to imaginary characters, who have been constant presences throughout my whole (mis)adventure. Death, Life, Hope are among these entities, masterfully interpreted by Veronica, that from time to time assist or prevent me from digging deeper in my memory and personality, examining objectively my emotional states and behaviors and finding a sense to all this. This album tosses you in a vortex of discomfort and uncontrollable feelings, where you can experience pain, fear, desperation, anger, frustration, but also resolve, courage, hope and a profound desire for redemption.”

“In fact, besides being grateful for the privilege of sharing my personal experience through FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE  art, I strongly believe that this album is a solid manifest of resilience, and I hope that my story will inspire people who got “lost” for whatever reason. Since the accident I’ve been posting on socials about my rehab and received hundreds of messages of appreciation for that. People need motivation, need examples that can make them restart believing in themselves. And for me, this is part of the game, this is the best way I can give them something back after all these years of loving support. Life is a wonderful thing, even when everything around us seems to be falling apart we must find a meaning for existing and, unexpectedly, sometimes second chances can be way more exciting than the first ones.”

Mixed and mastered by Grammy-nominated producer Jacob Hansen (Volbeat, Epica, Arch Enemy), Opera definitely marks another step forward for the band, incorporating new suggestions into that unique blend that FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE are renowned for: sheer violence, majestic orchestrations and soaring melodies.

While showcasing new maturity in songwriting, the album retains a strong stylistic bond with the band’s previous efforts, from the furious blast beats of ‘Mafia’ and ‘Agony’ to the epic, grandiose atmospheres of Labyrinth or King, along with the unquestionable technical prowess that made ‘Oracles’ and ‘Veleno’ instant classics among fans of the genre.

Such an ambitious musical endeavor called for an equally impressive artwork, a team effort between two arising Italian talents (artist extraordinaire Felicita Fiorini and visionary photographer Francesco Esposito), following the path traced by baroque painters like Caravaggio and Artemisia Gentileschi.

Born in 2007, FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE quickly established themselves among the leaders of symphonic death metal. As of today, some of their most acclaimed releases such as Agony (2011) or King (2016) are still considered milestones by fans and critics alike. With this new record, they're setting the bar even higher, pioneering what looks like a completely new sub-genre that might be called “Opera Metal”: an unprecedented mix of extreme music and theatrical elements.

For sure, this won't sound surprising for anyone who has witnessed one of their intense live performances.

The band is now preparing a huge worldwide touring campaign in support of this new masterpiece.

FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE are now ready to take everyone to the Opera.

New York-based death metal greats Undeath emerge from festering slime with their new album, More Insane, for Prosthetic Records. Previous album It's Time... To Rise from the Grave caught a wave of acclaim on TheNeedleDrop's YouTube channel, earned Best New Music from Pitchfork, and, most impressively, rocketed to the top of Decibel Magazine's Top 40 Albums of 2022, along with a coveted cover feature. On More Insane, Undeath—featuring Kyle Beam (guitars), Alexander Jones (vocals), Tommy Wall (bass), Jared Welch (guitars), and Matt Browning (drums)—feast on the rotten flesh of brutality, complexity, and depravity. Singles "Brandish the Blade," "Disputatious Malignancy," and the title track are imbued with death metal's immortal soul but possess Undeath's inimitable energy, pit-friendly hooks, and work-hardened ethos.

"We put more pressure on ourselves than anyone else—it's all internal," says Jones. "We always try to one-up ourselves. There's exterior pressure for sure, but we ignore it. Ultimately, we're just big fans of our band. We know what we want to hear from ourselves, so we're always making music we'd be stoked to listen to as Undeath fans."

"The songwriting has been streamlined a lot since Lesions," Beam adds. "Even though I wrote [for this album] on the road, most of the songs were written at home in my chair—I just ripped them out. I'm trying to get closer to tracing the line of metal from the mid-'70s to now. More to the point, if you've never heard us before and see us live, you can take something away from it. We want people to remember the songs. That's important to us."

Undeath rose to infamy since forming in Rochester, New York, in 2018. From the gory, wild-eyed splatter of the band's embryonic period (Demo '19 and Sentient Autolysis) to the fervent fan and press acclaim of debut Lesions of a Different Kind (2020) and Billboard Chart-topping successor It's Time..., the Rochesterians' mastery of the extremely extreme is no mean feat. They've logged over 250 shows to date (sharing the stage with Exodus, The Black Dahlia Murder, Suffocation, et al.), played festivals in the U.S. (Decibel Metal & Beer Fest, Milwaukee Metalfest), Denmark (Copenhell), the Netherlands (Into the Grave), the U.K. (Download, Damnation), and Beam even has a Dunable Guitars signature model, the 'Skeletonizer.' Undeath not only knuckled down on effort, but most importantly, they've written great songs, like "Rise from the Grave," "Lesions of a Different Kind," and "Necrobionics." More Insane intensifies all aspects of Undeath's horrifying visage.

"The songwriting is the same as always—riffs, drums, vocals, brutality," exclaims Beam. "Writing began before It's Time… was released. 'Dead From Beyond' was the first track completed, while a few tracks took slightly longer to form up. 'Cramped Caskets (Necrology)' was the most recently completed track. 'Bones Clattering in the Cave' is a Tommy [Wall] track, and Jared [Welch] also brought his A-game to

'Disattachment of a Prophylactic in the Brain.' Like me, those guys are always writing. They have a great work ethic. We're proud of this record—it's absolutely Undeath!"

"'Bones' is such a strong closer," Jones says. "The track has an intense finality to it that I really enjoy. I'm happy where it ended up on the album. 'Brandish,' our first non-tech, fantasy-only tracks, and 'Disputatious' are two tracks I felt had to be on the record when I heard them. The rough demo of 'Brandish' was so sick. The title track, 'More Insane,' is straight death metal goodness—an undeniable death metal banger. When we played it for [producer] Mark Lewis in the studio, he said, 'You'll be playing this song for the rest of your lives.'"

If the gross-out teenage hallucinations of It's Time... rattled death metal's caved-in cranium, More Insane explodes with even sicker vistas. Lyrically, Undeath pick up, in part, where 'Necrobionics' and 'Enhancing the Dead' left off. Indeed, the undead armies (from space) cause more carnage in 'Sutured for War' and 'Dead from Beyond.' Elsewhere, the New Yorkers summon nightmares from video games (Bloodborne, etc.) on 'Cramped Caskets (Necrology),' turn to high fantasy on 'Brandish the Blade,' and man-eating laboratory demons on 'Disattachment of a Prophylactic in the Brain.' Unifying themes of murder, weirdos, psychotic people (who kill others), and more lunacy prevail on More Insane. Browning's eye-catching cover art of a splayed head atop an optic white background engulfs all in graphic, blood-soaked glory.

"The head on the More Insane artwork is a sort of god-head figure," says Beam. "The whole Undeath painting universe exists in this severed, cleaved, dying head. Its inception was born of the More Insane chorus, 'inside my head a catacomb.'"

"We were sitting at a bar in Manhattan after a show, and Kyle told me he was writing a song called 'More Insane,'" Jones adds. "I knew, without needing to hear a note of music, that it also needed to be the record's title. It's catchy, funny, simple, and memorable. Our last two album titles have been mouthfuls, and I was really into paring it back a little this time and having a title that just popped. Also, Kyle half-jokingly once said, 'I don't want to sleep because I'd rather just be crazy.' The title always reminds me of that. Why commit yourself to something as sick as death metal if you're not in More Insane mode 100% of the time?"

The recording of More Insane was hearsed over to American studio wizard Mark Lewis (Cannibal Corpse, The Black Dahlia Murder) at Mark Lewis Audio in Nashville, TN. Undeath and Lewis met after a gig in Alabama. They became fast friends. With the basics out of the way, the group set up a month-long residency at Lewis's studio to nail down More Insane. Undeath and Lewis co-produced, while Lewis handled engineering, mixing, and mastering. "Brandish the Blade," "Disputatious Malignancy," "Dead from Beyond," and the title track are pure, unyielding death brought to horrifying reality by a kick-ass production.

"Mark gets the old-school stuff," says Beam. "He's not like some guy who only knows music from 2000 and later. I just thought it would be cool to work with him. When we met previously, we clicked with him immediately. He was extremely cool, and we all have a similar juvenile sense of humor. Also, I wanted tighter and better arrangements than last time, but not necessarily crazier or heavier. We have another great group of songs, so we focused on the production. The biggest thing about More Insane is the production. Compared to It's Time…, this record isn't as claustrophobic. It highlights the songs."

"This time around, there was just a specific sound we were chasing that we knew Mark could execute perfectly," Jones says. "We wanted it to be bigger, brighter, and clearer—the kind of record that doesn't lose any of its clarity when you turn it way the f**k up. Mark is 100% the guy for that sound. From a strictly professional perspective, Mark really pushed us all to deliver the best possible performances. He helped me step out of my way vocally and open up to a broader range of screaming I'd never really tried to access. He was a joy to make the record with."

Expect Undeath to take More Insane to their diehard fans around the world. Expect more bloodshed, crazier merch, and a ton of fun. In life, there's only Undeath. Only this time, it's More Insane!

Birthed in 2019 and fostered in the decrepit streets of Houston, Texas, Corpse Pile dropped a small handful of self-released demos and singles before signing with Maggot Stomp. After releasing their 2024 debut EP, “Hardgore Deathmetal”, Corpse Pile cemented themselves as one of the heaviest bands in the rise of modern brutal slamming death metal. 

Fresh off tours with Peeling Flesh and labelmates Snuffed on Sight and Bodybox, Corpse Pile have begun work on a follow-up release along with planning more touring for 2025.

CORPSE PILE:
Jason Frazier: Vocals
Landry Arredondo: Guitar
Davis Snyder: Bass
Alex Covarrubias: Drums