Can you hear them gnawing? Arizona thrash metal pioneers Flotsam and Jetsam are unleashing their Napalm Records debut, Rats in the Temple, on August 28 — and if the pre-release description is anything to go by, this is going to be their most ferocious record yet.
"This record is a BEAST, truly our best effort to date!!" says frontman Eric A.K. Knutson. "Do yourself a favor. Dim the lights, grab a drink, put the headphones on, and crank this up. You will not be sorry you did!!!"
The 13-track Napalm debut lunges out with ornate guitarmonies, pummeling double bass kicks, hypnotic bass grooves, and Eric A.K.'s unmistakably haunting wail. Lyrically, the album is a dark world of death, abuse, betrayal, and war — not too distant from our own. The record spans from stadium-ready hooks ("Harvesting the Hate," "Damnation") to pure thrash virtuosity ("Absolution"), all the way through an anti-war anthem ("A Taste for War") that will rattle your ribcage.
Track Listing:
"Harvesting the Hate" / "Damnation" / "Absolution" / "Blame the Knife" / "Rats in the Temple" / "The Ghost behind my Door" / "First on the Spike" / "The Edge of Nowhere" / "Last Rites" / "A Taste for War" / "Her Blood your Pain" / "Anthem for the Broken" / "Not Going Down that Way"
Available formats: 2-LP Gatefold (Splattered Vinyl), 2-LP Gatefold (Black), 1-CD Digisleeve, Digital Album
Flotsam and Jetsam have been raising hell for nearly four decades — from the Kerrang!-championed classic Doomsday for the Deceiver (1986) to the modern renaissance of I Am the Weapon (2024). Rats in the Temple looks set to be the next chapter of that relentless legacy.