NEW ALBUM "RITUAL DECAY" OUT AUGUST 29TH
“Mercy Death” is the latest single from Toronto post-metal conjurors/recent MNRK Heavy signees, lowheaven. The crushing new hymn comes by way of the band’s Ritual Decay debut full-length set for release on August 29th.
Produced by Brett Romnes and mastered by Mangus Lindberg, Ritual Decay is full of heavy distortion, shifting dynamics, layering, and, as vocalist/guitarist Dan Thomson puts it, “earphone candy.” Pulling heavily from ‘90s influences like Cave In and Deftones, the record feels nostalgic in nature delivering ten tracks that explore the reality of complete social isolation and the acceptance of what it means to lose faith in life and yourself with technical prowess.
Thomson elaborates on “Mercy Death," “This song feels like the soundtrack to my nightmares. It was one of the songs in the batch where I realized just how heavy this band was going to be. Our goal was always to find a way to musically transmit what we all felt going on around us, and this one hit the nail on the head. As with a lot of the songs on Ritual Decay, I came in with a rough framework of the lyrics and then rewrote the whole song the night before recording it. I was spending the late nights in the studio isolated, just pouring over and scrutinizing every line. Every detail. Trying to find a way to free myself. This is the product of that.”
“The original working title for this song was ‘Godzilla,’” recalls guitarist/keyboardist Alex Pley, “and it earned it. Writing this song with Dan and [vocalist/bassist] Mikey [Buchta] in the early days of the band was when it started to really sink in how heavy we were going to get. One of the ‘themes’ that I really tried to stick with when writing for this band was a sort of ‘end of the world’ feel; terrifying and powerful. The end of this song is a fucking monster, and playing this song live is going to ruin some people’s lives if they aren't ready. Chaos king still reigns.”
Adds guitarist Pat Pajak, “This song almost feels like an elastic band that just won't snap when playing it. Definitely encapsulates the dread lowheaven strives to convey, but with some melody and resolve as well. I feel it reflects the range lowheaven delivers rather well.”
This July, lowheaven will take to the streets on a week-long US run of live dates with Tan And Handsome. See all confirmed dates below.
lowheaven Live w/ Tan And Handsome:
7/18/2025 Preserving Underground – Pittsburgh, PA
7/19/2025 Golden Pony – Harrisonburg, VA
7/20/2025 Vfw Post 4933 – Kingsport, TN
7/21/2025 Milestone’s – Charlotte, NC
7/22/2025 Ottobar – Baltimore, MD
7/23/2025 Sellersville Theatre – Sellersville, PA
7/24/2025 The Woodshop – Brooklyn, NY
