Noroth from Seattle and Mortual from San José in Costa Rica join forces on a split album out on 30 October 2026: a twelve-inch vinyl from the Netherlands’ Night Terrors Records, plus CD and tape from the US label Goat Throne Records. It is a meeting of two of the most interesting names in today’s underground death metal.
Country: USA (Noroth) / Costa Rica (Mortual)
Genre: Old school death metal
For fans of: Drawn And Quartered, Slayer
The split holds six brand-new tracks and one cover, with both bands backing the most classic values of the genre: riffs you remember, careful songwriting and atmosphere without exaggeration. Noroth contribute three exclusive tracks, extending the cavernous, battle-scarred sound that has made them one of the strongest names in American death metal — Crowned in Pestilence, Tongue ov Soot and Ash and Sepulchre ov Hollowed Eyes. Mortual answer from the other side with four tracks full of blasphemy, violence and relentless aggression: Eclipse of Dominion, Crown of Unbeing, Sanctified Decay and a cover of Slayer’s «Black Magic».
Two of those tracks are already out ahead of the release. Noroth’s «Sepulchre ov Hollowed Eyes», which singer and bassist Biaggo describes as a bleak journey around five demonic entities, each one matching a stage of mourning, while drummer Mike calls it the longest and most dynamic song they have ever written. On Mortual’s side, «Crown of Unbeing» carries the momentum of late-80s and early-90s death metal: a descent into the darkest layers of nothingness, where death is not an end but an enthronement in absolute damnation, as they put it themselves.
Alongside the release, Noroth head out on a European tour with American veterans Drawn And Quartered, from 29 October to 13 November 2026, with Killtown Bookings handling the organisation.
Our take
The split rests on a simple bet: two bands with a different origin and a slightly different approach, but a shared idea of what makes a death metal track stay in your head. Noroth bring the weight and the atmosphere, Mortual the speed and the filth, and the contrast works in favour of both. For anyone following the underground, it is one of the most focused dates of the year.
See also
Obituary – Cause of Death and Brutal Truth – Need to Control.
