NAPALM DEATH Is Working On Their First New Album Since 2020

Napalm Death are officially back in the studio. The legendary British grindcore band have begun recording demos for their 17^th studio album, with bassist Shane Embury and touring guitarist John Cooke entering Parlour Studios in Kettering, U.K. alongside longtime producer Russ Russell.

Russell, whose résumé includes work with Dimmu Borgir, At The Gates, Amorphis, and countless extreme metal staples, has been a key collaborator for Napalm Death over the years, helping shape the band's modern sonic assault.

In a short video filmed at the studio, Embury confirmed the sessions in typically blunt Napalm fashion. "Hello everybody, here I am at Parlour Studios with my colleague, brother, fellow creator, madman — Mr. Russ Russell," Embury said. "Working on new Napalm material. Put that in your pipe and smoke it, everybody."

The accompanying caption offered further confirmation that the sessions are already well underway: "Here we are at Parlour Studios with main man Russ Russell once again," Embury wrote. "Grinding in the new year on some new Napalm Death demos…"

While full lineup details and a release timeline have yet to be revealed, the studio update marks the first concrete step toward the follow-up to 2020's Throes of Joy in the Jaws of Defeatism, a record widely praised for balancing Napalm Death's grindcore origins with darker, more experimental textures.

It's also not clear if Mitch Harris will play guitar on this one, considering he hasn't toured with the band in over a decade. Though he's performed with the band in the studio, including on Throes of Joy in the Jaws of Defeatism. So we'll see what happens.