Press release –
In the heart of Hamilton, Ontario LAST RETCH returns with Abject Cruelty, their most punishing and refined statement to date. Due out September 26, 2025 via Time to Kill Records, this eight-track slab of old-school death metal captures the raw energy of a band embracing its fury and focus with sharpened intent. It’s a soundtrack to social rot: tight, unflinching, and seething with contempt.
Formed in 2021 in nearby St. Catharines, LAST RETCH burst onto the scene with a no-frills demo and soon followed it up with their debut full-length Sadism and Severed Heads in 2023 (CDN Records), a brutal introduction that married memorable riffcraft with pit-ready aggression. With the Ergotism EP (2024, CDN/Iron Fortress), they pushed their sound forward, showing flashes of melody, groove, and lyrical scope, before turning their sights fully on Abject Cruelty, their most cohesive and devastating effort yet.
Written against the backdrop of a city in collapse, Abject Cruelty channels the band’s surroundings (mental illness, addiction, poverty, political abandonment) into lean, groove-driven death metal that cuts like a rusted scalpel. Opener “Abject Cruelty” sets the tone with oppressive atmosphere and relentless tremolo, while “Beasley Meth Merchants”, inspired by frontman Finlay Blakelock’s view from a Hamilton apartment, layers upbeat riffs with bleak commentary on drug abuse and systemic failure. “Dissecting the Leper” resurrects decade-old riffs into a live favorite built around a crushing breakdown, and “In the Polder They Reek”, strikes a balance between stomp and melody, capped off by a rare, ripping solo.
Much of Abject Cruelty was crafted during and after the Ergotism sessions. “Resinous Drip of Decay”, the first track written, plays like a BOLT THROWER homage filtered through modern existential dread. Its lyrics lash out at capitalist environmental collapse with almost prophetic rage. “Dissolved in Lye (Down to Rot)”, is a whirlwind of chaos, penned and recorded in a flurry just before studio time. Written collaboratively in 15 minutes and featuring drummer Spencer Robson’s on-the-fly contributions, it’s a sonic freefall into what the band calls the “nightmare zone,” a spastic, gory mess that gleefully collapses under its own weight. The lyrics are proudly dumb (zombies, mutilation, puke) but the music slaps hard enough to get away with it.
From there, “Oozing Pustules” takes things even lower: Drop A tuning, fat riffs, and a painfully real story about guitarist John Russell’s run-in with blood-hungry black flies while camping in Colombia. Finally, “Gatling Gun” closes the album with militant swagger, a track drenched in BOLT THROWER worship and big “hell yeah” energy. It’s an anti-fascist battle hymn built around warlike rhythms, written in 2024 but somehow more relevant in the burning political wasteland of 2025.
Throughout the album, LAST RETCH leans into their greatest strengths: short songs, big riffs, and a clear throughline of OSDM brutality fused with memorable hooks. Their influences, CARCASS, CANNIBAL CORPSE, BOLT THROWER, are never hidden, but always filtered through their own perspective. There’s no pretense, just power: straightforward songwriting, blistering performance, and the urgency of a band with something real to say. The songs are compact but dynamic, swapping between Drop B and Drop A tunings to carve out contrasting moods, one moment frantic and angular, the next slow and suffocating.
Produced, engineered, mixed, and mastered by DAVIS MAXWELL at Schoolhouse Studios, Abject Cruelty sounds as mean as it plays. The cover art by BRAD MOORE adds an appropriately grotesque visual to the record’s themes of bodily and societal decay.
With a reputation for high-energy live shows and previous gigs alongside GUTALAX, UNDEATH, GATES TO HELL, KRUELTY, and more, LAST RETCH stands poised to carve their name into the modern death metal landscape.
About LAST RETCH:
LAST RETCH is a death metal band from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, formed in 2021. Blending the earworm riffs of CARCASS, the anthemic drive of BOLT THROWER, and the relentless savagery of CANNIBAL CORPSE, the band delivers a modern take on old-school death metal that’s as visceral as it is memorable. With short, focused songs built around crushing grooves and no-nonsense structures, LAST RETCH distills the genre down to its most punishing essentials.
The current lineup: Finlay Blakelock (Vocals), Derek Brzozowski (Guitar), John Russell (Guitar), Matt Fyke (Bass), and Spencer Robson (Drums), operates with a clear mission: write riffs that stick, keep things tight, and hit hard. Each member brings a different perspective, resulting in a sound that nods to death metal’s roots while pushing into new territory with dynamics, pacing, and variation in tuning.
Since their formation, LAST RETCH has released a self-titled demo (2021), the full-length Sadism and Severed Heads (2023, CDN Records), and the Ergotism EP (2024, CDN Records/Iron Fortress Records). They’ve shared the stage with bands like GUTALAX, UNDEATH, GATES TO HELL, KRUELTY, and REPLICANT, earning a reputation for ferocious live performances and tight musicianship.
Their latest album, Abject Cruelty (2025, Time to Kill Records), is their most direct and aggressive work yet: an eight-track assault shaped by the decay and desperation of their hometown. With themes pulled from real life and riffs sharpened to a deadly point, LAST RETCH continues to evolve while staying rooted in the timeless brutality of death metal.
LAST RETCH is:
- Finlay Blakelock – Vocals
- Derek Brzozowski – Guitar
- John Russell – Guitar
- Matt Fyke – Bass
- Spencer Robson – Drums
www.https://lastretch.bandcamp.com.
