New Jersey’s death metal war machine sharpens the blade ahead of June 4 release via Bleeding Art Collective & Blood Blast Distribution
Somewhere deep in the industrial underbelly of New Jersey, a machine is waking up—and it’s not interested in mercy.
It’s called NIGHTS OF MALICE, and it sounds like a circular saw chewing through bone.
Their upcoming full-length Chaos Exordium drops June 4 through Bleeding Art Collective and Blood Blast Distribution (yes, that Blood Blast—tied to the empire of Nuclear Blast Records and Believe). This isn’t just another release date—it’s a scheduled detonation.
And the fuse? A track called “Ex-Mortis.”
This thing doesn’t ease in. It lunges.
“Ex-Mortis” is the sound of a band hitting that terrifying moment where everything locks in—where chaos becomes a weapon instead of a side effect. According to vocalist Brendan McGrath, this was the track that snapped the whole record into focus like a vertebra under pressure.
Midway through writing Chaos Exordium, the song emerged like a blueprint soaked in gasoline. From there, the rest of the album fell into place—each track selected, sharpened, and arranged with surgical intent. Not to experiment. Not to wander.
To destroy.
If you’re hunting for reference points, you’ll hear the DNA of bands like Psycroptic, Whitechapel, Aborted, and Archspire—but this isn’t imitation. It’s escalation.
Razor-wire technical riffing. Grooves that feel like collapsing buildings. Vocals fired in rapid bursts like automatic gunfire. This is what happens when precision meets violence and neither side backs down.
Behind the scenes, the band returns to their long-time co-conspirators at Atrium Audio—producers Carson Slovak and Grant McFarland—a duo who’ve helped shape releases from Black Crown Initiate, August Burns Red, Rivers Of Nihil, and The Ghost Inside.
Ten years deep in the trenches together, and it shows.
The result? A mix that doesn’t just hit—it dominates. Guitar-driven, riff-obsessed, and engineered to feel like it’s pressing down on your chest while the room caves in.
And then there’s “Ex-Mortis” itself—a Frankenstein’s monster stitched together from everything this band does best:
Fast riffs.
Brutal vocals.
Blast beats.
Unhinged drum fills.
Breakdowns that feel like blunt force trauma.
A solo that screams like it’s trying to escape the track.
It’s not subtle. It’s not meant to be.
Lyrically, McGrath digs into the blood-soaked mythology of The Evil Dead—a franchise that’s been corrupting metal musicians for decades. Demons, possession, madness… the usual beautiful mess. But this isn’t homage—it’s possession. His own take, dragged through the mud and reborn in distortion.
Chaos Exordium isn’t an experiment. It’s a declaration.
NIGHTS OF MALICE have stripped things back to their core philosophy: riffs first, violence always. No distractions. No apologies. Just the heaviest, most relentless version of themselves to date.
And “Ex-Mortis” is your warning shot.
Ignore it at your own risk.
This is the gospel.
I bite crowd surfers.
Killer.
