Flotsam And Jetsam: Rats In The Temple (2LP)

THIS ITEM WILL BE SHIPPED TO YOU ON OR NEAR AUGUST 28, 2026

More than four decades into their career, Flotsam & Jetsam are showing absolutely no interest in slowing down. Rats in the Temple, their sixteenth studio album, arrives on 28 August 2026 and marks the Arizona thrash veterans’ first release for Napalm Records. Following the excellent run of The End of Chaos, Blood in the Water and I Am the Weapon, the band sound remarkably energised.

“Harvesting the Hate” opens proceedings with Eric A.K. Knutson’s unmistakable vocals soaring over the twin-guitar attack of Michael Gilbert and Steve Conley. “Damnation” follows before “Absolution” pushes the record firmly into precision thrash territory. These are musicians who know exactly what makes Flotsam & Jetsam work, combining speed and aggression with the melodic sensibility that has always separated them from countless other thrash bands.

The title track “Rats in the Temple” is a particularly strong demonstration of the band’s modern sound. It’s heavy and technically sharp without abandoning memorable songwriting. “Blame the Knife,” “The Ghost Behind My Door” and “First on the Spike” continue that balance between old-school thrash and the considerably heavier production of the band’s recent albums.

Drummer Ken Mary and bassist Bill Bodily provide a formidable rhythm section throughout. They come particularly to the foreground on the anti-war “A Taste for War,” while “Her Blood Your Pain” introduces elaborate guitar harmonies before “Anthem for the Broken” drives the record towards its conclusion.

The album was produced by Ken Mary and Flotsam & Jetsam, with Jacob Hansen handling mixing and mastering at Hansen Studios in Denmark. The lineup remains Eric A.K. Knutson, Michael Gilbert, Steve Conley, Bill Bodily and Ken Mary.

For a band whose debut Doomsday for the Deceiver appeared back in 1986, this late-career run has been impressive. Rats in the Temple doesn’t survive on the reputation of those early records. It presents Flotsam & Jetsam as a functioning, hungry metal band still capable of producing new material worthy of sitting alongside their established catalogue.