Happy Janky Fresh Friday! This week we had a surpring new release of Melvins’ and Napalm Death’s collaborative album “Savage Imperial Death March”, blessing the world with a psychedelic freeform experience that is not at all what most would expect from either of these bands until you hear it- and then it all makes sense in an odd way. It’s an absolute beast of a record and near impossible to explain, but we are going to try our best to break it down anyways. We were also blessed recently with new releases by Immolation and Snail Mail. Diverse and unexpected sounds are on the menu this Fresh Friday. Let’s get into it.
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Melvins & Napalm Death: Savage Imperial Death March (released April 10, 2026)- Ipecac Recordings
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The Melvins and Napalm Death are both metal bands that transcended their genres completely, both being associated more with alternative music and punk rock in modern times for how experimental they are rather than how heavy they are. The most ironic part about this being that both bands are objectively more heavy than most anyone else in the genre without even trying; albeit in completely different polarities and grooves.
Napalm Death’s emphasis is on brutal and pummeling fast grindcore. The Melvins’ bizarre and psychedelic noisey sludge metal is born out of love for 1/2 time head bangs and Sabbath’s deepest cuts. Considering how genre breaking and fearless both bands are with experimenting and exploring new sounds, their newest release challenges us with the question-
“What if two of the weirdest bands in all of heavy metal teamed up without compromising either of their signature styles in the process?”
I’m not sure if that question can be answered in any definitive way other than simply stating the name of the daring album- Savage Imperial Death March.
Everything about this fusion of worlds is so unexpected and necessary. The undertaking itself is actually quite predictable as Melvins and Napalm Death have toured together multiple times and do share a lot of crossover in their freak-metal fanbases; but the way this album sounds is not what you’d expect when you hear these two names together.
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As soon as the opening drums to “Tossing Coins Into The Fountain Of Fuck” can be heard, it’s clear that this album is going to be a lot more freeform jazz influenced than the sludgey/grindcore that we were probably expecting, with a spiraling repeating bassline that provides a base level as everything around it explodes into chaos with the signature psychedelic Melvins guitar solos by Buzz Osbourne that are outer world in their strange orbits. This opening track focuses more on Barney Greenway of Napalm Death’s growling snarly vocals, which was an excellent choice to ease the listener into the album considering how “unique” Buzz Osbourne’s vocals get later on. The influence from Melvins‘ end is definitely based around their freak, groove-heavy 00’s material like “A Senile Animal” than their heavier and more metal 80’s material like “Houdini”.
The next track “Some Kind Of Antichrist” cranks the weirdness of this collaborative sound up to 11 with dual vocals between Buzz and Barney that sound like aliens shouting their new rules for the world as they invade, with Buzz sounding like an aggressive overlord from another dimension while Barney chimes in growling afterwards as a golumn-like sidekick in the destruction. Both bands double down on the experimental edge even further as Buzz takes on a voice modulator reminscent of Styx’ “Mr. Roboto” before the entire structure of the song just breaks down completely into a freeform jam session. These are my favorite elements of the album personally; both bands are known for breaking into unexpected freeform moments that completely hypnotize the listener by surprise, but hearing them use these methods together feels inhuman in the best way possible.
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Before completely trailing off in its own avant-garde psychdelic direction, Buzz brings the freaky high-energy theatrics back with “Awful Handwriting”, having a very bouncy energy to it. Just because the tone shifed to a higher spirit doesn’t mean it’s any less jarring however, with Buzz singing in tongues rather than actual lyrics with synthesizers and horns rising slowly behind him. It’s avant-garde in its purest form, with the more grinding elements from Napalm Death bringing a balance that kept the track from delving too deep into Frank Zappa territory. The sort of whimsical nature of the past two songs completely changes up soon, however.
“Nine Days Of Rain” sounds like it could be the soundtrack to a bleak nuclear apocalypse, having a completely sinister tone that spikes the listener’s cortisol levels through the roof. The repetition from the more groovy songs is still present, but it’s used in a completely different way to create a uniquely bad trip experience. Melvins and Napalm Death have always used a repetition in their sounds to create a trance-like experience, but this release really dives deep into the different emotions that these sort of hypnotizing techniques can provide.
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The minimalist breakdown of all structure continues with the repetitive bassline of “Rip The God”, with Melvins‘ more progressive doom metal elements taking over the first half of the song before being engulfed by a massive wave of harsh noise through the second half as Napalm Death take over. Napalm Death’s longer more noise-heavy songs have never sounded better than they do here, with both bands bringing out the best qualities in each other. In the end, naming a genre is futile beyond being jazz jams coming to life in the studio than it does to any traditional sub-genre of metal in any way. While it’s not quite what I would have expected from a collab between these two bands with their own very distinct sounds, I can’t think of a more creative and interesting way to approach a project like this.
“Stealing Horses” picks the speed up a bit, resembling an 80’s Melvins song like “Honey Bucket” with its fast and technical groovy riff that really shines through the haze beyond the feedback and noise that surrounds it. For the diehard punk fans that like both of these bands, a lot of the earlier content in the album may have been a bit jarring or unexpected. Both Melvins and Napalm Death have never been afraid to switch up and piss off some close-minded audiences in the past, and this whole album is a prime example of their dedication as artists to making the most interesting and forward-thinking material they possibly can.
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While the last track provided some relief for the older more traditional fans of these legendary metal bands, “Comparison Is The Thief Of Joy” completely disregards those conventional elements as it is a mostly electronic noise-track. After an opening of straight-up feedback, synthesizers you would normally hear in a dungeon-synth song rise alongside operatic vocals. There is a groovy jazz-like element in the synth line here still, but the song takes on a much more progressive fantasy-like energy that is not at all metal in any way. This track is the perfect way to disarm the listener from feeling too comfortable once they’re used to any specific sound within the album, setting them up for the intensely epic closer to the album next.
“Death Hour” is an absolutely monster of a closing track, opening in a heavy groove that brings out the best elements of both bands as Buzz and Barney trade off vocals. For fans that might be a bit intimidated by the more freeform avant-garde elements of this album, I definitely recommend checking out this song at least. Any fan of heavy metal would be able to appreciate the guitar solos and enormous sound that both bands produce together, but the groovy nature of the first half isn’t something you hear often from the genre nowadays as it really brings metal back to its roots in the blues. The second half of the song just devolves into frantic instrumentals and noise as strange indiscernible vocals can be heard throughout.
“Death Hour” really sums up everything that Savage Imperial Death March stands for; completely surprising the listener at every turn with unexpected moments full of personality, without any fear of alienating the more close-minded fans. This is really what Melvins and Napalm Death have both always stood for, so it should be no surprise that this release is so surprising.
Other NEW April 10, 2026 Releases:
Immolation: Descent (released April 10, 2026)- Nuclear Blast
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Classic New York death metal band Immolation has returned to bring us the rawest and most gutteral elements of the genre on their newest release. Death metal is in one of its most experimental and out-there moments with slam metal and metalcore having masssive resurgences in popularity, so it is more refreshing than ever to hear the cathartic brutal roots of where the genre started. Immolation may be one of the first bands to explore the unconventional natures of death metal, but they’re still heavier and more menacing than any of the younger bands doing it nowadays.
Snail Mail: Peace In Place (released March 27, 2026)- Matador Records
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Legendary modern indie rock project Snail Mail by Lindsey Jordan celebrated her newest release “Peace in Place” by being true to the songwriting structures that elevated her voice to the highest levels of indie rock during that genre’s last peak in the 2010’s. Undoubtedly each song was written with Jordan singing and playing her guitar but the new addition’s to arrangements such as strings and other next logical steps in the maturation of an artist don’t sacrifice the elements that drew adulation to Snail Mail in the first place- a human singing songs and telling stories that resonated in the ears and the hearts of people.
We wish you the happiest of Janky Fresh Fridays. Enjoy your new music!
Words by Danny Ryan
