Thrash Legends FLOTSAM AND JETSAM Unleash “Rats In The Temple”

Finally, the time has come, the first look into thrash legends FLOTSAM AND JETSAM’s new album Rats In The Temple, out August 28, 2026 via Napalm Records. The album’s title track is a ghoulish hit packing sweeping guitarmonies, thunderous drums, and exalted frontman Eric A.K. Knutson’s haunting wail. After four trailblazing decades, countless world tours, and 15 groundbreaking studio albums, FLOTSAM AND JETSAM remain refined and revered.

Eric A.K. Knutson says about the track:
“We’re super excited to release the first single from the album, which is very fittingly the title track, ‘Rats In The Temple’!  This song has a lot to say, and we hope the fans love the song as much as we do. This is possibly one of the most technically challenging songs FLOTSAM has ever recorded, and we look forward to delivering this song live as well!”

Rats In The Temple opens strong with the stadium-ready hooks and dizzyingly precise performances of “Harvesting The Hate” and “Damnation”, before delving into thrash virtuosity on “Absolution”. The iconic guitar duo of Michael Gilbert and Steve Conley paint vividly ghoulish images on tracks like “Blame The Knife” and “Rats In the Temple”, then continue to flex their metal muscle on “The Ghost Behind My Door” and “First on the Spike”, invoking pure first-wave excellence with a pummeling modern menace. “The Edge of Nowhere” builds inescapable suspense before firing listeners out of a gun, full throttle into “Last Rites”, another standout track for the band. The legendary rhythm duo of drummer Ken Mary and bassist Bill Bodily take center stage on the anti-war anthem “A Taste For War”, their methodical syncopation invoking images of tanks and boots on the ground. “Her Blood Your Pain” brings ornate, medieval guitarmonies before “Anthem For The Broken” goes full balls to the wall, and “Going Down That Way” hits listeners with heavy riffs and even heavier truths. Rats In The Temple remains enthralling throughout, giving listeners entry to numerous of the band’s metal chambers, sampling a refined and eclectic serving of influences.

Churning like magma beneath the Earth, FLOTSAM AND JETSAM have only been growing more and more fiery with time, and Rats In The Temple sees the band exploding to the surface in a magnificent and awe-inspiring blaze. For fans new and longstanding, you cannot escape them; they’re through the walls.

Rats In The Temple Tracklist:
1. Harvesting the Hate
2. Damnation
3. Absolution
4. Blame the Knife
5. Rats in the Temple
6. The Ghost behind my Door
7. First on the Spike
8. The Edge of Nowhere
9. Last Rites
10. A Taste for War
11. Her Blood your Pain
12. Anthem for the Broken
13. Not Going down that Way

Rats In The Temple Will Be Available in The Following Formats:
2-LP Gatefold (White Label Edition), incl. LP-sized Booklet – Napalm Mailorder exclusive
2-LP Gatefold (Splattered Vinyl), incl. LP-sized Booklet – Napalm Mailorder exclusive
2-LP Gatefold (Solid Red), incl. LP-sized Booklet – Napalm Mailorder exclusive
2-LP Gatefold (Black)
1-CD Digisleeve
Digital Album