Can you hear them gnawing? They’re almost through the walls. American thrash metal pioneers Flotsam and Jetsam are sharpening their teeth for their explosive Napalm Records debut, Rats In The Temple, set to drop August 28, 2026.

Four decades deep and still raising hell, the Arizona legends have spent the past several years on a creative tear. Modern renaissance records like The End of Chaos (2019) and I Am the Weapon (2024) recaptured the fire of genre-defining classics Doomsday for the Deceiver (1986) and No Place for Disgrace (1988), keeping the band a fixture on the international festival circuit and a permanent name on any serious thrash fan’s shortlist.

Rats In The Temple lunges out of the gates with 13 rabid onslaughts of ornate guitarmonies, pummeling double bass kicks, hypnotic bass grooves, and frontman Eric A.K. Knutson’s unmistakably haunting wail. As the temple is besieged by vermin, the band lines the walls with grim tales of death, abuse, betrayal, and war — inviting listeners into a dark world not too distant from our own.

“This record is a BEAST, truly our best effort to date!!” Knutson said of the new album. “Do yourself a favor. Dim the lights, grab a drink, put the headphones on, and crank this up. You will not be sorry you did!!!”

The record opens strong with the stadium-ready hooks of “Harvesting The Hate” and “Damnation” before plunging into thrash virtuosity on “Absolution.” The iconic guitar duo of Michael Gilbert and Steve Conley paints vividly ghoulish images on tracks like “Blame The Knife” and the title cut “Rats In The Temple,” then flexes pure first-wave excellence on “The Ghost Behind My Door” and “First on the Spike.” “The Edge of Nowhere” builds inescapable suspense before firing listeners full throttle into “Last Rites.” The legendary rhythm section of drummer Ken Mary and bassist Bill Bodily takes center stage on the anti-war anthem “A Taste For War,” their methodical syncopation conjuring images of tanks and boots on the ground. “Her Blood Your Pain” delivers medieval-flavored guitarmonies before “Anthem For The Broken” goes balls to the wall, and closer “Not Going Down That Way” hits with heavy riffs and even heavier truths.

Churning like magma beneath the Earth, Flotsam and Jetsam have only grown more fiery with time, and Rats In The Temple sees the band erupting to the surface in an awe-inspiring blaze. For fans new and longstanding alike — you cannot escape them. They’re through the walls.

Rats In The Temple will be available across multiple physical formats including a Napalm Mailorder-exclusive 2-LP Gatefold White Label Edition with LP-sized booklet, a Mailorder-exclusive 2-LP Gatefold Splattered Vinyl edition, a standard 2-LP Gatefold Black, a 1-CD Digisleeve, and digital.

Pre-order Rats In The Temple here: http://lnk.to/FlotsamAndJetsam-RatsintheTemple

Catch up with Napalm Records and dig into the label’s catalog on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@napalmrecords

Track Listing:
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

Flotsam and Jetsam are:
Eric A.K. Knutson — Vocals
Michael Gilbert — Guitars
Steve Conley — Guitars
William Bodily — Bass
Ken Mary — Drums