!["LEFT TO DIE" Sign With Relapse Records To Unearth Early DEATH Era Brutality With Debut Album ‘Initium Mortis’ [VIDEO]](http://www.trulydisturbing.com/cdn/shop/articles/unnamed_107.jpg?v=1779295778&width=3840)
Written by: Sam Santiago
Death metal history is clawing its way back out of the grave once again. LEFT TO DIE has officially signed with Relapse Records and announced their debut full-length album, "Initium Mortis", set for release on July 17, 2026.
The project already carries serious weight for extreme metal fans. The band unites former Death members Rick Rozz and Terry Butler alongside Matt Harvey and Gus Rios, creating what feels less like a tribute act and more like an exhumation of death metal’s earliest, filthiest DNA. We were huge fans of DEATH upon hearing them on a beat-up cassette in the 90s with "Spiritual Healing" on the cover. Man, that album was brutal in the best possible ways so you know this album will be on our turntable pronto.
Artwork by Dan Goldsworthy
INITIUM MORTIS TRACKLIST:
- Legion Of Doom
- Archangel
- Power of Darkness
- Zombie
- Witch of Hell
- Rise of Satan
- Summoned To Die
- Mantas
- Slaughterhouse
- Death By Metal
According to the band, Initium Mortis serves as both a celebration and resurrection of the brutal beginnings of Death itself, diving deep into the raw Mantas and early Death demo era that helped shape the genre decades ago.
Fans can already hear the first taste of the album with the lead single “Archangel,” while the band prepares to storm Europe this summer before heading into Latin America this September.
Matt Harvey reflected on how the band first came together after performing classic Death material live:
"After Gus and I performed Spiritual Healing in its entirety with Terry and James [Murphy], Rick wondered if people might want to hear something similar, but with him joining the three of us to perform Leprosy. Of course, I leapt at the chance to do it, and we quickly threw together a tour which surpassed everyone's expectations, especially in terms of how much fun we were having playing together. As we continued to tour throughout the US, Europe, Latin America, Australia, and Asia, people kept asking if we were going to record or write anything. After going back and forth on the topic, we felt that (ahem) exhuming some of these old tracks made the most sense for us, after all, we're not gonna top Leprosy."
Harvey also explained that the album pulls heavily from obscure rehearsals and demo material tied to the earliest incarnations of Death and Mantas:
“I gleefully combed through the myriad Death / Mantas demos and rehearsals looking for stuff that would make sense for a record, and we ended up going with tunes that we felt would make the most cohesive album, hence why Skill to Kill and Back from the Dead sadly didn't make the cut. I look at Initium Mortis as a kind of ‘alternate-universe’ version of the Scream Bloody Gore tracklist, as so many of these tunes were circling around the many Death lineups and rehearsals from '83-’87. In fact, Chuck [Schuldiner] and Chris [Reifert] recorded a version of Legion of Doom for SBG that never got completed. In revisiting these songs, it was crystal-clear to me that Rick's fingerprints are all over the Mantas stuff and tunes like Slaughterhouse, so with that connection, the songs where his style really shone through immediately made sense to include on Initium Mortis."
For bassist Terry Butler, the speed at which the band evolved from concept to full touring machine still feels surreal:
“Left To Die went from a thought to doing a full US tour in about 3 months! Pretty remarkable. We wanted to play the early material for the fans that weren't able to see the first albums in a live setting. There are many young fans at our shows that are hearing the foundation that Death stands on to this day live for the first time! With Matt channeling the best Chuck Schuldiner out there and Gus playing the material perfectly and respectfully we hit the road and haven't looked back!”
Butler emphasized that Initium Mortis exists to give fans a cleaner, more powerful version of songs that originally circulated through underground tape-trading culture in nearly unrecognizable quality:
“For Initium Mortis, we wanted Death fans who never heard these demo songs to hear them with good production. Most of these early demos were recorded on a boom box, so by the time someone got their demo through tape trading it was almost inaudible! We think these tracks are a good representation of the birth of Mantas/Death. This is ground zero - where it all started: three 15 year-old kids creating Death Metal history, and even within these choice cuts from the demo days you can hear the evolution of the music. ‘Archangel’ is a great way to introduce this album. It's controlled chaos at its finest: catchy and riffy with a killer evil-sounding middle section!”
Rick Rozz also reflected on hearing these early songs finally receive the production they deserve:
“First, I would like to thank Gus, Matt, and Terry for making LEFT TO DIE happen. It's been an honor and pleasure working with them for the past few years and beyond. It's really cool to be able to hear these tunes from 1984 properly! The old school Death fans are going to dig this release.”
Meanwhile, Gus Rios described the entire experience as a lifelong death metal fantasy brought horrifyingly to life:
“The band started simply because Rick called me and asked if I'd be into it... Which I very promptly replied by referencing bears, shit, and woods. I then called Matt and Terry and the rest is history. Death's Leprosy record is my favorite death metal album, let alone Death album. To be given this unbelievable opportunity to play those songs with Rick and Terry across the globe is an honor and a blessing I find hard to put in words. Matt and I are living our 14-year-old selves' Death Metal fantasy!”
Rios added:
“And now, to make an album with the guys, is flat out surreal. I'm a pretty solid Death fan if I do say so myself, and yet these songs were all new to me. I never really gave the Mantas stuff much of a listen because I'm just not a ‘demo’ production fan. To hear these songs with clean and solid, yet classic analog style production for me is like getting new Death songs... Which rules!”
Featuring tracks like “Archangel,” “Witch of Hell,” and “Legion of Doom,” Initium Mortis looks poised to become essential listening for longtime death metal devotees and collectors alike. More than nostalgia, the record feels like a direct transmission from the genre’s rotting foundation, unearthed and reanimated by the very musicians who helped build it in the first place.
