5 Albums I Want To Be Buried With #37: Entropic Rot!

Having described their album “…And Euphoria for the Hellish” as “a dance macabre of dark art” it goes without saying that we love what Bristol Deathcore brutes Entropic Rot are doing at the moment. They’ve just dropped a new single in “Scum” and have both Blastonbree Festival and Rotfest Halloween in their sights so things are looking bright enough to burn retinas. While we impatiently await the chance to witness them in the live arena, here are the albums that they would take with them to the afterlife in favour of all others to listen to for eternity…

The premise is simple: “Back in ancient Egypt they believed that the items their Kings were buried with would travel with them into the afterlife and so part of the burial ritual would see the mummified bodies surrounded by chariots, gold and more. Fast forward to now. If there were five albums that you’d want buried in the coffin with you to take to the afterlife, what would you choose?”

Foreword from Entropic Rot: “the rot of music runs deep in us all, yet each band member succumbs to the decay in a different way. As such, a different offering from each of us…”

1. “As Spoken” by Knoll

Alex Dorrington, Vocals: “It may have only been released in 2024 but Knoll’s ‘As Spoken’ is one I would take to the grave. Bury me in gold and surround me with flowers, and it would be somewhat dishonest. Throw in a touch of darkness and chaos, and it would be far more true – that is where ‘As Spoken’ comes in. A dark and decadent offering that cannot be misconstrued in any way – it lives and breathes in the shadows. In my eyes, to remove fear of death, you must first forfeit some light (much what the lyrics of our track ‘Eclipse’ talk about) – Knoll’s album is akin to staring death in the face… yet after introductions the void becomes somewhat comfortable. There is a certain ‘human’ quality to raw vocals and I love Jamie Eubank’s delivery. The lyrics are inventive and theatrical + the way the guitars shred and bend consume you – a masterpiece of all things insidious, dark and ghoulish. Fun fact/easter egg – this album is sneakily referenced in our track ‘Dressed in Red’: “… Start the rite with words, AS SPOKEN!”.”

2. “Reign Supreme” by Dying Fetus

Matt Dobroczynski, Guitar: “Reign Supreme represents Dying Fetus at their peak. They’ve taken everything they do well — groove, technicality, brutality, aggression — and refined it into something sharply focused and fully satisfying. It doesn’t redefine death metal, but it refines the art of doing it really fucking well. The whole album slams, engages, and doesn’t give a single moment of rest, this album is essential. One of the most impressive things about Reign Supreme is its near lack of filler. Every track brings something. Few moments lag. The band sounds tight, locked in, and driven. The energy is contagious, it pushes you through the album without relieve but also without fatigue.

The album sounds modern and powerful without feeling overproduced. The guitars hit heavy, the drums, especially the blast beats and double bass, are aggressive while retaining clarity. The mix gives a lot of bite. At the same time, there’s enough rawness that you feel you’re still in the heart of a death metal maelstrom, not listening to something sanitised. One of my favourite features of Reign Supreme is how it stitches together moments of pure technical assault — blistering riffs, tight pick work, screaming leads — with slabs of groove and beat-downs. Songs like Subjected to a Beating and In the Trenches show this off, giving listeners both head-bang-fuel and jaw-on-floor intensity.”

3. “Heartwork” by Carcass

Dario Petraczek, Bass: “The concept of a pharaoh being buried with their most prized possessions for the afterlife is a fascinating one. In a way, it’s a beautiful thought: bringing what you love most with you into the great unknown. For me, if I were to apply this ancient Egyptian tradition to my own life, there would be no doubt what I’d be taking with me: the album Heartwork by Carcass. As a fan of metal music, this is an incredibly difficult choice. My collection is filled with hundreds of albums that I love for countless different reasons, but Heartwork stands above the rest. It’s more than just an album; it’s a masterpiece.

This record is a perfect example of a band at the peak of their powers. They managed to perfectly balance raw speed with incredible melody. The guitar solos are not just beautiful; they’re a key part of the album’s sound, and they feel like a seamless extension of the song rather than a standalone feature. The vocals are also perfect for the genre, fitting the music without ever overshadowing it. It’s an album that never gets boring, no matter how many times you listen to it.

The most recent confirmation of my choice came from seeing Carcass live at Download Festival in 2023. Out of the twelve songs they played, four of them were from Heartwork. That says a lot about the staying power of this album and how important it is to the band themselves. To me, it’s not just one of the best metal albums ever made—it’s the one I’d want to have with me forever.”

4. “Dying is Your Latest Fashion” by Escape the Fate

Sam Linnell, Guitar: “This has been my favourite album from the moment I first heard the track ‘Friends and Alibis’ – the song that got me into the post-hardcore, and consequently the “core” side of metal. The vocal harmonies constantly used throughout the album, attention to detail in the guitars, the atmospheric tone that the guitars give, hooks left, right, and centre, anthemic choruses, and the energy right from the start with ‘The Webs We Weave’ breaking the album in – there is not one song on the album that I skip. Every instrument has its space and is given the opportunity to shine, in an album that feels like a roller coaster of energy and emotion.”

5. “Wish Upon a Blackstar” by Celdweller

Jamie Hardwick, Drums: “This album was one of my most loyal and very first inspirations across my music journey from the age of 14 and onwards, following me for over a decade. Klayton (a.k.a Celldweller) spent eight years working on this album back in the 00’s before dropping the full album in 2012, delivering a wave of powerful and story-bound tracks of a distant futuristic universe. Some of my favourite songs from the album include ‘Eon’, capturing a perfect harmony of metal, electronic and power into a timeless classic of a song, as well as ‘Against the Tide’, capturing emotion and melody into a beautifully woven song, which I even created a cover song for back in my school years! Klayton went on to create more incredible electronic/industrial metal tracks over the years, following with albums such as ‘End of an Empire’ and ‘Satellies’, but Blackstar made an arrival as one of my top albums of all time and has no plans for a departure anytime soon! (Additional fun fact: At 17 years old, I cameo’d on his YouTube channel during the ‘Ask Klayton’ series, back when my hair was much shorter!)”

“… And Euphoria for the Hellish” by Entropic Rot is out now and available over at bandcamp.