Death metal “supergroup” Heads for the Dead left enough carnage in their wake over 3 full-length albums to make grave robbers take notice. Led by the well-traveled Jonny Pettersson (Rotpit, Wommbath, ex-Just Before Dawn, ex-Masacre) and featuring Ralf Hauber (Rotpit, Revel in Flesh) on vocals, you know to expect slimy old school death metal of the Swedish variety with an emphasis on scuzz and grime. We lavished praise on 2018s Serpent’s Curse and bade you not to miss 2022s The Great Conjuration. Now here comes the fourth pillar in their death edifice, Never Ending Night of Terror. Will their tried-and-trve old school formula still prove fatal to the soft, fleshy parts? That big-ass machete on the cover certainly suggests the risk of bodily harm is dire. But will it cut?

As lead track “The Vastness of Time” bursts into being, Heads for the Dead shove an entire buffalo cranium up your privacy hole without a hint of social lubrication. As I’m slapped silly by their deathery, I can’t help but be reminded of the glorious debut by Rotpit. It’s the same kind of caveman Swedeath delivered by Neanderthal throwbacks and designed to beat your mortal form into bloody submission. It’s heavy, nasty, and festooned with scabby riffs and rancid vocals. There’s an element of actual melody in here, too, and the band slather a horror movie vibe over the top of the bloody death metal meatloaf. It works without feeling forced, and that’s a win. “Phantasmagoria” is a mid-tempo tank treader that rumbles through walls, hopes, and dreams as you flee for your worthless life. This kinda stuff is why I’m here. “In Disgust We Trust” is a sticky biscuit of brutal Swedeath with that original Entombed stench wafting everywhere. It’s good, unclean fun for a fucked up family.

The one-two combo of “Give Me Life” and “Harvester” will peel the paint off your prized My Pretty Pony® collection with the obnoxiously primitive d-beat onslaught and assortment of riffs, chugs, and blasts. It’s not like Heads for the Dead are reinventing the steel, but they’re churning out military-grade Swedeath that will leave unsightly blemishes on your chesticles. Not every song hits with the same barbed wire wombbat, however. “Death Mask” is decent, but doesn’t stick with me aside from the opening threat that “You are all FUCKING DOOMED!” The title track goes all in on big horror ambiance, but it ends up more style over substance and leaves me wanting. Likewise, album closer “Witchkrieg” is intended as a tribute to famed horror soundtrack act Goblin, and features their kind of dated 70s synth noodling in the context of a death metal song. It’s fun but doesn’t completely gel. At 41 minutes, Never Ending Night of Terror has more ups than downs and doesn’t feel too never-ending, but some points do feel drawn out.

Jonny Pettersson handles guitar, bass, and keys. He’s an ace riff meister and delivers a bruising collection of Swedeath-style leads across the album. I’m a big fan of his beefy, burly mid-tempo power chugs, and he showcases some wild solo work at various points too. Ralf Hauber, the vocalist for Rotpit, does a very similar style of death croakery here. I’m a huge fan of his booming reverb-drenched delivery and how he sounds like a foul voice on the wind. Matt Molite of Sentient Horror rises from the wilds of Long Island to man the kit, and he abuses it and the listener with a thundering performance that will cause PTSD. Naturally, the presence of both Pettersson and Hauber does make this sound quite Rotpit-adjacent, but that’s fine by me. The horror aesthetics give it a somewhat unique identity, and most of the songs deliver basic but fun ear abuse.

Heads for the Dead are a consistently entertaining project from a highly seasoned crew of scuzz merchants. Never Ending Night of Terror has some A-list cuts and some lesser evils too, but overall it’s a solid dose of toxic goo with decent replay value. If you’re going to suffer a long night of terror this October, this isn’t bad company to do it with. When it comes to heads for the dead, you gotta catch ’em all.



Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Pulverised
Websites: facebook.com/headsforthedead | instagram.com/headsforthedead
Releases Worldwide: October 10th, 2025

Give in to Your Anger: