Late last month, metalcore supergroup Umbra Vitae announced their much-anticipated return, confirming that a new album called Light of Death will be beaming our way this summer. Now, the quintet — comprised of vocalist Jacob Bannon (Converge), guitarists Sean Martin (Twitching Tongues, ex-Hatebreed) and Mike McKenzie (The Red Chord), bassist Greg Weeks (The Red Chord) and drummer Jon Rice (Uncle Acid, Tsjuder) — have unveiled the lead single off their sophomore release, a death-thrash masher called "Belief Is Obsolete."
While Umbra Vitae's socials were recently teasing some low-key ominous violin-scraping, "Belief Is Obsolete" is pure metal brimstone, with a double-time thrash beat supporting the detuned precision riffery.
You can check it out for yourself in the visualizer up above.
"This song came from a demo I recorded at ye olde home studio although, as with all of the songs on this record, we managed to make it sound even more disgusting in the best possible way," Martin commented in a press release. "I like Swedish Death Metal and Thrash, can you tell?
Bannon added: "Lyrically, I explore the idea that 'belief' in the traditional sense is obsolete in the modern age we live in. It is abused as a shield and weapon socially, politically, and spiritually, ultimately becoming a burden for all."
Light of Death was recorded by Zach Weeks and Bannon's Converge bandmate Kurt Ballou at the latter's God City Studios in Salem, Massachusetts, and was mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege. The 15-song album follows 2020's Shadow of Life, and will be released through Deathwish Inc. on June 7th. You can pre-order the album here.
Umbra Vitae will likewise be supporting their sophomore collection with a trio of release weekend dates on the East Coast. You'll find the dates and Life of Death's tracklisting below.
Umbra Vitae 2024 tour dates:
6/7 Cambridge, MA - The Middle East
6/8 Brooklyn, NY - The Meadows
6/9 Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church
Light of Death tracklisting:
Leave of Absence
Belief Is Obsolete
Clear Cutter
Anti-Spirit Machine
Reality in Retrograde
Past Tense
Velvet Black
Twenty-Twenty Vision
Algorithm of Fear
Empty Vessel
Cause & Effect
Deep End
Nature vs. Nurture
Fatal Flaw
Light of Death
