photos by Jun Aoki
Initium Mors, the pummeling debut from rising Oakland, California death metal quintet BARBAROUS, is out today on Creator-Destructor Records.
Influenced by the likes of Cannibal Corpse, Skeletal Remains, Necrot, and Gatecreeper, BARBAROUS hit the ground running since coming onto the scene in April 2024, having played shows with the likes of Laceration and others across the Bay Area throughout last Summer. In September 2024, the band released their two-song Coup De Grâce demo to widespread underground acclaim, just a foretaste of the lurking savagery the band was preparing to unload.
BARBAROUS’ merciless full-length debut, Initium Mors, arrives as one of the most devastating records to be delivered so far this year. The band’s classic death metal influences are exemplified through a modern edge of relentless Bay Area energetic destruction, coalescing into eight earthmoving tracks that devastate everything in earshot. Initium Mors was recorded, mixed, and mastered by Cody Fuentes in February/March 2025 at Rapture Recordings (Spite, Wolf King, Lionheart) and completed with harrowing art by death metal luminary Dan Seagrave (Dismember, Hypocrisy, Morbid Angel).
Vocalist Travis LaBerge states, “I have been playing guitar and bass in brutal death metal and slam bands for 15 years. So, when I got the opportunity to do vocals, I jumped on it. The material was something I’ve wanted to do for a very long time. Doing vocals was a huge change for me and I wanted this first record title to be a big statement, like ‘Yo, here we are mother fuckers, watch out.’ Initium Mors was not only the perfect title to sum that up, but it also represents new beginnings for me.”
Drummer Travis Zupo continues with, “This album best reflects new beginnings, as Travis said. Initium Mors is translated as ‘death is the beginning,’ and that’s how almost everyone in this band feels, that despite the other projects we’ve been a part of, this is a fresh look at our personal creatives. Breathing new life into how we approach our music, and playing music we want to hear, and maybe putting to rest the other things that might have held us back.”
BARBAROUS’ devastating Initium Mors is now streaming everywhere including Bandcamp HERE. Also watch the videos for “By Lead Or Steel” HERE and “Tools Of The Trade” HERE.
Initium Mors is out now on LP, CD, and digital platforms at the Creator-Destructor webshop HERE and Bandcamp HERE.
BARBAROUS has some shows lined up for August and September, including dates with Creator-Destructor labelmates Darkness Everywhere, Doomsday, and more. A three-day run is currently being booked for mid-September. Stay tuned for further updates to post shortly.
BARBAROUS Live:
8/22/2025 Open – San Jose, CA w/ Darkness Everywhere
8/23/2025 Arlene Francis Center – Santa Rosa, CA w/ Doomsday, Darkness Everywhere, A Burning Palace, Sacred Origin
9/19/2025 Knucklehead – Los Angeles, CA
“What quickly stands out about BARBAROUS is their collective skill as composers. The riffing screams Rutan/Barrett lethality, early Gothenburg interplay and mosh pit activation with these dudes massaging everything around a seemingly endless supply of hooks.” – Decibel Magazine
“…BARBAROUS delivers some of the best classic death metal in decades. Taking influence from Cannibal Corpse, Carcass, Dismember, and Suffocation, BARBAROUS are about as efficient and effective as the style gets, not afraid to delve into melody or mayhem when the mood suits, tackling the spirit of their favorite records into something very much their own.” – New Noise Magazine
“The music of BARBAROUS is a full-on aural onslaught.” – No Echo
“…a hard-charging mauler, packed with furious, avalanche-strength drumming, thunderous bass upheavals, scathing riffage that slashes, shrieks, boils, and burns, and gargantuan vocal roars with a serrated edge. The rhythms also bound and crack, and the riffing also feverishly jolts and insidiously squirms, augmented by a spiraling guitar solo that creates a supernatural aura as it exotically rises and descends.” – No Clean Singing
“…a no-frills slab of classic brutality… With a sonic assault as raw as it is relentless, Initium Mors marks a furious arrival from one of the Bay Area’s most savage new acts.” – Capital Chaos
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