Photo by George Chalupa
LEFT TO DIE today unleashes their debut full-length, Initium Mortis, on Relapse Records!
Initium Mortis sees the supergroup – including original Death members Terry Butler (Obituary) and Rick Rozz (Massacre) – joining gore metal pioneer Matt Harvey (Exhumed, Gruesome) and Gus Rios (Gruesome) to capture the morbid depths of Death’s early catalog.
Stream LEFT TO DIE’s Initium Mortis on YouTube HERE and all streaming services HERE.
Initium Mortis is available on CD, LP, cassette, and digital formats at Relapse.com HERE.
Members of LEFT TO DIE comment on the new album:
Matt Harvey: “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.
“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 track list, 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.”
Terry Butler: “Left To Die went from a thought to doing a full US tour in about three months! Pretty remarkable. We wanted to play the early material for the fans that couldn’t 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!
“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.”
Rick Rozz: “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.”
Gus Rios: “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!
“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” expertly executed in the now, Initium Mortis is a must-have for Death fans and collectors alike. Ultimately, LEFT TO DIE celebrates a seminal band and the camaraderie of the genre’s most extreme corner of music.
Initium Mortis Track Listing:
- Legion Of Doom
- Archangel
- Power Of Darkness
- Zombie
- Witch Of Hell
- Rise Of Satan
- Summoned To Die
- Mantas
- Slaughterhouse
- Death By Metal
See LEFT TO DIE live throughout Europe this August and Latin America in September! A full list of confirmed dates is available below. Stay tuned for more tour announcements in the weeks to come.
LEFT TO DIE w/ Livlos:
7/31/2026 Rockstadt Extreme Festival – Brasov, RO
8/02/2026 Colosseum – Kosice, SK
8/03/2026 Drizzly Grizzly – Gdansk, PL
8/04/2026 Hype Park – Krakow, PL
8/05/2026 Zescianek – Berlin, DE
8/06/2026 Alcatraz Festival – Kortrijk, BE
8/07/2026 Bastard Club – Osnabrück, DE
8/08/2026 Brutal Assault Festival – Jaromer, CZ
8/09/2026 Backstage Halle (Free & Easy) – Munich, DE
8/10/2026 Colos-Saal – Aschaffenburg, DE
8/11/2026 Turock – Essen, DE
8/12/2026 Bahnhof Paul – Hamburg, DE
8/13/2026 Dynamo Metalfest Pre-Party– Eindhoven, NL
End Tour
9/02/2026 São Luis, BR
9/03/2026 Teresina, BR
9/04/2026 Fortaleza, BR
9/05/2026 João Pessoa, BR
9/06/2026 Recife, BR
9/09/2026 São Paulo, BR
9/11/2026 Puerto Montt, CL
9/12/2026 Santiago, CL
9/13/2026 Concepción, CL
9/15/2026 Montevideo, UY
9/17/2026 Rosário, AR
9/18/2026 Buenos Aires, AR
9/20/2026 Córdoba, AR
9/22/2026 Lima, PE
9/24/2026 Medellín, CO
9/25/2026 Pereira, CO
9/26/2026 Bogotá, CO
9/27/2026 Cali, CO
9/29/2026 San Salvador, SV
9/30/2026 Ciudad de México, MX
“A determinedly all-killer-no-filler affair, Initium Mortis takes 27 minutes to confirm what sensible death metal fans already know: there is no school like the old school, and Chuck Schuldiner was a fucking genius. Play it loud or be left for dead.” – Blabbermouth
“Instead of trying to replicate past glories from scratch, LEFT TO DIE embarked on an act of musical preservation, breathing modern studio life into some of the earliest, rawest material in the death metal canon.” – New Noise
“…whether you’re here for an enjoyably brutal trip down memory lane, or for a modern-sounding introduction to old-school Floridian death metal, Initium Mortis is as authentic as it gets.” – Ghost Cult
“A unique historical document that every death metal fan must hear.” – Rock Hard Germany
“…as old school as modern death metal can be, and offers an interesting, fresh perspective on the early days of the genre.” – Metal Hammer Germany
“…for true connoisseurs of the genre, this album is something special, a resurrection crafted for the discerning ears of OSDM (old-school death metal) fans. Not only does it keep Chuck Schuldiner’s legacy alive, but it also pays tribute to pioneers such as Possessed, Master, Massacre, Sadus, and countless others.” – Metal Underground
“…at once an homage and a new beginning…” – Deaf Sparrow
“…savage, untamed, and utterly authentic. It captures the primal spirit of Death’s formative years while presenting these songs with the power and clarity they deserve.” – Markus Heavy Music Blog
“Every second of this record is paying respect to the wildfire of youth and the burgeoning talents of a group of musicians that went on to create something greater and larger than themselves.” – Apanthropy
“LEFT TO DIE can be seen as many things, from a celebration of a sound that paved the way for a revolution within heavy metal itself, to a bittersweet love letter to a legend that was taken from us all far too early. In keeping with the horrific character that typified Death’s formative years, the way in which these songs are so faithfully polished to a moribund shine results in an experience so vivid that it could be likened to the ghosts of the past screaming forward in time through Harvey’s resounding shouts and Rozz’s screaming leads…” – Sonic Perspectives
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