photo by Ben Adamson
“…a sonic assault, oscillating between punishing guitars and blistering drums, to unnaturally calm instrumental passages. It’s like the ocean, and you’ll never know exactly when or how the red will break over the horizon.” – Tuned Up Music
Tuned Up Music is hosting an exclusive advance stream of Ailments, the debilitating new EP from Allentown, Pennsylvania-based mathcore/screamo grinders ORPHAN DONOR, out on Monday through Zegema Beach Records.
ORPHAN DONOR is the sandbox of creative experiments for Jared Stimpfl (Secret Cutter, Motel Bible, Oktober Skyline), purging the ills of modern-day living in what feels like the most insane times nowadays. From growing older, dealing with loss, and rotting bodies, the cathartic release of their Unraveled LP felt like just the tip of the iceberg, and now, Ailments carries the torch into even darker, more twisted and tormented trauma dumps.
Now a fully formed sextet, ORPHAN DONOR expanded its lineup with the addition of guitarist TJ Schilling (King Slender) and the sheer apocalyptic trumpet delivery and sinister vocals of OG member, Kevin Morris (Motel Bible, Full Of Hell), joining vocalist Chris Pandolfo, bassist Ed Lewis, guitarist Nick Pokrvchak, and of course Jared Stimpfl behind the drumkit. The merciless sound of this lineup pushes the dense material on Ailments into much deeper and more uncomfortable territory than was previously obtainable.
With eight jarring, corrosive tracks damaging the listener in under eighteen minutes, Ailments delivers ORPHAN DONOR’s most unhinged audio malice to date with Ailments, the EP recorded by Jared Stimpfl at his Captured Recording Studios in the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania, mastered by Arthur Rizk (Tomb Mold, Power Trip, Show Me The Body), and as always, completed with the bizarre art of James R. Fans of Meth., Ken Mode, Pg. 99, Jerome’s Dream, Combatwoundedveteran, and Neil Perry, don’t slack on ORPHAN DONOR.
With the EP about to be set loose into the public, Stimpfl reveals, “Ailments is laced with futility, dealing with impermanence and the ever-changing cycles of life —just dealing with our own bodies decaying and people dying all around us. It’s weird to be in these meat suits knowing it’s all going to end someday. It’s also just a celebration of life and the sheer luck of us being able to be conscious, have relationships, and feel all the emotions of living. This feels like both sides of the coin. It’s been a weird last few years, and I think this is laced with the grief of loss and purges the harder emotions we’re sort of forced to deal with. It took sifting through about 40 to 50 song ideas to reach this weird collection of songs that poured out in one or two drum sessions where the stars were aligned.”
With their early stream of the record, Tuned Up writes, “The Pennsylvania-based sextet marries the chaos of groups like Botch and Genghis Tron with subtle elements of experimental post-metal. The addition of trumpet, courtesy of Kevin Morris, helps ORPHAN DONOR stand out from the pack, all while garnering comparisons to other left-field metal acts like The Chariot and *shels. Rest assured, the band’s dual-vocalist cacophony of screaming is sure to satiate fans of grind, death, and black metal alike. And somewhere beneath the orchestrated entropy lies powerful philosophical musings…”
Experience ORPHAN DONOR’s Ailments first, courtesy of Tuned Up, RIGHT HERE.
Ailments will drop this Monday, May 11th, digitally and on CD via Zegema Beach. Find digital preorders HERE.
ORPHAN DONOR will support Michigan’s Dead Hour Noise on two dates of their upcoming tour this Friday and Saturday, with additional live activities to be posted shortly.
ORPHAN DONOR Live:
5/15/2026 Five And Dime Skate Shop – Easton, PA *FREE SHOW w/ Dead Mens Tongues, Dead Hour Noise, Riotchoir
5/16/2026 Polish Club – Herkimer, NY w/ Dead Hour Noise
photo by Chelsea Smarr
https://orphandonor.bandcamp.com
https://www.instagram.com/orphan_donor
https://www.facebook.com/OrphanDonor
https://zbrusa.com
https://www.youtube.com/@MrSilentStorms
https://www.instagram.com/zegema_beach
https://zegemabeachrecords.bandcamp.com