Chicago blackened sludge/doom quartet Lord Mantis’ sophomore album, Pervertor, was one of Stereogum’s favorite metal records of 2012. Last year, the band contributed to one of the most intense live shows I saw in 2013, when they opened for the great American black metal duo Cobalt on that band’s truncated North American tour. Since then, Lord Mantis guitarist/backing vocalist Andrew Markuszewski has recorded and released one of 2014’s early highlights, the third LP from his solo project Avichi, Catharsis Absolute. Meanwhile, Lord Mantis added a new member — guitarist/backing vocalist Ken Sorceron (who joins Markuszewski, bassist/vocalist Charlie Fell, and drummer Bill Bumgardner) and recoded their own third LP, Death Mask, which is set for a late-April release on Profound Lore (their first on the Canadian label). Death Mask was recorded in Chicago with that city’s ubiquitous producer Sanford Parker (Nachtmystium, Twilight); it also includes guest vocals from a member of another Chi-town band, Indian’s Dylan O’Toole. And its cover art was created by a former Windy City resident, Jef “Wrest” Whitehead (Leviathan, Lurker Of Chalice). That art is so disturbing and NSFW that I won’t post it here, but I will say that it more than reflects the depravity and mindfucking violence of the album’s first single, “Body Choke” — and surely the rest of the album, too. Listen.

LORD MANTIS – Body Choke by profoundlorerecords

Death Mask tracklist:

01 “Body Choke”
02 “Death Mask”
03 “Possession Prayer”
04 “You Will Gag For The Fix”
05 “Negative Birth”
06 “Coil”
07 “Three Crosses”

Death Mask is out 4/29 via Profound Lore.