Style: brutal death metal, progressive death metal (harsh vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Gorguts, Edge of Sanity, Blood Incantation, Cynic
Country: United States (Texas)
Release date: 24 July 2026

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If it wasn’t clear based on their album titles, Sallow Moth was founded on the idea of a constantly evolving sound. While early full-lengths The Larval Hope and Stasis Cocoon were mostly standard brutal death metal fare with only the occasional hint of prog, last year’s Mossbane Lantern saw the band reach their final stage of metamorphosis, incorporating elements of jazz fusion, 70’s rock, and a Primus-like groove, all of which let the album easily find a place amongst my favorites of 2025. Now, just less than a year since that last release and with two EPs in the interim and a newly expanded roster, Sallow Moth have dropped Hydrophilous Brood, the newest addition to their silkbound grimoire. Can the wings that the band unveiled on Mossbane Lantern support them in flight, or will the band fly too close to the lantern’s flame?

Much like Mossbane Lantern, the lyrics of Hydrophilous Brood see mastermind multi-instrumentalist Garry Brents once again deploying his brand of highly convoluted and self-referential sci-fantasy. Taking place on Pamugara, with portals, pocket dimensions, and powerful artifacts aplenty, the album details various hybrid organisms spawned into existence via assorted implements from throughout the band’s past lyrics. In accordance with the subject matter, the music itself is also multifaceted, drawing on a wide palette of sounds from across eras of metal.

On Hydrophilous Brood, Sallow Moth employ a timeless style of death metal that evokes the likes of Edge of Sanity just as often as Deeds of Flesh all while maintaining the almighty riff as the basis of every songwriting moment. Riffs will shift on a dime from the extended voicing chordal work and jazz sensibility of Focus-era Cynic to the tech-tinged brutality of Wormed and Cephalic Carnage; and it is that chameleon-like riff sensibility and the swaggering rhythm section that gives the album its edge above its competitors. The rhythm section, comprised of Brents’ bass and the drums of newly added member Allen Gingerich, proves more than capable of navigating the mazework of riffage, and its natural push and sag, only achievable thanks to a real drummer, makes so many of the harsher transitions across Hydrophilous Brood feel as though they have a natural swing of momentum. This becomes especially helpful as the album often transitions into interstitial moments of calm where breakcore-inspired snarework melds with jazz chord voicings before diving back into chromatic chugs and searing tremolo lines.

In the vocal department, Brents once again demands comparisons to the gurgle master Will Smith (Reeking Aura, Afterbirth, Artificial Brain), consistently employing a bubbly, churning low growl that sounds as much like a running garbage disposal as it does a large stone dragged by rope over concrete. The lyrics aren’t intelligible, but the vocals are catchy regardless, providing ample rhythmic counterpoint to the guitars and filling out the midrange frequencies nicely. The production in general is of a high quality, consistently sounding full whether the band is doing their best early Gorguts impression or musing on the cosmos atop effect-laden clean guitar.

Where Hydrophilous Brood truly distinguishes itself from the ever-growing sea of technical and brutal death metal is in its sense of momentum. Brents has an uncanny knack for stitching together wildly disparate ideas so that even the album’s sharpest turns feel purposeful rather than arbitrary. Chromatic violence gives way to psychedelic clean guitars, jazz-inflected bass movement, or even flashes of melodeath before snapping back into blasting brutality without sacrificing energy. Just as importantly, Sallow Moth largely avoid leaning on the genre’s most overused crutches. Pinch harmonic-laden breakdowns are replaced with inventive rhythmic ideas and constantly morphing textures, making the album feel less interested in simply being heavier than its peers than in finding fresh ways to achieve that heaviness.

If Mossbane Lantern represented Sallow Moth’s emergence from the cocoon, Hydrophilous Brood proves that transmutation was for the best. While it doesn’t quite capture the same sense of revelation as its predecessor, occasionally allowing its relentless barrage of riffs to blur together, the album once again highlights Brents’ ability to balance technicality and groove within brutal death metal, while Gingerich’s drumming injects an organic sense of elasticity that elevates every song. For listeners willing to embrace its dense songwriting and labyrinthine worldbuilding, Hydrophilous Brood is another rewarding entry in Sallow Moth’s rapidly growing brood of albums.

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Recommended tracks: Arcane Benthic Umbilicus, Hydrophilous Brood, Serene Aqueous Leech
You may also like: Afterbirth, Reeking Aura, Artificial Brain, Wormed, Cephalic Carnage, Mortal Decay, Deeds of Flesh, Memorrhaged, Warforged, Wormhole, Lunar Chamber
Final verdict: 8/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram

Label: Willowtip Records

Sallow Moth is:
– Garry Brents (guitars, bass, lead vocals, keys, lyrics, production)
– Allen Gingerich (drums, guitar solos on 5 and 6)
With guests:
– Cory Peterson (additional gutturals on ending on 4)
– Dan Wolfson (guitar solo on 7)
– Dave Norman (background high screams on 1, 2, 4, 6, and 7)
– Evan Sadler (additional high vocals on 2, 3, 6, and 7)
– Laela Clark (additional high screams on 2)
– Ola (trumpet on 8)
– Simon Joseph (additional gutturals on 2)
– Tucker Spellane (additional high screams on 5)