Stay Dead Premiere Beneath the Weight of Worlds in Full; Out Friday
Posted in audiObelisk, Reviews on July 22nd, 2026 by JJ Koczan
Remotely-constructed, sometimes-exclamatory heavy project Stay Dead(!) debuts this Friday with the seven-song Beneath the Weight of Worlds. Issued via Ripple Music as something between a debut EP and LP — at 35 minutes, it wants little for a sense of completeness, for whatever my opinion is worth — and is immediately notable for the participation of vocalist Ryan Garney, best known as frontman for High Desert Queen, as well as a range of guests including Mastodon‘s Troy Sanders, Matt Pike of High on Fire, Eryka Fir of Coma Hole and Blake Carrera of Aiwass.
This impressive swath of personnel is anchored by songwriter/bassist Christopher Borrelli, whose experience of PTSD becomes a central theme accounting for the suicide statistics sampled at the beginning of the eponymous “Stay Dead,” which follows opener “Empty Pages” in a one-two, down-to-business punch from which the album then expands outward in sound as it welcomes company. Not to be discounted is High Desert Queen lead guitarist Rusty Miller, who brings doom to underscore the metallic lumber of “Empty Pages” and cuts through the crush at the end of “Stay Dead” with due defiance and vitality before carrying the melody forward in “White Noise,” pushed ahead by Kenny Shinningburg‘s drumming.
“White Noise” begins the next stage of the record, where the guests start to show up, and is notable for the repetition of its title line, “It’s all white noise,” though I can’t tell if that’s to be taken as sad resignation, hopeful positing or judgment against ‘it all.’ Regardless, the song is a nod, and precedes the bassy “Electric Mistress,” which establishes its hook before Pike enters with a roar and gnash shortly after the midpoint. The lead guitar is pointed enough to sound like half-speed thrash by the end, but the scorch is well earned there and its quick fade lets the bass start “Crysalis” with a fresh perspective.
The eight-minute cut is the longest on Beneath the Weight of Worlds and I think might be the most impressive performance from Garney as a singer that I’ve heard on a record — he’s never wanted for reach, but alongside and harmonizing with Fir, he reveals a croon I don’t think we’ve heard the last of — and though the surrounding impact is again metal-sounding in its shove, “Chrysalis” builds on the atmosphere of “Empty Pages” with greater patience of execution and, ultimately, a chug that makes me wish it was even longer. My only real gripe with the release follows in “What Happened to Rock ‘n’ Roll,” which is a spoken or sampled piece pining for 1970s-era glorydays. Ugh.
Sorry, but the framing of rock as ‘dead’ because of lost commercial relevance is tired. If you can’t find good music today, right now, it’s because you’re looking in the wrong places, or worse, not looking at all. Here are 10 bands from the last decade or so for you to listen to: Slomosa, Die Spitz, Howling Giant, Castle Rat, Early Moods, Messa, King Buffalo, Black Glow, Spirit Mother, High Desert Queen and Rezn. That’s not to mention Elder or Monolord or All Them Witches, all three of whom released new albums on the same day two months ago. If you need more, hit me up.
The bemoaning and odd implication of a self-takedown (considering Stay Dead are writing new music, adding to the pastiche of the modern underground) makes Beneath the Weight of Worlds sound more out of step than its songs actually are and pulls the listener away from the experience of what by then is a righteous overarching flow. If this sounds like a rant, it is, and I promise you it was longer before I cut it back to end here.
The spoken nostalgia — “it was about living free,” and such — continues into the closing cover of “Fever Dog” from the soundtrack to the movie Almost Famous. You could argue that Beneath the Weight of Worlds is the answer to that inherently conservative point of view put forth in “What Happened to Rock ‘n’ Roll,” that it’s embodying the quality of new, modern heavy music, but that counterpoint isn’t ‘on the page’ in terms of how the album’s end unfolds, though the emphasis on the hook, a reveling-in-it crescendo and double-kick-laced shredburger of a big rock finish make themselves welcome nonetheless.
Given the untraditional makeup around Borrelli, it’s hard to speculate how much of a band Stay Dead are or will be, but aside from an easily-skipped 85 seconds or so, there’s a vibrant argument in this material in favor of making Stay Dead a living, breathing entity, and the progression begun in the songs of Beneath the Weight of Worlds sounds like it wants further exploration. It may yet get it.
The album streams in full on the player below, followed by more from the PR wire.
Please enjoy:
STAY DEAD! “Beneath The Weight Of Worlds”
Out July 24th on Ripple Music (LP/CD/digital)
STAY DEAD! is a heavy, emotionally charged sludge-doom collective founded by U.S. Army veteran Christopher Borrelli as a means of survival, healing, and reclamation. Born from the realities of post-traumatic stress disorder, panic disorder, and decades of carrying the grief of fallen soldiers, friends, and family, Stay Dead began as a therapeutic outlet, an attempt to transform internal chaos into sound. What emerged was something far greater: a band capable of channeling crushing heaviness, meditative tension, and cinematic atmosphere into songs that confront the darkest corners of the human experience while searching for meaning beyond them. The result is music that is both devastatingly heavy and deeply human.
The band’s lineup brings together musicians from across the heavy underground. Vocalist Ryan Garney (High Desert Queen) delivers a commanding performance that shifts effortlessly between introspective vulnerability and volcanic intensity. Founder Christopher Borrelli (Eternal Hope Records, Fear the Victor, Split 50, Chains of Aggression) provides the dense rhythmic foundation and emotional vision that drive the project. Drummer Kenny Shillingburg (Hollow Light, Unto Thee) anchors the music with a style that is simultaneously powerful, dynamic, and cinematic. Lead guitarist Rusty Miller (High Desert Queen) expands the band’s sonic palette with expressive melodies, psychedelic textures, and soaring lead work. Guitarist and synthesist Blake Carrera (AIWASS) completes the lineup with cosmic ambience, immersive atmospherics, and otherworldly sound design.
In 2026, Stay Dead signed with Ripple Music to release their debut EP album, Beneath the Weight of Worlds, featuring guest appearances from Troy Sanders (Mastodon), Matt Pike (High on Fire, Sleep), Eryka Fir (Coma Hole) and AIWASS. This album will introduce the band’s unique blend of emotional depth and overwhelming heaviness to audiences worldwide.
TRACKLIST:
1. Empty Pages
2. Stay Dead
3. White Noise (feat. Troy Sanders)
4. Electric Mistress (feat. Matt Pike)
5. Chrysalis (feat. Eryka Fir and Aiwass)
6. What Happened To Rock N’ Roll
7. Fever Dog (Original cover)
Album art by ShindyDesigns. shindyreeehal.co.uk
