lowheaven: Toronto Post-Metal Conjurors Unleash âMercy Deathâ Video/Single From Forthcoming Ritual Decay Debut + Live Dates Announced

Photo by Fabiana Moreira

Watch lowheavenâs âMercy Deathâ video HERE.

âMercy Deathâ is the latest single from Toronto post-metal conjurors/recent MNRK Heavy signees, lowheaven. The crushing new hymn comes by way of the bandâs Ritual Decay debut full-length set for release on August 29th.

Produced by Brett Romnes and mastered by Mangus Lindberg, Ritual Decay is full of heavy distortion, shifting dynamics, layering, and, as vocalist/guitarist Dan Thomson puts it, âearphone candy.â Pulling heavily from â90s influences like Cave In and Deftones, the record feels nostalgic in nature delivering ten tracks that explore the reality of complete social isolation and the acceptance of what it means to lose faith in life and yourself with technical prowess.

Thomson elaborates on âMercy Death,â âThis song feels like the soundtrack to my nightmares. It was one of the songs in the batch where I realized just how heavy this band was going to be. Our goal was always to find a way to musically transmit what we all felt going on around us, and this one hit the nail on the head. As with a lot of the songs on Ritual Decay, I came in with a rough framework of the lyrics, and then rewrote the whole song the night before recording it. I was spending the late nights in the studio isolated, just pouring over and scrutinizing every line. Every detail. Trying to find a way to free myself. This is the product of that.â

âThe original working title for this song was âGodzilla,âârecalls guitarist/keyboardist Alex Pley, âand it earned it. Writing this song with Dan and [vocalist/bassist] Mikey [Buchta] in the early days of the band was when it started to really sink in how heavy we were going to get. One of the âthemesâ that I really tried to stick with when writing for this band was a sort of âend of the worldâ feel; terrifying and powerful. The end of this song is a fucking monster, and playing this song live is going to ruin some peopleâs lives if they aren’t ready. Chaos king still reignsâ

Adds guitarist Pat Pajak, âThis song almost feels like an elastic band that just won’t snap when playing it. Definitely encapsulates the dread lowheaven strives to convey, but with some melody and resolve as well. I feel it reflects the range lowheaven delivers rather well.â

Watch lowheavenâs âMercy Deathâ video HERE. Stream the track HERE.Â

Watch lowheavenâs previously released video for âChemical Patternâ HERE.

Ritual Decay will be released on CD, LP, and digital formats. Find preorders at THIS LOCATION.

Ritual Decay Track Listing:
1. In Grievance
2. Chemical Pattern
3. Cancer Sleep
4. Nothing Else Frail
5. Amherst
6. Mercy Death
7. Fucking Hell
8. Fighter Valley
9. Violence
10. Manic Grace

This July, lowheaven will take to the streets on a week-long US run of live dates with Tan And Handsome. See all confirmed dates below.Â

lowheaven Live w/ Tan And Handsome:
7/18/2025 Preserving Underground â Pittsburgh, PA
7/19/2025 Golden Pony â Harrisonburg, VA
7/20/2025 Vfw Post 4933 â Kingsport, TN
7/21/2025 Milestoneâs â Charlotte, NC
7/22/2025 Ottobar â Baltimore, MD
7/23/2025 Sellersville Theatre â Sellersville, PA
7/24/2025 The Woodshop â Brooklyn, NY

Formed in the Spring of 2020, beneath the dark clouds of the COVID-19 pandemic and stay-at-home orders, lowheaven is Dan Thomson (vocals/guitar), Mikey Buchta (vocals/bass), Alex Pley (guitar/keys), and Pat Pajak (guitar). Their sound oscillates somewhere between post-hardcore, screamo, blackened noise, and metal. Theyâre not quite genreless, rather, a band that blends genres so thoroughly that they are better characterized by their distinctive emotional intensity than by any one label. Thomson, formerly of Canadian post-hardcore band Sparrows, explains candidly, âWeâre not a happy listen. lowheaven is something that has got a lot of weight.â

Following the dissolution of his previous band and the mandated COVID-19 isolation, the very foundations of Thomsonâs identity crumbled. Several unfortunate medical diagnoses led to a great deal of change, many of which would alter his life forever.

Similarly, each of the bandmates experienced a great deal of grief at the start of 2020, whether that be the sudden loss of relationships or dramatic changes in circumstance. The culmination of these seismic shocks were five full notebooks of lyrics grappling the line between self-hatred and forgiveness. In an effort to maintain this elevated emotional state, Romnes had the band record both Ritual Decay and lowheavenâs debut EP, Collapse, in a centuries old New Jersey church. Romnesâ intensity allowed the band to retap into their darkest emotions. According to the band, âeverything that could be done to bring out performances or emotions was immediately on the table.â This meant watching David Cronenberg and various other horror films at all hours of the day on a television in the church. Specifically, the brutal and psychological nature of films like Cronenbergâs Crimes Of The Future and Julia Docournauâs Titane not only helped to set the tone for the recording process, but also to directly influence the final versions of the songs themselves. Many nights, the band members were only sleeping four or five hours and channeling this exhaustion into the hopelessness of the music.

“Smothering pop sensibilities in wailing noise and thundering riffs; it’s a glorious introduction to the band.” â Kerrang on âChemical Patternâ

“A barrage of barely contained chaos, the song explodes in a cacophony that leaves you stunned like a punch in the face.” â New Noise on âChemical Patternâ

lowheaven:
Dan Thomson â vocals, guitar
Mikey Buchta â vocals, bass
Alex Pley â guitar; keys
Pat Pajak â guitar