While the state of the world falls further into disrepair, after three crust-ridden decades, Rotten Sound are still grinding. After outrunning the apocalypse on their last full-length, the Finnish vets are back with another devastating burst. Take cover, metalheads. Mass Extinction lays waste to societal plagues with take-no-prisoners grindcore.
“Mass Extinction is a nine-minute rail crash of an EP”, says No Clean Singing. “Rotten Sound have the art of frenetic annihilation down to a science and you want to be a witness to the next demonstration of them practicing what they know so well. Mass Extinction more than answers that call”.
“Rotten Sound is hands down one of the greatest grind bands ever”, writes Your Last Rites, “Mass Extinction is absolutely a great addition to their catalog”.
Mass Extinction was released on Friday, December 12, and you can hear all eight explosive tracks by listening to the full album stream on the Season of Mist YouTube channel.
Order the album at https://orcd.co/rottensoundmassextinction
With each release, Rotten Sound spew uncontrollable chaos, but there’s a method to their madness.
Since signing with Season of Mist in 2012, the band has followed each full-length barrage with a short but no less deafening statement. Like a mushroom cloud, Mass Extinction arose from the immediate aftermath of their previous album Apocalypse. All six off-the-rails tracks were laid down during the same recording sessions before getting mixed at Rain City Recorders and later mastered by Brad Boatright.
But Rotten Sound’s new EP is no half-life mutation. Mass Extinction opener “Recycle” whirs and churns with the all-consuming power of a supply chain. “Napalm Death and Nasum have both done longer albums, but that’s their thing”, explains the band’s vocalist Keijo Niinimaa. “Our thing is we want to be straight to the point”.
Rotten Sound know how to get their point across, too. In just under 10 minutes, Mass Extinction chews through toxic consumerism, labor exploitation and other plagues on society. Lead single “Brave New World” pushes for unity over divisive politicking behind a barrage of blast beats supplied by drummer Sami Lava. While our leaders certainly need to clean up their act, there’s nothing stale about this band’s high-speed blend of classic D-beat punk and Swedish death metal. Even the slightly optimistic “Idealist” gives way to Mika Aalto’s downright hostile groove upon Niinimaa’s screaming command.
“Wake up!” With so much atomic force, it’s impossible not to heed Rotten Sound’s warning on Mass Extinction.
Tracklist
1. Recycle (1:09)
2. Ride of the Future (0:45)
3. Gone (0:50)
4. Polarized (1:00)
5. Brave New World (1:21)[WATCH]
6. Empty Shells (1:05)
7. Idealist (1:35) [LISTEN]
8. Mass Extinction (1:58)
Total runtime: 09:44
Next year, Rotting Sound will return to the grind with a fresh set of European headline dates in support of Mass Extinction. Following this blistering ride with Repulsive Feast and Teething, the band will return to the U.S. for a special set at Maryland Death Fest celebrating their classic albums Murderworks and Exit.
Rotten Sound European Tour 2026
with Repulsive Feast and Teething
January 9 – Hamburg, Germany @ Bambi Galore+
January 10 – Göttingen, Germany @ Freihafen +
January 11 – Maastricht, Germany @ Muziekgieterij+
January 12 – Herford, Germany @ Kulturwerk+
January 13 – Essen, Germany @ Don’t Panic Club & Pub+
January 14 – Nürnberg, Germany @ Zentral Cafe [NEW DATE]
January 15 – Portugalete, Spain @ Groove#
January 16 – Berlin, Germany @ Neue Zukunft [NEW DATE]
January 17 – Lisbon, Portugal @ Xapada Fest
January 18 – Granada, Spain @ Sala Riff
January 19 – Madrid, Spain @ Sala Sol
January 20 – Logroño, Spain @ Perpignan
January 21 – Montpellier, France @ Secret Place
January 22 – Touloise, France @ Axis Musique [NEW VENUE]
January 23 – Zaragoza, Spain @ Sala Utopia
January 24 – Barcelona, Spain @ Winds of Metal Festival
+with Repulsive Feast
#with Teething
Rotten Sound North American Dates 2026
May 23 – Baltimore, Maryland @ Maryland Death Fest
more dates coming soon…
The state of the world has only fallen further into disrepair, but after three crust-ridden decades, Rotten Sound are still grinding. Despite production slowing to a halt during the pandemic, the Finnish vets outran the coming apocalypse on their last album. Now, two years later, they’re back with another brief but no less devastating burst. Take cover, metalheads. Rotten Sound are laying waste to social plagues with Mass Extinction.
“We like to make concise statements”, Keijo Niinimaa says about their whopping 11th EP. While the band’s longtime raging vocalist still has hope for the future, when it comes to our current state of affairs, his outlook on Mass Extinction is more dire than ever. “Bringing about real meaningful change seems to take forever. Misinformation, polarization, conspiracy theories and censorship have made everyone more distrustful”.
Few extreme bands have enjoyed the shelf life of Rotten Sound. Since emerging from underground Vaasa with their debut album Under Pressure, the Finnish exports have cultivated a reputation as one of the larger scene’s most pungent yet stabilizing presences. Niinimaa first grabbed the mic not long after guitarist Mika Aalto started the band back in 1993, while drummer Sami Lava has held the throne since 2004, when original stickman Kai Hahto left to found Wintersun. Early albums Murderworks and Exit are still widely cited road maps for grindcore, though their high-speed blend of classic D-beat punk and Swedish death metal has only sharpened with each successive stab in the studio.
“…an absolutely essential listen from a legendary band”, Invisible Oranges wrote upon the arrival of Apocalypse, Rotten Sound’s eighth and latest LP. “This is the sound of a band who have mastered the genre’s machinations and are now immortalized in its cannon”.
Each Rotten Sound release spews uncontrollable chaos, but there’s a method to their madness. Since signing with Season of Mist in 2012, the band has followed each full-length with a short statement. Like a mushroom cloud, Mass Extinction arose from the immediate aftermath of Apocalypse. All six off-the-rails tracks were laid down during the same recording sessions before getting mixed at Rain City Recorders and later mastered by Brad Boatright. But their new EP is no half-life mutation. “Recycle” whirs and churns with the all-consuming power of a supply chain.
“Napalm Death and Nasum have both done longer albums, but that’s their thing”, explains Niinimaa. “Our thing is we want to be straight to the point. After all the recording was done, we decided which songs would go on Apocalypse and which ones made sense together for Mass Extinction”.
Rotten Sound know how to get their message across. In just under 10 minutes, Mass Extinction chews through toxic consumerism, labor exploitation and other plagues on society. Lead single “Brave New World” pushes for unity over divisive politicking behind a barrage of blast beats. But while our leaders certainly need to clean up their act, there’s nothing stale about this band’s filthy brand of grindcore. Even the slightly optimistic “Idealist” gives way to a downright hostile groove upon Niinimaa’s screaming command.
“Wake up!” With so much atomic force, it’s impossible not to heed Rotten Sound’s warning on Mass Extinction.
Recording lineup
Keijo Niinimaa – Vocals
Mika Aalto – Guitars
Sami Latva – Drums
Matti Raappana – Bass, Backing vocals
All music written by Mika Aalto
All lyrics written by Keijo Niinimaa
Producer
Rotten Sound
Recording & Sound Engineer
Janne Saksa
Recording Studio
Sound Supreme for drums and vocals, Nordic Audio Labs for guitar and bass
Mixing
Jesse Gander at Rain City Studios
Mastering
Brad Boatright at Audio Siege
Cover art
Error Design
Follow Rotten Sound
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/artist/rotten-sound/71466405
Bandcamp: http://rottensound.bandcamp.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RottenSoundOfficial
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rottensoundgrind/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4aglyvdJ7ApTfDC6aQ2LFf
Click image to watch the video
Metal Shock Finland (World Assault ) 