San Francisco Bay Area groove metal veterans SKINLAB are back with their heaviest move in years. On April 10, 2026, the band releases a full cover of “Last Breath” — the iconic track from Hatebreed’s landmark 1997 album Satisfaction Is the Death of Desire. Produced, mixed, and mastered by Ulrich Wild (Pantera, Static-X, White Zombie, Deftones), the cover is not a replication — it is a full reimagining, dragged deep into Skinlab’s groove metal world and built to hit hard.
KEY DETAILS
■ “Last Breath” releases April 10, 2026 on all platforms ■ Original by Hatebreed — from Satisfaction Is the Death of Desire (1997) ■ Produced, mixed & mastered by Ulrich Wild (WURMgroup) ■ Features new guitarist Angelo Miles — his first recorded music with the band ■ Current lineup: Steev Esquivel (vocals/bass), Marcos Melina (guitar), Angelo Miles (guitar), Fabian Vestod (drums) ■ Skinlab is on the road NOW as direct support for Exhorder on The Tour of Unsound Minds — 18 dates, April 2–19
ON TOUR: THE TOUR OF UNSOUND MINDS
Skinlab is currently on the road as direct support for Exhorder on The Tour of Unsound Minds. The 18-date run kicked off April 2nd in Morgantown, WV and wraps April 19th in Cadillac, MI, hitting the East Coast and Midwest.
The April 10 single release date falls mid-tour in Harrisburg, PA — making for a release-day show experience that night at Capital City Music Hall.
Groove Metal pioneers SKINLAB are thrilled to announce their official signing to WURMgroup, joining forces with legendary producer Ulrich Wild to bring their hard-hitting sound back to fans around the world. Known for their relentless energy and gritty sound, Skinlab’s new single “Flesh Wounds” drops today, marking the band’s first new track in nearly four years.
“Our first song in nearly four years. With the intent on coming hard straight out the gates, we stuck to our guns. ‘Flesh Wounds’ … when you hear it, you know it’s Skinlab,” says Steev Esquivel, vocalist and bassist of Skinlab, capturing the raw power of the band’s new material.
The track, produced and mixed by Ulrich Wild (Static-x, Dethklok, Pantera), was co-written by Esquivel himself and brings together the talents of Marcos Medina and Scott Sargeant on guitars, alongside Fabian Vestod on drums. “Flesh Wounds” is a return to Skinlab’s roots, showcasing the driving rhythms, aggressive melodies, and powerful vocals that fans have come to expect.
Ulrich Wild expressed his excitement about this latest collaboration, stating, “I’m thrilled to add Skinlab to our WURMgroup roster. We had a great time creating their previous album, Venomous, so it was an easy decision to work with them again. ‘Flesh Wounds’ is unmistakably Skinlab and a great song to continue where they left off. It’s powerful groove metal you’d expect from a band with eyes trained on the future.”
Upcoming Tour
To celebrate this new chapter, Skinlab is hitting the road with a string of European and North American tour dates. As part of the European leg, Skinlab will share the stage with Pro-Pain, kicking off the tour on November 13 in České Budějovice, CZ. North American fans can catch Skinlab starting in Sacramento, CA on December 12, with additional dates in major cities through early 2025.
Steev Esquivel expressed excitement for the tour and lineup changes, saying, “It’s been a while since our last update, but we’re back with some exciting news! Sadly, Marcos won’t be able to join us this November, but we’re stoked to have Steve Lujan from Sacramento’s Cemetery Legacy and Oscar ‘Wakaras’ Lugo of San Jose’s Way II Stoned on board. Both guitarists have been killing it in rehearsals, and we can’t wait to bring our music to the fans. Bags are packed!”
New guitarist Oscar“Wakaras” Lugo shared his enthusiasm, adding, “I’m really excited to announce that I will be part of this European Tour, playing guitar for Skinlab, one of the bands I looked up to when I was in high school.”
Tour Dates
U.S. Tour 2024-2025
Dec 12 – Sacramento, CA
Dec 13 – Los Angeles, CA
Jan 7 – Brooklyn, NY
Jan 8 – Clifton, NJ
Jan 9 – Mechanicsburg, PA
Jan 10 – Chicopee, MA
Jan 11 – New Haven, CT
Jan 12 – Albany, NY
About Skinlab
Formed in San Francisco, California in 1994, Skinlab quickly gained a loyal following with their unique blend of powerful rhythms and biting lyrics, placing them among the giants of the Groove Metal genre. Since their reformation, Skinlab has stuck true to their roots, drawing comparisons to bands like Sepultura, Hatebreed, and Machine Head while continuing to expand their sound.
With a nearly three-decades-long career, the band has weathered lineup changes and shifting musical landscapes but has never compromised on their original sound. Their upcoming single, “Flesh Wounds,” continues this legacy, promising fans a return to the heavy, authentic Skinlab sound they know and love.
SKINLAB have released their brand new video for single “Amerikill”. The single is from the band’s latest record Venomous, that was produced by Ulrich Wild, and released on October 25th, 2019, via Art is War Records.
“We are excited to release our new video for “Amerikill.” This will be the first of many videos the band shot ourselves with the help of our bud Karl Whinnery who did an awesome job with his added story line catering to the inner paranoia developed through isolation. The message is real….know your surroundings” says Steev Esquivel.
One of the Bay Area’s most prolific and enduring dynamic musical authorities in the world of bludgeoning heavy music has been Oakland’s own Skinlab. For nearly a quarter century, the quartet has endured numerous ‘flash in the pan’ short term music scene trends with steady composure and now sit poised to break through 2019 with the force of a raging ground swell. With new brutal music on the horizon, a reinvigorated rhythmic lineup, featuring the exciting return of longtime axemen Steve ‘Snake’ Green and Marcos Medina, as well as upcoming live road dates set forth to take precedence in 2019, Skinlab are on pace to set the record straight and blaze a new trail into the near future. For fans of the group, the undeniable mark of Skinlab begins and ends with the return of unflappable frontman Steev Esquivel who’s tone historically prepares listeners for all out war both live and in the studio. His moody drawl and sunken vocal grind opens up the needed space for the artillery style grooves of drummer Fabian Vestod to who pounds the group to the frontline of every rhythmic chug. Dating back to their early ground-breaking catalog of mainstays like Bound, Gagged and Blindfolded and _Disembody: the New Flesh to crushers like ReVoltingRoom and *The Scars Between Us_*, now as before, Skinlab is truly here to set the record straight…
Orange County, CA metalcore band BLEED THE SKY premiered their official music video for single “Serpent” today on Bravewords.com. The video can be seen here. In addition, the band will hit the road in support of their new release with Skinlab beginning on January 23rd in Sacramento, CA at Holy Diver.
“Serpent” is exactly what fans have been waiting for since the band’s 10 year absence from the music scene. The video for “Serpent” is a dark and gritty reflection of the band’s new sound and harbors a new brutality that will contend with all new metal genres. “Serpent” is sure to turn some metal heads and offers fans, both old and new alike, a refreshing new sound familiar to the band’s roots.
Formed in 2003, California based metalcore band Bleed The Sky are back in full swing after a 10 year absence from the music scene. Following two well received albums released on Nuclear Blast Records, Paradigm in Entropy (2005) and Murder the Dance (2008), the band is once again redefining who they are with the Art Is War Records release This Way Lies Madness (2020). The new lineup consists of Noah Robinson (vocals), Austin D’Amond (drums), Wayne Miller (guitars), Kevin Garcia (guitars) and David Culbert (bass guitar). While both Robinson and D’Amond were active members on both previous albums, Miller was an active member during the Paradigm in Entropy album cycle and Culbert was an active member during the preproduction of Murder the Dance. With this new all-star lineup rounded out by Kevin Garcia, Bleed The Sky returns with an intensity that is familiar to fans of the previous sound, as well as a new brutality that contends with any modern metal genres. The metalcore outfit joined forces in 2019 with Art Is War Records and is set to release This Way Lies Madness on January 17, 2020.
“Serpent” can be streamed/purchased at the following links:
1. Tongue Louse
2. Carnage (Join Me in the Fire)
3. Serpent
4. Quiet Here
5. Membrane
6. Ghost
7. Age of the Basilisk (feat. Aaron Korstjens)
8. Carrion Bather (feat. Steve Tinnon)
9. This Way Lies Madness
Bleed the Sky / Skinlab Tour Promo Video:
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