Back in June, Rotting in the Chapel—the solo endeavour of musician Matt Cronin (Split In Half)—came screaming out of Vermont with its debut self-titled EP, announcing the project as a formidable force in the OSDM scene. Even as a one-man project, the EP had production so locked into the '90s Earache and Relapse sounds that, if you weren’t informed, you could easily mistake it for a band of that era. The riffs, the production, the vocals, everything was dialed into what Matt listened to in his youth.
Now, a mere six months later, Rotting in the Chapel has returned with yet another offering of their studies drawn from the book of death metal. While once again writing and composing all the tracks himself, Matt enlisted the help of producer and drummer Scott Mullin. He moved the recording out of his home, using proper studio equipment to capture the EP and inject that blood and sweat into their grimy sound.
“Having that second set of eyes pointed out some of the flaws in my songwriting and pushed me to write better songs, in my opinion. Beyond that, I wanted everything to be 'real,' meaning real amps and cabs, real drums, real everything. My favorite music isn't recorded through computers, and isn't quantized to hell, and I wanted to capture that here. The result is imperfect songs, but they are far more human-sounding,” Matt explained.
With the new approach to recording comes a noticeable leap in production on Cries Denied as the tracks feel slathered in a layer of dirt and grime, giving the already filthy riffs an extra layer of sordidness that will contort faces and get heads banging. There’s an endless list of acts one might commit to the tune of these tracks, but the best one might be to go to the gym and lift a weight, which Matt has also made a career out of as a powerlifting coach. Death metal made by some of the most brolic dudes is always the best in my listening experience
Kicking off the EP is the track “Ripened Flesh,” which puts all of Matt’s recording upgrades on display as soon as the riffs kick in. Thick, murky, and pounding, elevated by the constant double bass tickling your eardrums, Matt’s vocals sound as vicious and deranged as Suffocation’s Frank Mullen. There’s plenty to mosh to on this track, but also of note is Matt’s guitar playing being tighter than ever, switching between slower slam riffs to faster, high-pitched noodling to really sell the insanity on display.
Speaking with Matt about his goals for this EP, he stated, “I wanted this release to feel like it's killing the old one, and make it more everything- heavy, melodic at times, raw/real, etc.” Drawing on his recent experiences, the title track, “Cries Denied,” follows “Ripened Flesh” and opens with some ignorant-charging riffs and speedy drumming, as though Matt’s taking us into battle. The track and the EP’s title were born out of a recent tragedy Matt experienced, and they even touch on his previous themes of decrying religion.
“At the beginning of this year, both my cat, Benny, and dog, Turk, passed away 8 days apart from one another. Life is fickle, and I'm not arrogant enough to know that my pets are never gonna leave this place, but to have both of them be taken away in such a short span of each other, both seemingly out of the blue, left me with a lot of different emotions. I funneled this into the song, with the message simply being, ‘If God is real, why did this happen?’” Matt explained.
Losing even one pet is tragic enough because, while they may seem like themselves, we can never know if they’re suffering or begging for help. The more we dwell on what we could do to prevent it, the harder their absence becomes. When it happens again in such a short time, you can only wonder why anyone would let this happen to them.
The following tracks, “Altar of Perversion,” another track focusing on Matt’s contempt for organized religion, “Entrails Exposed,” and “Depraved Demonstration,” cap the EP off and display even heavier riffage and even some hints of melody on “Entrails Exposed.” One of the key influences across this entire EP has to be Suffocation, as Matt cited previously, and Cries Denied might be his best embodiment of that band's influence.
“Pierced from Within is, in my opinion, the greatest death metal release of the '90s, maybe even ever. It has everything you could want from a death metal act, and I'm constantly gravitating back to that one and discovering new things. I found myself listening to Death's Symbolic a lot during the writing process for this as well, and you can probably hear the inspiration on the title track, specifically drawing from ‘Crystal Mountain,’” Matt explained. The technical changes in his riffs, the precision, and his vocals all point towards what is arguably Suffocation's greatest contribution to music. The thing about this influence is that Rotting in the Chapel doesn’t sound like they’re aping their key influence; they implement what they did before and make it their own.
Not only have Rotting in the Chapel upgraded their recording process with Cries Denied, but they are also announcing they are ready to take it to the stage. Having assembled a full lineup, the band will play shows in their native Vermont and Boston in the spring of 2026.
“At the time of recording, we didn't have a drummer, so Scott was the session drummer for this release, but we now have the full band built out going forward. I can't give specific details just yet, but we'll be playing our first shows this Spring, with 3 lined up for an 'opening' weekend. Wanted to give myself some good time to get good at playing guitar and singing at the same time,” Matt revealed.
Looking further into 2026, Matt revealed that Rotting in the Chapel will play more shows in the New England area and is even tracking a full-length and a split release for the year. 2025 was Matt proving this project’s fortitude, and now 2026 will be a year of solidifying their presence within the New England death metal scene.
“We have some CDs on our Bandcamp that include the first self-titled EP as well as a standalone single I put out earlier this year, as well as some dope shirts. This release will be printed on CD as we get a little closer to playing shows, since I think they tend to sell better at shows than online. I'd love to get this pressed on vinyl with each EP on each side, but we'll see if the demand is there as we go throughout the year,” Matt also revealed.
Be on the lookout for announcements from Rotting in the Chapel on their socials, and give their first two EPs a listen as they approach their upcoming shows. Matt has clearly studied the old school death metal book well, and with just these two EP’s, Rotting in the Chapel is sure to be a formidable force in this scene.
Rotting in the Chapel would like to shout out: Scott Mullin for taking this project on and making it as much his own as it is mine. Willow for killing the bass on this, yet again. John Lowe for the badass mix and master on this. Infinite Misery, Groaning Retch, Fifth World, Tar, Cooked, Dead Solace, and Voices in Vain.
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Rotting in the Chapel on social media: Instagram
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