We Speak Metal

MALHAVOC: Ghost Cult Magazine Premieres “The Masque Of The Red Death” By Toronto Industrial/Thrash Metal Act; New LP, The Masquerade’s Death, Out November 13th On Cursed Blessings Records

Published

2 hours ago

October 31, 2026

MALHAVOC frontman Jimi LaMort performing live in a white ghost costume, gripping a microphone on stage — photo by Natasha Rego de Assunçao

Ghost Cult Magazine is premiering “The Masque Of The Red Death,” by the infamous, long-running Toronto, Ontario-based industrial/thrash metal band MALHAVOC. The new song opens the band’s conceptual new album, The Masquerade’s Death, nearing release on Cursed Blessings Records.

A dark industrial horror-metal reckoning, Jimi LaMort’s MALHAVOC returns with the full-length album, The Masquerade’s Death, a fierce new release inspired by Edgar Allan Poe’s The Masque Of The Red Death, rooted in a tale about how even the most privileged cannot escape the devastation of a pandemic. The title track reunites original members Dave C., John C., and Jimi C. (LaMort) to re-record the final song they wrote together back in 1985. The album also features guest appearances from Connor Lex Grant (Trick Casket), Ian Mumble (Overthrow), and original founding member Nigel Williams. Current members Steve Jelliman, Lee “Sik Dogg” McCormack, and LaMort all contribute as multi-instrumentalists.

Wholly conceived, recorded, and mixed by LaMort, The Masquerade’s Death runs nearly seventy minutes long. The varied album confronts themes that remain uncomfortably familiar to everyone who has lived through the past several years: loss, drudgery, and anxiety about the future. Musically, the album returns to MALHAVOC’s thrash roots, sharpened by horror-film atmospheres, industrial soundscapes, and operatic drama. The result is an emotional descent through collective darkness — humanly relatable, visceral, and universal.

The massive album opener “The Masque Of The Red Death” runs nearly fourteen-and-a-half minutes in length, traversing an immense spectrum of musical territory within its runtime, the song pumping with classic industrial elements, snarling riffs, a dystopian vibe, and cinematic horror flair.

Jimi LaMort writes, “Almost 200 years ago Poe wrote the story. 40 years ago, MALHAVOC wrote this song. Kinda strange they are more relevant today, than ever before.”

The Masquerade’s Death will be released on 2xLP, CD, and digital platforms on November 13th. Physical preorders can be placed at the Cursed Blessings label webshop and digital preorders at Bandcamp. Also watch the previously issued “Respectfully Decline” lyric video.

Since the mid-1980s, MALHAVOC has built a reputation for intense songs and even more intense live performances. Frontman Jimi LaMort gives everything to the expression of the music through notorious stage antics: removing clothes, climbing stage gear, thrashing through the audience, and carving a pentagram into his chest while bleeding freely. Beginning in 1985, MALHAVOC became one of the first metal bands to incorporate industrial music and samples, often inviting comparisons to contemporaries Skinny Puppy and Ministry.

Fans followed the band’s evolution from thrash metal (Age Of The Dark Renaissance, 1985, and Shrine, 1986), through industrial metal (The Release, 1990; Punishments, 1991; and Premeditated Murder, 1992), into electronic influences (Get Down, 1994, and The Lazarus Complex, 1996, both produced by Dave Rave Ogilvie). After the release of Get Down, LaMort and Ogilvie produced remixes for Mötley Crüe, Tool, NIN, and Monster Magnet. LaMort also contributed production work to Voivod’s heaviest album, Phobos. As DJ Jimi LaMort, he has made dance floors throb in goth bars, gay clubs, bathhouses, and fetish balls, while continuing to draw enthusiastic crowds to periodic MALHAVOC live shows.

While The Masquerade’s Death is currently on deck for release, MALHAVOC is also currently in production on two upcoming releases, including Anthems For The New Flesh, a David Cronenberg tribute featuring all cover songs.

Review copies of The Masquerade’s Death are available now.

Photos by Natasha Rego de Assunçao.

MALHAVOC performing live on stage with a lit jack-o'-lantern at the front of the stage — photo by Natasha Rego de Assunçao

https://www.instagram.com/jimi_lamort

https://malhavoc.bandcamp.com

https://x.com/malhav0c

https://www.youtube.com/@malhavocband

https://cursedblessingsrecords.com

https://www.instagram.com/cursedblessingsrecords

We Speak Metal

Thomas Miller’s Lazarus Effect: Former Founding Symphony X Bassist Releases Eponymous Debut Album on Sensory Records

Published

16 hours ago

October 30, 2026

We Speak Media

Thomas Miller holding a blue five-string bass guitar against a grey backdrop.

Stream Thomas Miller’s Lazarus Effect’s debut on Bandcamp.

The intense eponymous debut from Thomas Miller’s Lazarus Effect, the new venture of former/founding Symphony X bassist Thomas Miller, is out today worldwide on Sensory Records.

Thomas Miller started his music career in central New Jersey and played in numerous cover and original bands influenced by progressive bands from the 1970s and 1980s. In 1986, he met Michael Romeo, a local progressive and classically influenced guitarist, with whom he then recorded and played in several bands. In 1994, they formed Symphony X and recruited the rest of the band members to complete the lineup and sign with Japanese record label, Zero Records.

After international critical acclaim for their albums Symphony X, Damnation Game, The Divine Wings Of Tragedy, Twilight In Olympus, and A Prelude To The New Millenium, they did various tour dates in Japan, Europe, and NYC. Shortly afterwards, due to personal issues, Thomas stepped away from the band.

Continually writing and recording on various projects and honing his writing skills, Miller collaborated on a recording project with vocalist Howard “Hollywood How” Portney in 2017. After interactions with fans over the years and realizing his chemistry with How, he decided to start writing for a new project, which would become Thomas Miller’s Lazarus Effect.

The debut from Thomas Miller’s Lazarus Effect features two of Miller’s former Symphony X bandmates – guitarist Michael Romeo and keyboardist Michael Pinnella. Furiously delivering an epic, forty-nine-minute progressive metal opus inspired by majestic themes and various musical overtones, the album was mixed and mastered by Eric Rachel (Symphony X, Black Sabbath, The Black Dahlia Murder), and completed with art and design by Rodrigo Gudiña. Fans of Symphony X, Dream Theater, Circus Maximus, Redemption, Kamelot, and other grand progressive metal acts should immediately check out Thomas Miller’s Lazarus Effect.

With accolades from across the progressive metal media and fans alike surrounding the album’s release, Miller states, “After over 25 years, the wait is over and my resurgence back into the prog metal scene is officially complete. I put my creative soul into this and was glad to have some old friends and new additions to join me in making this a reality. To fans and friends, I hope this musical journey has just begun and look forward to seeing you on stage and bringing you much more in the future.”

Listen to Thomas Miller’s Lazarus Effect and acquire the CD and LP on the Laser’s Edge Bandcamp, and watch the “Fear No Evil” video.

Miller is fleshing out the project’s first live lineup, planning for the group to perform its first on-stage performances in the new year, alongside the release of additional new albums and more.

“…a very cool Symphony X feel all throughout this album… really, really good stuff here for all you prog metal fans who like it melodic, and with plenty of shred… 4.5/5” – Sea Of Tranquility

“While comparisons to Symphony X are natural, Miller leans perhaps a touch further into the ‘progressive’ side of things here. The music isn’t quite as heavy as Symphony X—it’s arguably a bit more experimental… The songwriting itself is impeccable…” – Scream Magazine

“This is a thoroughly enjoyable album. Often, I need several listens before an album’s personality really takes hold, but Lazarus Effect connected with me quickly. There’s enough melody to draw me in, enough heaviness to satisfy my growing appetite for metal, and enough progressive ambition to keep me guessing and coming back for more… Thomas Miller has made an uplifting and compelling return… 4.5/5” – Prog Dog

“…Thomas Miller has put something together here that can not only stand in the place of a new Symphony X album, but also turn back the clock significantly to where a lot of their most dedicated fans would like to see them return… 9.1/10” – Sonic Perspectives

“The grandiose nature to the material should send listeners on that path where you take yourself away from reality into another realm – which the best progressive metal releases tend to do. Thomas Miller’s Lazarus Effect hopefully will be the beginning of a strong set of records from this man and his compatriots… 9/10” – Dead Rhetoric

Follow Thomas Miller’s Lazarus Effect: Facebook — https://www.facebook.com/LazarusEffectOfficial | Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/lazaruseffectofficial | YouTube — https://www.youtube.com/@LazarusEffectOfficial