FLOTSAM AND JETSAM have released "The Edge Of Nowhere", the third and final single from "Rats In The Temple", which arrives August 28 via Napalm Records.
The track opens with eastern scales and builds tension before, in the label's phrasing, firing the listener out of a gun — a structural trick the Arizona band have used well before, and one that works because the payoff is earned rather than immediate.
Eric "A.K." Knutson framed the lyric as a song about refusing to fold. "'The Edge Of Nowhere' is about knowing when to dig your heels into the ground and hold the line," he said. "We wanted to write a track that made people feel strong when things get tough. Always speak your mind. Even if nine times out of ten, it takes you nowhere. You never know when you'll get that one time that pushes you through."
"Rats In The Temple" runs to thirteen tracks of what the band describe as grim tales of death, abuse, betrayal and war. Knutson's own assessment is characteristically unmodest: "This record is a BEAST, truly our best effort to date. Do yourself a favor. Dim the lights, grab a drink, put the headphones on, and crank this up."
The timing carries weight. The album marks forty years since "Doomsday For The Deceiver", the 1986 debut that famously received a 6K rating from Kerrang! — a score the magazine had to invent to accommodate it, and one of very few ever awarded. Jason Newsted left for METALLICA shortly after; the band answered with "No Place For Disgrace" in 1988 and have been working ever since, with "The End Of Chaos" (2019) and "I Am The Weapon" (2024) forming the spine of a genuine late-career run.
The current lineup is arguably the strongest the band have had: Knutson on vocals, co-founder Michael Gilbert and Steve Conley on guitars, Ken Mary (ALICE COOPER, ACCEPT) on drums and Bill Bodily on bass.
The record opens with "Harvesting The Hate" and "Damnation" before turning to thrash virtuosity on "Absolution". Mary and Bodily take the foreground on the anti-war "A Taste For War", their syncopation deliberately evoking tanks and boots on the ground, while "Her Blood Your Pain" brings medieval-flavoured guitar harmonies and "Anthem For The Broken" simply goes full tilt.
"The Edge Of Nowhere" sits at track eight, immediately before "Last Rites" — which, given the song's function as a launch pad, is almost certainly not an accident.