Metal Blade Records recently released Skull Pit, the self-titled debut album from the American/Japanese collaboration. A full album stream can be found below.

Skull Pit is a tale of two musicians from opposite sides of the heavy metal spectrum and the planet: Tatsu, hailing from Tokyo/Japan, is the bassist and mastermind behind the internationally acclaimed doom outfit Church Of Misery; Mem, from New York/USA, is the singer and front-man of German thrash pioneers Exumer.

The album can be ordered here in the following formats:

- ltd. Digipak-CD
- 180 g black vinyl
- silver/black marbled vinyl (ltd. 200 - EU-exclusive)
- red/black marbled vinyl (ltd. 200 - EU-exclusive)
- gold/black splattered vinyl (ltd. 100 - EU-exclusive)
- gold/silver splattered vinyl (ltd. 100 - US-exclusive)

Skull Pit vocalist Mem comments: "This album perfectly captures the entire spectrum of what we were passionate about as youths and now as adults: unfiltered, honest and straight-forward heavy metal. The 'Fire Breather' video clip basically combines all the key elements of Skull Pit's global sonic attack in every frame. Shot in and around the desert of Las Vegas/Nevada, the clip was edited by known Japanese director Kazuaki Kimura, who immediately came on board after listening to the Skull Pit album!"

The two veterans endeavoured to combine their favourite elements of bands like Motörhead along with the countless outfits of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal into one blistering and highly energetic nine-track album. The songs on Skull Pit's debut are a clear departure from what Exumer or Church Of Misery usually sound like. Stepping away from Exumer's lighting fast rhythms and Church of Misery's slowed down, Iommi-inspired riffs, Skull Pit creates melodies in the vein of 70s hard rock and 80s NWOBHM with Lemmy's punk attitude.

Mixed in Tokyo by O-mi Kihara, Skull Pit was recorded in New York and Japan during Exumer's and Church of Misery's time off from playing live around the globe. The result is a free-flowing album that switches effortlessly between genres and boundaries, but always with the intent to deliver a razor sharp riff or a memorable hook.

Skull Pit didn't shy away from further expanding their all-inclusive attitude when it came to choosing and recording a cover song as a bonus track: Rose Tattoo's "All The Lessons". The song features Brian "Mitts" Daniels (ex-Madball), who produced Mem's vocal tracks in New York.

Skull Pit tracklisting:

"Double Cross"
"Roller"
"Fire Breather"
"Year Of The Dog"
"Soul Raiders"
"Blood Titan"
"Marauders"
"The Line"
"Wolf Spirit"
"All The Lessons" (bonus track)

Album stream:

"Fire Breather" video:

(Photo - Nikos Mixas)