Blackwater Drowning will release their fiery new studio album, “Obscure Sorrows”, on February 27th, 2026, via Bleeding Art Collective and Blood Blast Distribution (Nuclear Blast Records/Believe).
Blackwater Drowning is a five-piece US melodic death metal/metalcore band from North Carolina. Forged by singer Morgan Riley and guitarist Jeremy Bennett, the band is completed by guitarist Ron Dalton Jr, bassist Aria Novi, and drummer Aamon Dalton.
Since the band’s inception, Blackwater Drowning has recorded two EPs and a debut album (“Sonder//Satori”) and has supported iconic acts such as Soulfly, Jinjer, Crypta, and many others. The band is now set to unleash Obscure Sorrows.
Mixed and mastered by Cryptopsy guitarist Christian Donaldson (Shadow Of Intent, Suffocation, Ingested), the album features guest solos by Greg Burgess of Allegaeon and Japanese guitar virtuoso Yo Onityan, as well as stunning album art by Giannis Nakos (Emperor, The Agonist, Aborted).
Elaborates Bennet: “For ‘Obscure Sorrows’, we approached the songwriting in a completely different way. In the past, we would bring different riffs to the table and make them fit together like a puzzle. This time we all sat together and wrote the songs in real time. Making rough demos and tweaking the songs as we went really opened up the potential of each song. Tracking was also done differently. Other than drums, we tracked and edited everything else ourselves at our home studio. That gave us much more time to try different things and figure out what works and what doesn’t.
We wanted to expand our sound without completely abandoning what we have done in the past. The guitar harmonies are still there but we also added different rhythms and progressions than what we have done in the past. The addition of orchestration is something we have wanted to do for a while and adding that to the album really contributed to the overall sound of the songs and the tone of the entire album. We are very happy with what we have created on Obscure Sorrows and we hope our fans enjoy it as much as we enjoyed creating it”.
In advance of the record’s release, today the band drops the lead single, “Eye of the Storm”. “This song is about absolutely wrecking shit”, says Riley. “It’s about an unstoppable force laying waste to everything in its path. When I was writing the lyrics for this, I just imagined an epic anime-style boss fight and wrote the words that evoked that feeling in my mind. I love playing this live and seeing people go nuts in the pit”!
Watch the official video for “Eye of the Storm” below.
Find “Obscure Sorrows” presaves here and merch preorders here.
Tracklist:
1. The 6th Omen
2. Devour
3. Eye of the Storm
4. Incubus (Feat. guest solo by Yo Onityan)
5. Heir of the Witch
6. Washed Out, Washed Away
7. Where Men Fear to Tread
8. Death by 1000 Cuts
9. Teeth and Claws
10. Chains of Ages (feat. guest solo by Greg Burgess – Allegaeon)
Line-up:
Jeremy Bennett – Guitar
Morgan Riley – Vocals
Aamon Dalton – Drums
Aria Novi – Bass
Ron Dalton Jr. – Guitar
Weblinks:
www.blackwaterdrowning.com
www.facebook.com/blackwaterdrowning
