Chicago’s ultimate destroyers Lair Of The Minotaur premieres new album »I Hail I« in full ahead of its release this Friday on The Grind-House Records!
Chicago, Illinois based thrash/doom/sludge metal trio Lair Of The Minotaur stream their new studio album »I Hail I« in full ahead of its release this Friday, May 1st, 2026 via The Grind-House Records.
Tracklist:
01. Emperor Of Dis
02. I Hail I
03. Enthroned In Violence
04. Fucked Inside Out
05. Deepest Hell
06. Saturnus Reign
07. Prowler Twin Sister
08. Family Tree (Ethel Cain cover)
09. Vulture Worship
10. Tartarus Apocalypse
Courtesy of Earsplit PR:
Decibel Magazine today unveils the carnage of »I Hail I«, the first new album from Chicago’s ultimate destroyers Lair Of The Minotaur in sixteen years, ahead of its release this Fridayon their own The Grind-House Records.
Lair Of The Minotaur’s first album since 2010’s acclaimed »Evil Power«, »I Hail I« sees founding guitarist/vocalist Steven Rathbone (7000 Dying Rats) reunited with longtime drummer Chris Wozniak (Cöküs, Vanishment) and joined by new bassist Sanford Parker (Twilight, Minsk, Black Cross Hotel). »I Hail I« dispatches ten tracks in barely thirty minutes, including a monstrous reenvisioning of Ethel Cain’s »Family Tree«.” The album was recorded and mixed by Sanford Parker (Yob, EyeHateGod, Darkthrone) at Jamdek Studios and Hypercube in Chicago and completed with stark cover art by Dieofsuffering666.
With the album just days from murdering its way into the human populous, Rathbone decries alongside Decibel’s advance stream, “»I Hail I« is intended to be listened to all the way through, at maximum volume on real speakers. A thirty-minute thoroughly cathartic experience.”
Photo by Damien Denton
Decibel writes in part, “The ten-track ripper clocks in under 30 minutes, packing as many boneheaded riffs, thunderous drum rolls and varied vocals into that time as possible.”
Lair Of The Minotaur’s auditory equivalent of a guillotine is now on display at Decibel Magazine RIGHT HERE.
Lair Of The Minotaur will independently release »I Hail I« digitally this Friday, May 1st, with physical versions to follow. Preorder the record on Bandcamp HERE, and watch the »Prowler Twin Sister« video HERE.
Lair Of The Minotaur is making their second appearance at Maryland Deathfest, playing on Thursday, May 21st at Nevermore Hall with Bongzilla, Rwake, Avernus, and Black Lung, followed by the Motoblot Festival After Party June 20th with High On Fire and Barren Heir. They’ve also booked a hometown record release show on July 10th with Primal Code, Inoculation, and Motherless. Additional tour dates will be announced shortly.
Lair Of The Minotaur Live:
5/21/2026 Nevermore Hall – Baltimore, MD @ Maryland Deathfest w/ Bongzilla, Rwake, Avernus, Black Lung
6/20/2026 Ramova Theater – Chicago, IL @ Motoblot Festival After Party w/ High On Fire, Barren Heir
7/10/2026 The Hideout – Chicago, IL *Record Release Show w/ Primal Code, Inoculation, Motherless
Formed in 2003 and signed to Southern Lord Recordings just one month after their first show, the death-doom metal warriors Lair Of The Minotaur have released four LPs, three EPs, and an array of singles, all interconnected with concepts based on the bloodier tales of Greek mythology. The band has toured extensively across North America and Europe, crushing all in their path with their own brand of heavy fucking metal that has been likened to being beat to death with a spiked club.
Lair Of The Minotaur’s monstrous fifth album »I Hail I« marks the second album released independently on the band’s The Grind-House Records. The label’s first release was Lair Of The Minotaur’s »Evil Power«, the band’s best-selling album, and features their most popular and most streamed song, »Let’s Kill These Motherfuckers«, hailed by Henry Rollins as, “One of the greatest songs I have ever heard.”
Lair Of The Minotaur is:
Steven Rathbone – Guitar, Vocals, Synth
Chris Wozniak – Drums
Sanford Parker – Bass
“Across ten tracks in under thirty minutes, »I Hail I« promises a blast of mythologically drenched violence…” – Metal Injection
“…a reminder of just how fucking heavy and enraged this band’s music can be. The riffing sounds like the jarring pulse of a distorted siren that’s sounding a warning which comes too late. The drums slug hard, boom loud, and crack necks. The vocals flip from raging howls to wild cries and monstrous roars, sometimes doubled for extra intensity. It’s not fancy – the raw and rebellious fury is all that counts.” – No Clean Singing
“The album is lean and mean, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t fill you to the brim with ferocity. This jam-packed half hour likely is to result in even more volatile live shows and their reclaiming their spot among doom’s bloodiest.” – Meat Mead Metal
Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well