New York proto-metal band Certain Death to reissue their debut album »Strange Garden« on limited vinyl via Kozmik Artifactz!

Brooklyn, New York based proto-metal band Certain Death will release a vinyl reissue of their 2024’s debut album »Strange Garden« on June 26th, 2026 via Kozmik Artifactz.

Tracklist:
A1. Cut
A2. Paranoid
A3. Free
A4. NHR
A5. White Clouds (Bonus Track)
B1. Locomotive
B2. Gates Of The Forest
B3. Moon On The Rise
B4. Strange Garden
B5. To The Sea (Bonus Track)

Courtesy of Kozmik Artifactz:

Certain Death deliver guitar-driven, classic rock-rooted heavy rock built on riffs, harmonised leads and a strong retro-oriented songwriting approach.

There is a clear love for the golden age of amplified rock running through »Strange Garden«, described by the band itself as “a love letter to an era of amp towers, flashy guitars, long hair, and polyester department store suits” – not as empty retro worship, but as a very conscious commitment to the spirit, energy and larger-than-life feel of classic rock culture. The album constantly balances that familiar vintage atmosphere with the immediacy of a modern band that genuinely sounds like it lives inside this music rather than simply referencing it from a distance.

Originally released in 2024, »Strange Garden« now receives its vinyl edition, expanded with two additional tracks recorded in 2025. Across the album, Certain Death move through direct, guitar-forward compositions that shift naturally between energetic rock passages, atmospheric detours and more stripped-back moments, always anchored in strong instrumental interplay and an organic “band in the room” feel.

Photo credits: Kate Cassise

What makes the record particularly effective is how naturally it channels the excitement of discovering classic rock for the first time again. The songs feel timeless without becoming nostalgic caricatures – full of soaring guitar leads, layered harmonies, dynamic pacing and memorable hooks that could easily convince somebody they had somehow missed this band the first time around decades ago.

There are flashes of heavy blues rock, western-tinged atmosphere, raw hard rock drive and loose psychedelic touches throughout the album, but the material never collapses into genre cosplay or retro checklist-writing. Tracks move confidently from dense riff-driven sections into spacious instrumental passages, acoustic breaks or extended solo-driven moments, always keeping that strong sense of momentum and musical chemistry alive.

More than anything, »Strange Garden« carries the feeling of records passed from one rock obsessive to another – the kind of album somebody puts on without much explanation, letting the guitars, grooves and attitude speak for themselves.

Presented on heavyweight vinyl, strictly limited to 200 copies on solid silver vinyl with white and black splatter.

Pre-order your copy HERE.

Certain Death are:
Henry Black – Guitar, Vocals
Matt White – Guitar
Jerry Smiles – Bass
CJ Young – Drums

FFO: Budgie, Thin Lizzy, Sir Lord Baltimore, Pink Floyd

Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well