Portland post-metal quartet Sea Sleeper unleashed new album »Burden Of Antlers«; available now on limited edition vinyl and digital!

Portland, Oregon based progressive death/sludge/post-metal quartet Sea Sleeper stream their sophomore album, »Burden Of Antlers«, which was just released on September 18th, 2026.

Tracklist:
01. Machines Of The Bombing Run
02. Manifestor
03. Lunar Degenerates
04. Abysmal Trench
05. Burden Of Antlers
06. They’ll Miss You
07. Coma
08. Husk

Courtesy of C Squared Music:

With a sound that embraces the weird and obscure, the death metal quartet Sea Sleeper are preparing to unveil their second full-length album, »Burden Of Antlers«. Arriving on September 18, 2026, the forthcoming release sees the band hone further the cohesion across their composition process to produce an offering that is thoroughly eclectic and heavy.

»Burden Of Antlers« opens with the ferocious »Machines Of The Bombing Run«. Notably, the heaviest track on the album, inspiration for the song was drawn from the band’s fascination with history and delves into the incomprehensible enormity of war. Highly rhythmic, the obliterating distortion is designed for intensity with a driving arrangement that injects variation across the instrumentation.

In »Manifestor«, an inescapable assault of percussion segues into a hurricane of riffs, entwining leads and aggressive vocals. Situated firmly in the realms of prog, the music appears to twist and turn before repeatedly returning to the track’s central motif. A haunting clean vocal performance placed within the chaos interjects the heaviness with an eerie harmony. The thundering rhythms of »Lunar Degenerates« give way to a gloomy mood with a progressive edge. Clean vocals lead with an enticing melody, while movement in the percussion brings power beneath. The contrast of heavier sections accentuates the song’s extreme nature.

Sea Sleeper explore narcissism and mortality in »Abysmal Trench«. Lyrically, the song is about what motivates how a person chooses to live their life, and how that affects how they are remembered after death. Musically, the track is an eclectic mix of sections that alternate between absurd combinations of discordance, and more melodic moments. The album’s title track, »Burden Of Antlers«, holds personal meaning for lead vocalist and guitarist Jesse Cooley. It journeys musically between a heavy, weighted sound and a clearer, crisper sonic quality. »Burden Of Antlers« showcases further Sea Sleeper’s utilization of numerous styles producing beautiful brutality.

»They’ll Miss You« leans further into the melodic. Sea Sleeper’s newest member Tony Spradlin’s gutturals are a powerful force in-conjunction with Cooley’s shrieks. The impact across the instruments and vocals is highly textural. »Coma« descends into a cyclical arrangement. The continuous progression built around an atonal and dissonant sound depicts a monotonous day-to-day existence that feels endless. An unyielding heaviness dominates throughout the track.

In »Husk«, Sea Sleeper presents an unconventional direction. This concluding track on »Burden Of Antlers« is dramatic and is infused with a vast array of influences drawn from the band’s diverse musical interest. Ambient black metal styles are found in the chorus and outro of »Husk«, while clean vocals sections venture into elements from post metal.

»Burden Of Antlers« was recorded at Sleeping Studio by Jesse Cooley and Shane Cooley. The album was produced, mixed and mastered by Jesse Cooley, with the cover artwork created by Johnny P.

Order »Burden Of Antlers« limited edition double LP here: seasleeper.bandcamp.com/album/burden-of-antlers-4

About Sea Sleeper:

With a passion for death and post metal, Sea Sleeper infuse their heavy sound with an array of genre influences to produce something more dynamically extreme. The band formed in 2019 comprised of Jesse Cooley (guitar/lead vocals), Shane Cooley (drums/vocals), and Nick Kessler (bass/vocals), with Tony Spradlin (lead guitar/vocals) subsequently completing the line-up in 2022.

The debut EP »Nihilism« was released independently in 2019, followed by their acclaimed debut album »Nostophobia«. Released in 2021 via Metal Assault Records, »Nostophobia« garnered notable recognition achieving #10 album of the year for Noob Heavy and #7 spot for album of the year at GBHBL in 2021, as well as seeing the band become a Top Selling Bandcamp artist in 2021.

Sea Sleeper is:
Jesse Cooley – Guitar/Lead Vocals
Shane Cooley – Drums/Vocals
Nick Kessler – Bass/Vocals
Tony Spradlin – Lead Guitar/Vocals

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