We don’t pay Combichrist too much mind when new music is released because we’re never sure what it’s leading to. Is it a standalone? The prelude to a tour? A part of a new record? And that’s the limbo we found ourselves in when a roll out of singles began as far back as June of 2025 with “Desolation”. And don’t get us wrong, that track is AWESOME. We just like to know where it’s all headed is all. Where it eventually headed, following several more singles (“Rise” then “Feraline” then “Demons Wanna Be Summoned”), was to Combichrist’s newest full-length The Venom In The Mouth Of God.
As of this posting, The Venom In The Mouth Of God might be our favorite Combichrist album yet. It might also be front person Andy LaPlegua’s most cohesive Combichrist release so far, seamlessly combining the band’s signature Aggrotech with Industrial and Electro to for a record that when strung together is a timeless slab of masterful Combichrist music taking the best parts from ALL the back catalog, fusing it together and just running with it for an overall enhanced Combichrist listening experience.
“ODR” is pure, epic Combichrist. This is the kind of song you come to a Combichrist album for. Reminiscent of We Love You‘s iconic “We Were Made To Love You” but really leaning into the Electro aspects with a definitive stomp and an instantly infectious chorus that’s haunting despite the thunderous, primal percussion that permeates all around. The aforementioned “Desolation” was a stand out when initially released and here it completely locks in and engages with the flow of the record offering your dance-like-no-one’s watching fix early on as the beats flow and subtle riffs shred to give some underlying heft. Elsewhere, “The Future Is A Memory” could very much appear on any of Combichrist’s earlier albums with Making Monsters and Today We Are All Demons standing out as the obvious comparable candidates as is the case for “Born Destroyer” which has the same temperament as classic bangers like “They” or “Scarred”.
Next up, previously released “Feraline” and “Rise” are back to back and, in the context of The Venom In The Mouth Of God, simply slay with the Synth-driven sounds coming out of each followed by “Venom” which is godlike and a primal pillar standing tall in the middle of the new record with a sound that’s both a throwback but also the next sonic evolution for the band. “S.T.F.U.” is looser, less militaristic but super intense by building a sprawling soundscape that agitatedly swells as LaPlegua delivers vocals in a cadence that’s like a Hip-Hop flow and Spoken Word sparring match.
“Each Scar A Vision” is a vision of beauty (Sorry, had to!), “Only Here For A Good Time” has a wall of riffs that HEALTH would be jealous of and “The Way We Want To Be Seen” is cinematic with the way it ebbs and flows with an intimacy that still yields intricacy and an unrelenting movement of sound that purposefully pulsates. “Demons Wanna Be Summoned” spirals out of “The Way…” with a swagger and adopting a more Synth Rawk attitude… but heavier. “The Second Ending (We Have Been There Before)” closes Combichrist’s newest in grand fashion, building and building and adding intricate layer upon intricate layer before giving way to an Electro romp that’d give much of their danceable early works a run for their money as it unfolds for almost seven minutes.
The Venom In The Mouth Of God is out on July 24th through Out Of Line and you can get your pre-orders and pre-saves on now by heading here or to the stream below. For more from Combichrist, including all the deets on the just announced North American dates with Ludovico Technique and Dead Animal Assembly Plant that hits Lowell’s Taffeta Music Hall on September 18th (Advance for that one tix here), head to the information superhighway for the socials located by clicking here, here or here.