Flotsam and Jetsam started out as the ultimate underdog act, and somehow, they’ve retained that workaday everyman vibe over a 40-plus-year career. Gaining more fame from having their founding bassist poached by Metallica than they ever would from their excellent debut, their early years resulted in some high-flying platters. As with most metal bands, the early 90s shift in the American music scene toward grunge and grunge-adjacent sounds put them in a difficult position, and Flotsam did their best to adapt to the changing tastes without selling out. Through the 90s and the aughts, they had up-and-down moments, culminating in the utter train wreck dumpster fire of 2012s Ugly Noise where obituaries were penned, including by Yours Steely. But something strange happened when the band hit absolute rock bottom. They simply refused to go quietly into that good night. 2016 saw them rebound muchly with their self-titled album, and since then they’ve had a late-career upswing that can only be described as remarkable. Three more successful albums followed, proving there was still plenty of fuel in their war machine, and that brings us to their 16th release, Rats in the Temple. Can the little band from Arizona that could keep right on coulding? I always root for them, but eventually the biscuit wheels have to come off this unlikely gravy train, right?
That bad train day will not be today, however. Rats in the Temple is another rock-solid release from a band that seems to have figured out the formula for keeping things sounding fresh and vital. When I saw that Rats clocked in at a whopping 56-plus minutes, I had grave concerns, but the truth is, there isn’t much extra padding on these here bones. With every song sitting in the 3-4 minute window and the band showing serious veteran writing savvy, everything comes up Flotszilla. Opener “Harvesting the Hate” is a great initial shot to the brain stem with the classic Flotsam working-class thrash/trad metal hybrid sound intact and as toothsome as ever. There’s a nifty Middle Eastern vibe and unexpected symphonics before things really kick into gear, and things feel more epic and sweeping than the usual Flots-y material. Eric A.K.’s voice has aged like fine hobo wine, and he can still command the arena like a 20-something brash monkey. He powers the song through a big chorus backed by punchy guitar lines from Michael Gilbert and Steve Conley, and all is good. There’s a bit of an alt-rock vibe to some of the riff phrasing, but this is straight-up metal all day long, and it has real bite. Subsequent cuts like “Absolution” and “Blame the Knife” deliver geeked-up, extra-crunchy rowdy chowder that would have fit on the early albums. Then they hit you with the grandiose and large-scale “The Ghost Behind My Door,” which flirts with melodeath riffage as well as Brainstorm-esque epic trad metal. It’s just a killer tune.
Ripper after ripper fly by, and though you keep waiting for things to get stale, it never happens. Later tunes like “Last Rites” and “A Taste for War” are straight-up badassery with high energy and hooks. In fact, the last 4 tracks are some of the album’s strongest material. Penultimate cut “Anthem for the Broken” could be mistaken for a Brainstorm or Primal Fear song, and it has curb-stomp appeal. The gritty closer “Going Down That Way” feels like a return to the flawed but fun Drift album, but the writing is better, with the heaviness amplified. Nothing feels skippable, but given the album’s mammoth runtime, they probably could have cut either “Damnation” or “The Edge of Nowhere” to tighten the experience a bit. That being said, Rats doesn’t feel like a long listen, and the songs all fly by and demand replays. That says A LOT about the songwriting.1
With the same lineup from the last few albums returning, you get a seasoned, battle-tested crew who know what they’re about. I’ve been a fan of Eric A.K.’s voice since the beginning, and during their darker days, he was the only reason I kept checking out the band’s releases (High through My God). He sounds as good as ever here, and though I miss those laser-like high notes from the olden days, I don’t expect them from a man 40 years into his metal career. Michael Gilbert and Steve Conley seem to have gotten their hands on some kind of unregulated pre-workout powder prior to recording, because their riffs feel WAY more beefy, burly, and brawly. On tracks like “Absolution” and “First on the Spike,” they sound possessed by fire and ribeye, and that’s the recipe for getting the Steel ov Approval stamped on your head. I also appreciate how they blend thrash, traditional, and power metal elements into their playing to keep things feeling fresh and forceful so late in their career.
I hoped Flotsam and Jetsam could keep their recent winning streak going, and lo and behold, Rats in the Temple may be the best of their string of comeback albums. It flirts with greatness, and leaves me little room to complain. For a band sitting on so many releases over so many years, that’s a fookin’ miracle of science and art! Get down with these temple rats.
Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: NA | Format Reviewed: Fucking STREAM!
Label: Napalm
Websites: flotstildeath.com | facebook.com/flotsamandjetsam.official | instagram.com/flotsamandjetsamofficial
Releases Worldwide: August 28th, 2026
