Stay Dead! – Beneath The Weight Of Worlds

by Mark 'Yeti' Richard · September 2, 2026

Stay Dead! is a new band created by bassist/ songwriter Christopher Borrelli (Eternal Hope Records, Fear the Victor, Split 50, Chains of Aggression) a former U.S. Army veteran. Borrelli wrote and created these songs to help him deal with PTSD and constructed a killer lineup to help bring this project to life. Featuring Kenny Shinningburg (Hollow Light, Unto Thee) on drums, Ryan Garney (High Desert Queen) on vocals on most tracks, and Rusty Miller (High Desert Queen) playing guitar on most tracks, Blake Carrera (AIWASS) on guitar and synth, The project also features Mastodon‘s Troy Sanders, High On Fire’s Matt Pike, and Coma Hole’s Eryka Fir. The result is an eclectic mix of doom, sludge, psych, and heavy metal. Beneath The Weight Of Worlds was released on July 24th 2026 on Ripple Music and it contains seven tracks at thirty five minutes long.

The opening track, “Empty Pages” begins this debut with a heavy slab of doom driven metal featuring Ryan Garney’s unmistakable vocals carrying the song along. The heavy flow of riffs and catchy chorus melodies sets the tone for the second song, “Stay Dead”. The band name titled song is a bulldozing grind of dense rhythms and fierce vocals. It begins with a spoken sample about mental illness and suicide that scores a bass riff, into a heavy groove of doom. The song has a dark tone overlaying the dense sludge-like riffs and atmospheric textures. The gang vocals of “Just Die! Stay Dead!” on the chorus part is punchy and menacing.

The third track called “White Noise” features Troy Sanders from the almighty Mastodon. The song is heavy and gloomy with a pummeling flow of riffs and ambience. The six and half minute song has a cool bass and drum break towards the end with scores of ethereal tones and soundscapes blended in. “Electric Mistress” features Matt Pike from High On Fire, delivering a viscous lead and some vocals too. It’s a heavy and lumbering number that steamrolls along with a cathartic twist of psychosis and a graven resonance. The eerie uplifting of Pike’s contributions are a testament to the quality of what this project/ band has to offer.

The fifth track entitled “Chrysalis” begins with the bass and glides along with a more mellow approach, to begin with. The soothing vocals of Garney are joined with Eryka Fir from Coma Hole, when the song builds up to a heavier level. The harmonizing vocals of both Garney and Fir work amazingly well together, despite having never performed together in the same room, and gives the song an interesting vocal bliss to the hulking riff storm of doom.

The sixth track is a spoken sample called “What Happened To Rock n’ Roll”. The take it or leave it dialogue is only a minute and a half long and acts as an introduction for the final song, “Fever Dog”. The last cut is a cover song from the movie soundtrack, Almost Famous. The slower and doomier version of the classic song is a cool rendition and choice cut to finish off Beneath The Weight Of Worlds with. Stay Dead! makes the track their own with the heavy sonic structuring taking place.

All in all, this is a very good record and a new band that has never officially been in the same room together. Based on that predicament, with remote recording and such, it’s truly remarkable on how great this project has turned out! I am excited to hear where this band will morph into as an eventual face to face meeting will inevitably happen one day. Stay Dead! are definitely a band to watch out for in the future because Beneath The Weight Of Worlds is one heck of an introduction thus far.