REVIEW: Bodysnatcher - Hell is Here, Hell is Home [2026]

Artist: Bodysnatcher
Album: Hell is Here, Hell is Home

The steady depreciation of an artist’s music over time isn’t new—hell, there are even cute little names that accompany it: “the sophomore slump,” “second album syndrome” and less frequently “third album syndrome,” the list goes on. It usually isn’t even a surprise, and more often than not, even though you might shake your head at the “old stuff was better” crowd, you’re probably in a silent agreement. But what about the opposite? Those rare bands who only seem to grow better with age? The Acacia Strain, Terror and Converge are just a few examples of those rare bands who have continued to refine and develop their sound despite the tireless forward march of time—and I would like to make the argument Bodysnatcher solidify their place in this list with the release of their fourth full-length release, Hell is Here, Hell is Home. A band with humble origins as one of downtempo deathcore’s foundational acts have since emerged into something much more. Never forsaking their penchant for pulverizing aggression, the band has grown into arguably one of the strongest and most consistent modern deathcore acts, carefully balancing nostalgic influences with contemporary punch and production. Hell is Here, Hell is Home is no different—and in fact, stands as what is almost certainly the strongest overall release in their robust (and ruthless) discography.

In the time since Abandonment, Bodysnatcher have grown to have more in common with legacy acts like ABACABB, Recon and Float Face Down—bands that leaned heavily into hardcore roots with their approach to unabashed heaviness. As Bodysnatcher have steadily—but thoroughly—grown from their origins at the epicenter of the American downtempo deathcore movement, they have become a well-rounded juggernaut capable of immolating, intense deathcore that manages to sound and feel modern without falling into the tropes of most contemporary deathcore acts. This is as true instrumentally as it is vocally, and perhaps more evident on Hell is Here, Hell is Home than it has been on any prior record. From the blistering onset of “The Maker,” it is evident that everyone in Bodysnatcher is hellbent on stepping up their game—not the least of which is percussionist Chris Whited. Plainly, Whited is at his fasted and most technically demanding since his King Conquer days. “Writhe and Coil” is an outstanding track that sees bouncy kick drum share center stage with quick, pummeling fills, while “Two Empty Caskets” and “May Your Memory Rot” tone down speed in favor of dense, hard-hitting groove. Whited’s percussion works outstandingly with fretwork from bassist Kyle Shope and guitarist Kyle Carter, both of whom shine throughout the entire release. “Survive or Die,” the record’s most hardcore-leaning cut boasts riff-forward song-structure with simple-albeit-explosive percussion, excellently contrasting the closing track, “Hell is Home,” a distinctly more “deathcore” cut running the gamut from blast beats to bouncy, kick-heavy grooves and everything in between. Hell is Here, Hell is Home is instrumentally varied, building on the renewed hardcore influence abundant in the band’s deathcore styling that defined their 2024 EP Vile Conduct, while still including more than enough ignorant aggression to satisfy those who have stuck around since The Death of Me (and even earlier).

Just a touch over 10 years ago, when Bodysnatcher’s Kyle Medina first emerged on the scene, he was wildly praised for his vocal range, endurance and intensity, especially given his young age. Ten years later, he continues at the genre’s forefront—not in a gimmicky way, mind you, but by how well his vocal control, ferocity and range have not only held strong, but grown. Hell is Here, Hell is Home is ten tracks of pure immolation, and on each track, Medina’s voice lives up to the daunting task of keeping up with the instrumentation put forth by Carter, Shope and Whited. “The Maker” is a stand-out, with the entire barn-burner of a song building up to an iconic Medina one-liner before an otherwise mountain-moving breakdown. “May Your Memory Rot” is another stand-out cut from Medina, and another in a long line of Bodysnatcher tracks that seamlessly blend boneheaded (complementary) brutality with introspective and emotional lyrical content (fans of “Murder8” and “Twelve:Seventeen” rejoice). While Medina does spend the lion’s share of his time in a raw mid-range yell or lower scream with respect to his register, we do get the occasional grisly, guttural bellow and harsh shout (especially from percussionist Whited, and Terror’s Scott Vogel) to add a little variety—but at the end of the day, Medina delivers consistent, crushing intensity across a soundscape that demands exactly that—what more can you ask for?

Over ten years, two EPs and now four full length records, Bodysnatcher have grown exponentially from their origins as the heaviest band out of Melbourne (the Floridian one). Expertly crafting a contemporary styling of deathcore that pays honest homage to deathcore, hardcore and mosh-heavy bands of the past while doing something that stands strong without a gimmick in the contemporary setting, Hell is Here, Hell is Home is the finest release from a band that has, realistically, put out nothing but strong records—making this release one of 2026’s must-hears for fans of all things that go “chug.”

9/10
For Fans Of: Recon, ABACABB, Float Face Down, Varials, Years Spent Cold
By: Connor Welsh