Municipal Waste are already loading the chamber for their next full-length album.
Municipal Waste new album
Guitarist Ryan Waste revealed that the Richmond crossover thrash veterans have nearly completed writing the follow-up to 2022’s Electrified Brain, with the band aiming to release the record sometime in 2027.
Waste discussed the album during a new interview with U.K. music retailer Gear4Music, conducted following Municipal Waste’s appearance at Bloodstock Open Air.
Asked what comes next for the band and whether another album was underway, Waste confirmed that the process is already well beyond its earliest stages.
“We’re working on a record,” Waste said. “Yeah, we pretty much have a record written. So we’ll tie that up and for a release next year.”
For now, the 2027 record remains an early tease rather than a formal album announcement. No title, artwork, track listing, recording details or exact release date have been revealed.
Municipal Waste Promise “More Dynamics” on Next Album
When asked whether the upcoming material follows the direction of Electrified Brain, Waste suggested that the band is pushing that sound further rather than simply repeating it.
“I think it takes it up a notch even,” he said, promising “more dynamics” and “more stuff that you wouldn’t expect from us.”
Don’t expect Municipal Waste to suddenly abandon the crossover thrash attack they’ve spent more than two decades sharpening, however. Waste added that the new material still follows the band’s straightforward, unmistakably Waste-style formula.
That combination could make the currently untitled record an interesting next step after Electrified Brain, Municipal Waste’s seventh studio album and first full-length since 2017’s Slime and Punishment.
Released in July 2022 through Nuclear Blast, Electrified Brain was recorded with producer Arthur Rizk, whose résumé includes work with Power Trip, Code Orange and Enforced.
No Click Tracks: Municipal Waste Still Write and Record as a Band
Waste also pulled back the curtain on Municipal Waste’s songwriting process, describing an approach that remains strikingly old-school in an era when bands can construct entire records without occupying the same room.
Rather than having one primary songwriter deliver completed tracks to the rest of the group, ideas are developed collectively.
“All of us contribute,” Waste explained. A band member may arrive at rehearsal with anywhere from one to three riffs, after which the group begins building the song around them.
Waste described drummer Dave Witte as particularly important in working out transitions and “connecting the dots” between those ideas.
Once Municipal Waste enter the studio, the philosophy doesn’t change much.
“We all get in there. We all play together. No click track,” Waste said. “We play with the drums, just like rehearsal.”
That live-room mentality fits a band whose music has always depended as much on physical momentum as precision. Municipal Waste may have spent more than 20 years refining their particular collision of thrash and hardcore punk, but apparently nobody has developed an appetite for sanding the human edges off it.
Ryan Waste Clears Up the Tango & Thrash Confusion
The interview also cleared up some confusion surrounding Tango & Thrash, which received a wider release in 2024 but does not represent recently recorded Municipal Waste material.
Waste pointed out that the material dates back to 2002, before the release of Municipal Waste’s 2003 debut album, Waste ’Em All.
The early EP was recorded with the band’s late drummer and contains material written with considerably less ceremony than the forthcoming album.
According to Waste, some of those songs were thrown together in roughly five minutes.
The material had never been widely available digitally, prompting Municipal Waste to resurrect it years later and give more listeners access to a particularly strange artifact from the band’s early history.
Among its curiosities is a tribute to actor Kurt Russell that originally appeared as the B-side of a seven-inch split.
Waste himself seemed amused that something so ridiculous had survived long enough to require historical clarification.
Municipal Waste Hit the Road Before the New Album Arrives
Before the next record surfaces, Municipal Waste have plenty of roadwork ahead.
The band will play select U.S. dates with hardcore punk veterans Circle Jerks in September, including shows in Norfolk and Municipal Waste’s hometown of Richmond.
Later this year, Municipal Waste will join Testament and Immolation for an extensive Latin American tour beginning November 20 in Mexico City. The trek runs through Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Chile, Argentina and Uruguay before hitting five Brazilian cities and wrapping December 13 in Rio de Janeiro.
For a band that has always lived comfortably with one combat boot planted in punk and the other in metal, the mixed company suits them.
As Waste put it during the Gear4Music interview, Municipal Waste have always played with both punk and metal bands.
The next album may promise a few things listeners won’t expect, but some things apparently remain sacred.
No click track. No digital amp conversion. No abandoning the Waste formula.
THE BAND:
Ryan Waste – Guitar
Dave Witte – Drums
Landphil – Bass
Tony Foresta – Vocals
Nick Poulos – Guitar
Just a new Municipal Waste record taking shape for 2027, with the riffs already largely in place.
About The Author
Caine Blackthorn writes music news, trending topics, commentary, and feature pieces for Metal Lair with a focus on the shifting culture surrounding rock and heavy metal. From rising ticket prices and touring collapse to legacy artists, industry absurdity, and the changing soul of live music, his work blends sharp observation with the grit, humor, and frustration of the scene itself. Whether covering modern chaos or metal history, Caine approaches heavy music as something lived through, not simply reported on.
Read More From This Author:
The New Wave of Metalheads: How Gen Z Fell in Love With Heavy Metal
EVERY BAND IS NOW A CONTENT CREATOR
Digital DNA or Artificial Sacrilege? The Battle Over Ozzy’s Immortal Avatar
No algorithms. No fluff. No watered-down corporate metal coverage.
Subscribe to Metal Lair and get weekly underground features, Seven Deadly Songs, Deep Cuts, interviews, and original metal journalism sent directly to your inbox.
Join the patrons of Metal Lair
MetalLair.net is a metal zine muttering to itself about seo and blastbeats at 3 AM powered by caffeine, riffs, a severe lack of sleep, and a dog wondering why the human is still awake.
Sometimes it’s Kevin passing out mid Seven Deadly Songs.
Sometimes it’s digging up forgotten records no one else is talking about.
Always, it’s built for people who actually live this music.
If that sounds like you, you’re already one of us.
Supporting Metal Lair means keeping it independent, loud, and real with no corporate filters, no watered-down takes. If you want to help keep it alive…
Become a patron of Metal Lair.