SFTHU Quick Reviews: Beastwars - "The Ship // The Sea"

Beastwars is one of those bands that needs no introduction. This New Zealand-based group has been making music together for nearly two decades at the time of this writing, generating a signature sound that's as heavy with emotion as it is sludgy riffs. 

Beastwars has been a go-to band for me for a few years now, especially when I'm in need of some extra heavy catharsis, as this quartet has a knack for absolutely bleeding with emotive intensity. Vacillating between dense, sludgy mires and surprisingly dreamy, serene interludes, the songs of Beastwars tend to flow much like life itself. All the while, the gritty, powerful howls of Matt Hyde deliver some of the most raw and unfettered vocals in the heavy music scene. Few bands offer a more therapeutic listening experience. Beastwars' cover album Tyranny of Distance was my introduction to their sound, and their rendition of High and Lonely immediately took up permanent residency in my heart. 

The Ship//The Sea is the band's sixth album, and it utilizes water as a main theme, with the ship representing the body and the sea being a metaphor for life. In fact, Beastwars actually recorded this album near the ocean, along the beaches of Mount Maunganui, before completing it in their hometown of Wellington, New Zealand. Says frontman Matt Hyde, "Our new album is like Picasso's Guernica - a reflection of war and horror, of endings and upheavals. It's the sound of a ship adrift on a cruel sea."

Beastwars - The Ship // The Sea

The Ship//The Sea (released on November 7, 2025 via Destroy Records), is filled with the strikingly raw emotion and unrelenting intensity we know and love from the band. Naturally, this sharply contrasting combination of vulnerability and brutality fashions the perfect spyglass through which to view the album's nautical theme. Further, each song on the album explores a different motif such as survival, wisdom, purification, and healing. The emotions expressed on the album are some of their most intense ever, on par with their crushing riffs. You'll hear inspiring messages of optimism (such as on opening track We Don't Say Fear), relatable anecdotes of struggle (such as on The Storm), and encouraging glimmers of hope (such as on the ultra-powerful final track Light Leads the Way). 

Not only does Beastwars very successfully execute the concept of the beautifully volatile sea on their album, but they do it in an admirably unguarded and genuine manner, making it very apparent to the listener that The Ship//The Sea could very well be the band's most personal yet.

More About Beastwars

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