A performance video accompanies STARKILL’s new single, Hanging Up My Halo, which premiered through Revolver on November 13, 2026. The song is the title track of the melodic death metal band’s forthcoming album, due January 22, 2027. Album, CD, merchandise and bundle preorders are available.
In its premiere coverage, Revolver describes the track’s combination of heavy passages, symphonic elements and technical guitar playing, with Sarah Lynn’s guttural vocals. Drummer Spencer Weidner identifies the song as a focal point for the record: “We knew pretty early on that this would be the center point for the album. It’s got all the melody and mayhem that we call home, and just the right amount of cinematic flourish.”
For guitarist and vocalist Parker Jameson, the title connects directly to the circumstances surrounding the band’s return to writing. He describes pandemic disruption, personal difficulties, creative disagreements and a member’s departure during the interval between full-length releases.
“We lost a band member, I was creatively burned out, and I went so far as to stop writing and even listening to metal as a whole. I barely played guitar for years,” Jameson says.
He eventually reopened a recording session and began writing with the approach he remembered from STARKILL’s beginnings, drawing on the excitement of first discovering metal. Finishing a track prompted him to contact guitarist and vocalist Tony Keathley; sharing it helped establish a direction again. Jameson says the band’s subsequent Mad With Power appearance, its first show after years of inactivity, reinforced that feeling.
“Lyrically and musically, the album is about recognizing and incorporating negativity and using it to construct something powerful,” he explains.
The title track follows Death On Display, released October 9, 2026, as the first single in the Hanging Up My Halo album campaign. Its official music video premiered the same day. The track received additions to Sirius XM’s Liquid Metal playlist and V13’s Spotify playlist.
STARKILL resumed live activity following the pandemic hiatus at 2024’s Mad With Power Fest. Subsequent North American appearances included shows alongside Edge of Paradise and Canada’s Loud As Hell Open Air festival. Following its 2026 dates, the band is confirmed to premiere new music aboard the 2027 70,000 Tons of Metal Cruise, departing Miami, Florida, on January 14 and returning January 18. Additional 2027 dates remain to be announced.
The new album follows a catalog that began with 2013’s Fires of Life, written while founders Weidner and Jameson were teenagers and reflecting influences including Amon Amarth and DragonForce. The 2014 follow-up, Virus of the Mind, introduced clean vocals after international touring with Wintersun and Amorphis. Third album Shadow Sleep developed the band’s hooks and vocal versatility, while 2019’s Gravity featured guest production from Coen Janssen of Epica, Aleksi Munter and Olli Vänskä of Turisas.
STARKILL’s announced lineup comprises Spencer Weidner on drums, Parker Jameson and Tony Keathley on guitar and vocals, Sarah Lynn on vocals, and Kevin Spielmann on bass.
