Last month, we heard the unfortunate news that Warbeast singer Bruce Corbitt was being forced to retire after being diagnosed with stage three cancer of the esophagus. While he’s sadly done with the band, at least he got to record an album with the band before having to bow out. Enter the Arena will be released on Phil Anselmo’s Housecore Records on August 4th. The album was (obviously) recorded before Corbitt’s diagnosis. Corbitt spoke about the album:

“We recorded ‘Enter The Arena‘ exactly a decade after we formed Warbeast. The nucleus and founding members of this band [guitarist Scott Shelby, drummer Joey Gonzalez, and Corbitt] provided the essential veteran leadership that was vital for us to reach our goal of creating our magnum opus.

The three of us also contributed our unique individual styles to guarantee that we still sound like Warbeast. But with the addition of our two newest members – guitarist Drew Shoup and bassist Lyric Ferchaud – who I call the ‘Youngbloods,’ it was like adding a breath-of-fresh-air to our chemistry. We definitely sound like a well-oiled-machine on this album. So get prepared for the upcoming onslaught of pure, fresh, and quintessential Texas thrash!”

The band’s last show will be at The Rail Club in Fort Worth, TX on July 14th, and will include a handful of guest vocalists, including their label’s owner. There’s been a crowdfunding page to go towards treatment  for Corbitt via Fundrazr. You can donate to that here. 

Enter the Arena will be released on Housecore Records on August 4th, and can be pre-ordered here or on vinyl here.

[via theprp]