Album Review: Left To Suffer – Unwelcome Guest (Hopeless Records)

Modern metal force Left to Suffer will release their highly anticipated new album, ‘Unwelcome Guest’ on October 9th, 2026, via Hopeless Records.

Gnarly. That is just one word that comes to mind when listening to Left to Suffer’s new album. A word that sums up the intensity that makes up the entirety of the album. It seems as though Left to Suffer had one simple mission statement for this record, and it was to leave the listener feeling like they’ve been beaten bloody.

It is mission well and truly accomplished, and the album goes very hard most of the time. However, in delightful fashion, it’s also a record that shows off some varied thinking and proves unequivocally that Left to Suffer are one hell of a creative force.

At first though, it’s all about crushing the mind, body, and soul with a series of vicious and threatening efforts. Track One, Therapy, Gun in the Duffel Bag, and STFU make up the first part of the record. Delivering focused aggression via unbridled authenticity, and even though some parts don’t quite spark, the explosive nature of Left to Suffer’s sound is going to put a smile on plenty of faces. Especially when they experiment with nu-inspired ideas, such as what the latter of those tracks offer.

Keeping with the wild, heavy, and savage tone, Distant’s Alan Grnja makes a guest appearance on WRONG NUMBER, and it’s a beast of a track. The breakdown alone will shatter teeth and loosen bowels.

404 is pure energy, but one of the more challenging listens because of a vocal layer that I started to find annoying by the end. Thankfully, it’s not too long and is followed by some of the album’s strongest tracks of all. Namely the vitriolic title track, the thumping Honor Amongst Thieves, and the atmospheric Unrequited Dread. The latter is a personal favourite as the atmosphere makes the whole thing feel darker and more twisted. It’s as close to horror as Left to Suffer get, adding a strong sense of danger, while still having such a heavy and wild sound overall.

Finally, it’s Bleeding Out and Gaslit. The former is a real surprise as while it is brutal, it’s Left to Suffer at their most metalcore sounding and that gives us a more melodic, somewhat epic, chorus. Its brilliance is capped off by a very strong guitar solo. Whereas the latter is straight-forwardly ‘in your face’ and an exclamation mark on the album overall.

Even with a misstep or two, I had a blast with this record. Left to Suffer know who they are and what they want to do, and the result is a confident, interesting, and varied slice of intense modern metal.

Left to Suffer – Unwelcome Guest Track Listing:

1. Track One
2. Therapy
3. Gun in the Duffel Bag
4. STFU
5. WRONG NUMBER (feat. Alan Grnja of DISTANT)
6. 404
7. Unwelcome Guest
8. Honor Amongst Thieves
9. Unrequited Dread
10. Bleeding Out
11. Gaslit

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