Let’s start with some basic stuff. Many tried to present falsely this band, but Memoriam are not the continuation of Bolt Thrower. They could never have been. Yes, they have two former members of them, Karl Willets on vocals and their original drummer Andrew Whale. Also, they were formed as a tribute to Martin “Kiddie” Kearns, the last drummer of Bolt Thrower who passed away in 2015 and led to their split-up. But no further than that.

The line-up has also Frank Healy on bass (ex-Benediction, ex-Napalm Death) and Scott Fairfax on guitars who performs live with Benediction. It’s only logical that their sound has a lot of similarities with the aforementioned bands and with the European death metal scene, the Dutch one to be more specific.

I have to say that I was skeptical about this one, because the band was formed in 2016 and this is already the third full-length album by them. The first two, “For The Fallen” and “The Silent Vigil” were released in 2017 and 2018 respectively. Usually, moves like this have a result of loss in quality, but thankfully this is not this case. The songs are almost exclusively mid-tempo, the riffs are true to the old-school death metal tradition, the bass makes it sound heavier and the vocals of beloved Karl are still the same, even if his is fifty-two years old.

For example, listen to “Undefeated” and “Requiem For Mankind” who sound like a tank is coming your way or the doomy “In The Midst Of Desolation” and “The Veteran”. Even the more melodic at some parts “Never The Victim” and “Refused To Be Led” show the great job they’ve done here. The impressive production of Russ Russell is the best one they’ve ever had and makes the album even more deadly. Maybe this is why is sounds like it is much better than the previous two. Nevertheless, Memoriam are here to stay and I wish that they will release a new album each year if they can keep the quality this high.