Here I review the brand new 3rd album of UK Death Metal heavyweights MEMORIAM who have quickly gained momentum in the last couple of years. Time for some brilliant old school Death Metal brutality. Out now on Nuclear Blast Records.
01. Shell Shock glides in with ripping guitar riffs, a full speed assault immediately grinding out of the band with full force. Karl’s signature vocal growls soon bring their morbid touch to the ferocious instrumental work with the classic old school Death Metal onslaught hitting hard from the onset. The total strength this album chugs in with is gorgeous with some glorious riff work, stunning harmonies, pummelling drums and gnarly vocals. This opening track leads me to believe that we are in for a barrage of brutality. I recall this track being released previously as a single and it truly does the job of building a hype for what lies ahead from the seasoned Death Metallers. Fantastic.
02. Undefeated follows up with thrashing and meaty guitar work, built in drum slams and haunting vocals, the headbanger friendly warfare from the band is impressively executed with the artillery of furious musicianship making for some grisly atmospherics and foreboding grooves, hitting hard with a punchy sense of tension that’s beautifully melodic while crushingly intense. This soaring anthem of darkness is a nicely varied follow up to the decimating first track, giving a stunning diversity to the record so close to the beginning. Astounding.
03. Never The Victim brings in walls of melodic instrumentals with a chilling sense of mystique to them, building to something catastrophic which evidently takes form with menacing and intimidating blastbeats, tremolo riffs and snarls. The band keep the insanely catchy hooks of artists like Bolt Thrower, Asphyx and Benediction and add their own blend of nasty, pummelling aggression mixed with some tranquil melodies especially within the beautiful lead guitar work. This song feels like a real progression in Memoriam’s abilities as musicians that still retains its primal edge. Marvellous.
04. Austerity Kills falls into rank with crawling riffs and snapping drum hits, the convulsive grind of truly barbaric riffs is damn awesome and I have to say I am loving the amount of tempo variation the band have used compared to the first two records, keeps things really unpredictable. The savage grooves and pounding attacks of this song add a hardcore ferocity that is violently intrusive and demands respect, viciously punchy riffs and drums making the perfect backdrop to the gruesome vocals, a tormenting track with some thick bass lines nicely coming through. Brilliant.
05. In The Midst Of Desolation hammers in before surging guitars and chiming drums uproot you with some insanely well-crafted songwriting that shows the band at the peak of their skill in my opinion. The throat-ripping vocals are filled with passion over the invigorated instrumentals that makes for one of the most devastatingly intense Memoriam tracks. The way the guitar, bass and drums work in unison is unrelenting and beautifully orchestrated, the lyrics are interested and delivered with the full fury of my favourite vocalist Karl Willets who adds a furthered phenomenally decimating blow to the track. This has to be one of the bands best songs to date for me. The ending is so damned anthemic too. Magnificent.
06. Refuse To Be Led is unexpected melancholic yet also empowering with the opening “time has come to make a stand” bellowed over the gliding soar of melodic guitar leads and roaring rhythm and drum work. Thrashing guitars bring a more forceful approach into fruition with upbeat drums that pound out this totally fierce call to arms with a precision from the band that is tight, captured gorgeously with crystal-clear production for the blistering inferno of meaty Death Metal savagery to hit with the intended bite. Another killer piece that roars with a feel of the 90s Death Metal that is so unmistakably present.
07. The Veteran enters with doomy riffs that immediately claw at you with their impeccable grooves, totally perfectly matched by tearing vocals and cymbal crashes that altogether conures up a foreboding vibe, gorgeously built into chugging heavyweight pounds before we are brought back for another bout of the high-tension groove. The lyrics are appropriately uncomfortable and of course delivered with ferocity. All of a sudden the song drops into Pantera style Groove Metal which works beautifully in the Death Metal attacks to really bring the whiplash hooks to a slow-tempo headbangers paradise which is unpredictably followed by some excellent 80s style drum galloping. Wonderful.
08. Requiem For Mankind builds back in with the fierce Death Metal onslaught though balanced with some nice doomy atmospherics to add a touch of morbidity to the malevolent mid-tempo attack. The drum performance Andy Whale gives is utterly phenomenal while Scott’s guitar work brings more intense grooves and intricate songwriting to the table. Frank adds in some thunderous bass among the roaring guitars which breaks through nicely among the pummelling force of the band with such an unrelenting brutality of torturously good musicianship from everyone hitting hard. There is chaos and frenzy to juxtapose the balanced crawling tempos of the start beautifully. Excellent.
09. Fixed Bayonets bellows in with classic Death Metal riffing, blastbeats and a rejuvenated energy that hits do damn hard in this onslaught of barbarity before the macabre snarled vocals tie the monolithic instruments together. The World War 1 lyrics appeal to my wartime fascination, dealing with the horrific theme of trench warfare, the band capture the blinding frenzy of “No Man’s Land” with this crushing cascade of truly brutal and ripping music that hits hard for so many reasons. There is groove aplenty along with full on barrages of shelling drum hits and meaty guitars. An utterly fierce pierce that will torment you as you headbang to its monstrously intense sounds. Terrific.
10. Interment sadly brings in the end of this ferociously epic album, coming in with growing guitar melodics and slow tempo drum work, the chilling sounds are mournful but with a glorious build to them in the fashion Judas Priest have utilised many times. This closing song has a feel of rebirth to it, maybe a sonic implication of a fourth album being in the sights of these Death Metal gunmen who close the record with a graceful soundscape of classic Heavy Metal and truly epic proportions though keeping it simple. I think this was a fitting ending to such a well-varied album. Great stuff.
This is most likely the most intellectual MEMORIAM album yet. The band conjure up some of the most atmospherically mesmerising material of their relatively short career and couple it with the unrelenting brutally of the first two records. Gorgeously put together and utterly ferocious, this is the most interesting release from the band whether that makes it the best for you or not I will leave you to decide, but definitely something to take into account. Fans of old school Death Metal need to listen to this one. -8.5/10
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