Memoriam – To the End
Release Date: 26th March 2021
Label: Reaper Entertainment
Pre-Order
Genre: Death Metal
FFO: Bolt Thrower, Benediction, Sacrilege, Grave.
Review By: Paul Cairney
Memoriam have taken a giant leap forwards with their 4th album, ‘To the End’, releasing an opus that finally reaches the heights they have threatened to achieve since their formation in 2016.
Crammed full of killer riffs, a throbbing base and Karl Willets’ vocals demonstrating why he has few peers in this genre, To the End is 9 tracks of unashamedly, glorious old school Death Metal. New boy, Spike T Smith’s drumming has brought a new intensity to the band, effortlessly sliding in to the group dynamics with minimum fuss, unsurprising as it may be due to his previous association with bassist Frank Healy, with the band Sacrilege.
There are numerous tracks that stand out, ‘Each Step (One Closer to the Grave), is one of the more pleasant surprises, eschewing the bands Death Metal stylings for a Doomier groove, with a subtle hint of Black Sabbath. ‘Failure to Comply’ is a track that will encourage you in an, ultimately futile, attempt, to mimic Willets vocals, completing the attempt with a very heavy metal clenched fist.
As I write this review, ‘Vacant Stare’ is the next song up, and I have actually had to stop typing as I listen to Scott Fairfax deliver a riff that insists that I stretch my neck muscles and I am steadfastly refusing to make any typo’s as I nod along furiously. Interestingly, I wasn’t going to include this song on my review and so this is a bonus extra!!
Penultimate track, ‘Mass Psychosis’ is the one aspect of the album that confuses. It just doesn’t fit within the flow of To the End, with Willets releasing his inner Jaz Coleman, in a song that reminds me of the fantastic Killing Joke. Not to say that it is a bad song, it is just a disruptor and just a little to left field.
The final highlight of the album is left for the closing track, ‘As my Heart Grows Cold’. Again, the neck muscles are coaxed into action, your poor vocal impersonation ramps up and your very heavy metal fist is clenched as you sing ‘It would take a better man, a better man than I’.
To the End is not the perfect Memoriam album, although it is, by some distance, the best album they have released. Perhaps perfection will be gained in future albums, and I will be sure to check them out to see.
There we go, a Memoriam review without a mention of Bolt Thrower….. erm…..until there!
(4 / 5)
