ALBUM REVIEW: For The Fallen – Memoriam

Made up of members predominately from BOLT THROWER and BENEDICTION, after forming in 2016, MEMORIAM are close to releasing their highly anticipated debut album, For The Fallen, with the band teaming up with Nuclear Blast Records for the record.

The album begins with self-titled track, Memoriam. This track starts off relatively slowly, with Fairfax’s guitar setting the pace with what sounds like a relatively simple yet heavy riff. The drums of Andy Whale kick in not too long after, as the tempo begins to increase. Then the riffs begin to speed up, building the song up even more. Most of the track is an elongated intro, until we hear Karl Willetts’ haunting voice.

The ending of the track fades into the sound of someone listening to the radio, switching the channels to get a clear sound. This then kicks straight into the next track, War Rages On, and possibly one of the best intros to a song. It starts with extracts of Neville Chamberlain’s speech on September 3rd 1939, the day Britain declared war on Germany. The speech dwindles, only for the repetition of ‘war’, which changes voice each time. The guitars begin slowly again, building up slowly before the pace suddenly increases as Fairfax unleashes a killer riff.

There are only eight songs on this record, and each track is unique, which makes it difficult to pick out the highlights of For The Fallen. One that really stands out is Corrupted System. This is one of the faster tracks on the album, which shows the diversity of death metal. It runs for just under seven minutes, and is a massive protest against the government, highlighting all the things that the system does day after day to destroy the lives of the public. When you listen to the lyrics, it is a hard hitting track, and the sound of the track too makes it a masterpiece.

Another track which is similar to this is Surrounded By Death. This too is a relatively faster track compared to the others, and has all the ingredients of what death metal track should sound like – blastbeats, headbanging riffs and chilling vocals.

When an album, or even a band, has so much hype surrounding them, it is usually a deterrent as the chances are that the hype generated is over the top and the new record or track released is a massive let down. That is not the case here. The hype that surrounds MEMORIAM is well justified, and the record that they have produced is absolute quality. The band are billed as old school death metallers, and that’s exactly what they are. No gimmicks, nothing out of the ordinary, just good old fashioned death metal. They have truly stuck to the roots of their predecessors, and what they have released is something that showcases what the genre is all about.

Rating: 9/10

For The Fallen is set for release on March 24th via Nuclear Blast Records.

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