Memoriam Feat. Bolt Thrower and Benediction sign with Nuclear Blast
Metal label Nuclear Blast has announced the signing of MEMORIAM, the new Birmingham, U.K. based death/grind metal band.
The band will feature Karl Willets (BOLT THROWER) on vocals, Frank Healy (BENEDICTION) on bass, Scott Fairfax (CEREBRAL FIX) on guitar and Andy Whale (BOLT THROWER) on drums.
The band was founded in January this year and will release their debut album next year.
MEMORIAM was primarily formed to fill the void left behind following the death of Martin Kearns, drummer of BOLT THROWER, back in 2015. The band had placed all activity on hold for the foreseeable future, giving Willets an open door to develop a project with friends.
MEMORIAM is an old-school death metal band, keeping up the standards set by their previous bands.
The band commented: “The war rages on…
“It is with great pleasure that MEMORIAM announces that we have signed a recording contract with Nuclear Blast Records.
“Throughout our long careers — 30 years, to be precise — within the music industry and specifically within the death metal scene we have witnessed the growth of Nuclear Blast Records to become the number one record company within our genre.
“When we started MEMORIAM back in January 2016 we intended just to form a band to go into the rehearsal rooms to jam out some cover versions of old classic songs that had influenced us in the past along with some cover versions from the bands we had played with over the years, and maybe eventually do a few low key gigs.
“With the introduction of Scott Fairfax into the lineup, all this changed. Scott has brought with him a wealth of killer riffs and new ideas which has totally changed things around from our original intentions. Very soon we decided to scrap the idea of being a covers band and to formulate our own songs, using these riffs and ideas that Scott introduced to us, and from this we developed a whole load of new crushing, brutal old-school death metal songs which we are very proud of and can’t wait to unleash upon the world!
“When we started developing the songs, we talked about the possibility of signing to a label and releasing an album. At that point, we all decided that if Nuclear Blast approached us, we would sign to them. This is because amongst all the labels out there, none have a better relationship with the bands on their roster, none communicate better with both the bands and the fans of the music. None care as much about the music and the scene as Nuclear Blast Records.
“Nuclear Blast currently boasts the best artist roster of all the labels within the death metal genre. We are proud and honoured amongst this list!
“2016 is the year of MEMORIAM.
“Let the resistance begin…”
Markus Staiger, CEO of Nuclear Blast, also commented: “Being a lifetime fan of both BENEDICTION and BOLT THROWER, it is with great pride that I announce that the new band of Frank Healy and Karl Willets has now joined the Nuclear Blast family!
“Following the first news regarding the band, I have been keeping a close eye on them and was very curious to hear their material.
“Besides me, a lot of metal magazines have been in touch with the band even before they had heard a single note of music, while the band has also received many invitations to play several summer festivals.
“After hearing their first demo songs I was completely sold and knew that I had to get in contact with Frank and Karl to seal the deal.
“MEMORIAM will please all the fans of old school death metal and especially the worldwide fan base of BOLT THROWER and BENEDICTION!
“With bands like MEMORIAM, Nuclear Blast remains the no # 1 in extreme metal!!”
Listen to a clip from the band below:
