Source: Album Artwork
For a band that only formed in 2016, Memoriam sure do sound old. It’s probably something to do with their members, who hail from death metal luminaries such as Bolt Thrower and Benediction. In fact, the band was formed by Bolt Thrower’s Karl Willetts as a tribute to his tragically deceased band-mate Martin Kearns. Though age may have grayed their hair and wrinkled their skin, it appears to have done nothing to quiet the rage that fuels the members of Memoriam, nor managed to affect their ability to play heavy-fucking-metal.
The aptly named For The Fallen is a phenomenal state of intent from Memoriam. It’s heavy, it’s fast, it’s undeniably death metal. The last group of elder statesmen of metal to make an album this heavy was At The Gates, and though For The Fallen is a bit more simply put together, it is no less heavy and no less relevant than At War With Reality is.
The only instances where Memoriam’s age really shines through is in the sound of the album. There aren’t many bands making crunchy, slower death metal these days, most bands who have done so either changed their sound in order to stay “relevant” or simply disappeared. Which is why, even though the sonics of For The Fallen is rooted firmly in the death metal of old, it still becomes a refreshing thing to hear.
For The Fallen is a really great album. It isn’t anything particularly new, and it’s hard to imagine someone in a Chelsea Grin snapback listening to this and thinking “Oh this is what I should have been listening to, my mistake” but nonetheless, Memoriam have made a solid, heavy, death metal album. More so, they have made an album fitting of being a tribute to “Kiddie” Kearns.
