For my money, there is no better Death Metal vocalist than Karl Willetts. There is just something about it that just feels like “Classic Death Metal”. His delivery is always on point with the perfect blend of raw power and intensity. His time and contribution to the one and only Bolt Thrower were nothing short of incredible. When the band broke up in 2015, Willets along with Benediction bassist Frank Healy quickly formed Memoriam the following year.
Since forming, Memoriam has stayed extremely busy, consistently releasing new material. Rise To Power (Reaper Music) is already the super group’s fifth studio album. Being a band of well-versed veterans you would think that the band would have settled into their signature sound by this point. While the sound here is without a doubt Memoriam, these old dogs differently have plenty of tricks and treats left in the bag.
Plenty of tracks are poised and ready to flatten you while others offer a fair amount of satisfying grooves, though the album overall sets a darker tone than their previous works with many tracks at a slower and more somber pace.
With this being a Memoriam album, most of the songs focus on the horrors of war. The opening track, ‘Never Forget, Never Again (6 Million Dead)’, is a savage banger full of the monster, pummeling riffs and drums the band is famous for. ‘Total War’ starts off like a torrent of gunfire before settling down. Just when you think it’s safe to peek out from your bunker, Memoriam unleashes the barrage again.
The songs included on this release range in tempo mostly from mid to slow with some great bursts of speed peppered in to keep you from getting too comfortable. This is among the band’s best releases and sees the band moving slightly more away from their “Bolt Thrower” like sound and developing something new.
This is a must and extremely enjoyable listen for any old-school Death Metal fan, it’s both new and familiar, brutal and at times melodic.
Buy the album here:
8 / 10
ANDREW RISCH