With a newly recruited drummer, Spike T Smith – Birmingham’s Memoriam are once again ready to do battle as they prepare to release their fourth studio album, To The End.
“Onwards Into Battle” is a phenomenal opening track with galloping drums and guitar tones. Karl Willetts’ familiar battle cry brings the album swaying and demanding the listener’s attention from the outset. “This War is Won” has some fantastic bass elements from Frank Healey which are great to hear on one of the heaviest tracks of the album. 
“No Effect” captivated me immediately and remains my highlight from the album. Scott Fairfax’s phenomenal guitar pieces in the opening part of the track are haunting then turn into crushing bleakness – lyrically this also really connected with me and I’m sure it will with others too, a future live favourite guaranteed. This is followed by “Failure to Comply” – if ever there was a track that complimented the album cover (designed by none other than Dean Seagrave) this is it.
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Slow, brooding, and purposeful “Each Step (Closer to the Grave)” is entwined with the fantastic storytelling element of the title track “To The End”.
To The End is the start of a new trilogy as the band explain
The first trilogy focused on what we consider to be “the death cycle” where the central theme is the end of life of the central “king” figure, For the Fallen follows the coffin across a battle ravaged landscape, following death in battle , The Silent Vigil illustrates the lying in state and the mourning of the followers and finally Requiem for Mankind depicts committal to earth of the body as the “King” is laid to rest.
We decided that the next trilogy should be a celebration of the “kings” life and will focus on events that occurred whilst he was alive.
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This may be a new trilogy but “Vacant Stare” has me reminiscing and itching to immediately revisit them whilst “Mass Psychosis” almost has a New Model Army feel to it. Finally, the album ends with a track that quite simply is perfectly placed to close this chapter of the trilogy. “As My Heart Grows Cold” is full of pace changes and is grandiose in its delivery.
Memoriam have always been consistently great but this is just something else. Instilling death metal greatness once more.
To The End is released on March 26th
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