Memoriam - Hellfire Demos II Nuclear Blast Records | Release Date : 20th January 2017
When Memoriam announced their formation , fans of UK extreme metal rejoiced at the thought of members of the likes Bolt Thrower , Sacrilege and Benediction joining forces to record new music and when the first recordings of this union were released , the results were as good as was hoped with their brand of old school death metal sounding as good today as it did in the heyday of their former bands and rather than sounding like a throwback , the bands music sounded fresh and vital and this continued on the Hellfire demos II .
With the release of the bands eagerly awaited debut album For The Fallen coming soon , they have released this second volume of demo songs to whet the appetites of fans who are rabid for mire fresh Memoriam material and this two tracker does not disappoint .
The two tracks on this release , Drone Strike and Surrounded ( By Death ) are proper slabs of death metal with a nod to Discharge in there too and some fine anti war lyrics and even though the versions of the songs are in demo form , it is testament to the talent of the band that it doesn ’ t matter and that rawness gives the songs a definite energy . The band are on fine form on this brief but brilliant glimpse into the Memoriam sound with vocalist Karl Willets sounding as powerful and commanding as ever and the release of the new album cannot come soon enough . wars - We Are Islands , After All Spinefarm Records | Release Date : 27th January 2017
Coming out Rugby ( the town not the sport ) is newcomers wars . The band are gearing up to release their new album , We Are Islands , After All . Quietly and slowly building into it is opener ‘ The Art of Not Knowing ’ with a hefty slab of groove and bounce to get the juices flowing . This theme on riffin ’ continues and makes for an energetic listening experience however the cliche vocal trade off only helps to sit this in with the rest of a scene thats over populated . Saying that , ‘ That By Discord Things Increase ’ is one of the stand out moments with a well placed and surprising chorus melody and sense of grandeur that this band are capable of more . The problem with this album ? We ’ ve heard it all before , multiple times . Sure there ’ s big riffs , pounding drums and harsh vocals but this is just another cut and paste metalcore act , if thats what your about then this is worth checking out . But if your looking for music with longevity and a hint of a future then look elsewhere .
Words by Joshua Clarke
Words by Gavin Brown
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