Since the ‘For The Fallen’ debut, the West midlands very own Memoriam waste no time releasing their follow up just a year later. Memoriams strength lies in their simplicity to make songs more than the sum of its basic instrumentation with a knack for pulling the listener into repetitive soundscapes to meditate the horror of the lyrics. ‘Nothing Remains’ tackles the mental deterioration of dementia, ‘The New Dark Ages’/‘Weaponised Fear’ criticises the current socio-political climate and ’From The Flames’ takes us to our future planet roasting from global warming, the remnants of humanity surviving without knowledge of the history that got them there. This indeed, is a band with something to say, delivering humanity's unflattering reflection with total conviction and haunting brutality.
But other than their undeniable grit and spirit, Memoriams impact is less immediate this time around, with nothing matching the seismic weight of ‘Reduced To Zero’ or the focused assault of ‘Resistance’ from their last album. With their slower, stripped down approach to death metal, you would be forgiven to feel underwhelmed at the lead single ‘Bleed The Same’, feeling basic and overlong when compared to the pace and polish of most modern metal. But when taken out of that unfair comparison and you accept Memoriams tearing of the rulebook, the centerpiece for the album reveals itself as a surprising epic and makes total sense as the crowning highlight in 'The Silent Vigil’. No quick fix here, these uncompromising songs are made to grow on you after repeated listens.
With this follow up, Memoriam do more than enough to uniquely establish themselves as standard bearers in the UK for old school death metal. What’s more interesting is that they still simmer with potential, hinting that their best material is yet to come.
7/10 - Michael Randall
Buy the album: http://www.nuclearblast.de/en/label/music/band/about/4348189.memoriam.html