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MEMORIAM
The Silent Vigil

Nuclear Blast (2018)
Rating: 5.5/10

What a line-up this is; Memoriam being a UK death metal act featuring ex-Bolt Thrower members Karl Willetts (vocals) and Andy Whale (drums), alongside guitarist Scott Fairfax (Benediction / ex-Cerebral Fix) and bassist Frank Healy (ex-Sacrilege / ex-Napalm Death / ex-Benediction / ex-Cerebral Fix).

The Silent Vigil is the sophomore effort from the band that formed in 2016 and last year released For The Fallen; the album and band’s existence a fitting tribute to Bolt Thrower drummer Martin “Kiddie” Kearns who passed away in 2015. This new opus comes armed to the teeth with ten tracks and killer artwork (courtesy of Dan Seagrave), and crushes us immediately with opener ‘Soulless Parasite’.

However, one thing that is immediately apparent is the dreadful production, and sadder still, by the halfway point of the platter you become aware of the amount of repetition riff-wise and the tired nature of the vocals. People expecting some sort of throwback to Bolt Thrower and the likes will be terribly disappointed in spite of the old school fusty deathliness as Karl Willetts and company labour their way through songs which are overlong.

That’s not to say that The Silent Vigil is a dud record, but those immediately apparent flaws tend to bog the whole record down. Some strange uneven bass tones, ineffective drum patterns, the poor mix and some truly predictable rhythms outweigh the positives which come via some of the more thrashing death episodes such as ‘Nothing Remains’.

For the most part we find ourselves bogged down by the rather lethargic and unimaginative drones of ‘Bleed The Same’ (again, horrific drum sound at times) and the war-torn drudgery of ‘As Bridges Burn’; it appears as if the combo, on all fronts, are entirely blunt in their weaponry.

Sure, the riffs roll deep and hard, especially on ‘From The Flames’, but everything just feels so flat. Time and time again the production values let the opus down and any potential we may hear is truly flattened, and what’s really gutting is that for me. The band’s debut suffered the same issues, which suggests that in spite of what they’ve said Memoriam haven’t progressed at all, which is bizarre considering the background each member has.

‘The New Dark Ages’ is half-decent as is ‘No Known Grave’, but again, way too overlong are such compositions and I found myself skipping to escape the laborious segments where the leads seem to whine amidst the dull, aching riffs.

I dunno, I just feel that with Memoriam the guys are still mourning their brother, which I fully understand, but that feeling of exhaustion and sadness has materialised with this new album, and not in a positive way.

Neil Arnold

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