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MEMORIAM Release Fourth Studio Album ‘To The End’
March 26th, 2021

Birmingham, England-based death metal band Memoriam issued fourth full-length studio album To The End on March 26th, 2021 through Reaper Entertainment.

A series of three official video trailers released to promote the album can be viewed below.

Marking the beginning of a second trilogy of albums, To The End serves as something of a prologue to the first three Memoriam albums. Working backwards and narrating the life story of the leader whose demise was depicted in the first trilogy, the lyrics on the album may play out in a fictional realm, but they incorporate inspiration from real life. A central theme of war is coloured with political fulminations and everyday experiences that combine to create a cohesive and enthralling chronicle.

The outing was the first Memoriam album to feature new drummer Spike T. Smith, who replaced Andy Whale in early 2020.

On the line-up change, the band stated: “Andy has had to step down from the drum stool permanently due to a long term shoulder injury that is just not getting better whilst playing drums. He did not take the decision lightly and tried to carry on, but it affected him so badly playing that he had no choice but to retire from playing for the foreseeable future.

“Bringing Spike into the fold reunites the rhythm section of Sacrilege. Frank [Healy, bass] and Spike have worked on and off together since the mid-eighties so he fits in very well with Memoriam. The album will showcase his immense drumming skills and he brings in a whole new dynamic to the band’s sound. We cannot wait for you to hear him on the finished album.”

To The End reunited Memoriam with renowned producer Russ Russell at Parlour Studios in Kettering, Northamptonshire where the band recorded their previous album, Requiem For Mankind.

On working with Russ Russell, the band commented: “After working with Russ on our last album and the resulting magic he weaved for our sound it was a no brainer to continue our working relationship with him; he really is an essential cog of the Memoriam machine.”

The album’s cover artwork was once again created by Dan Seagrave, who was also responsible designing the art for the first three Memoriam albums.

Regarding the ongoing collaboration with Dan Seagrave, the band said: “We are really chuffed to be collaborating with Dan, his vision and interpretation of ideas are totally unique and it’s fantastic to be involved in the creative process with him – seeing the ideas that we have transformed into stunning images that we are proud to have as artwork for our albums. His style is second to none, so much so that using any other artist at this point would seem like a compromise; his attention to detail is incredible.

“To The End is the first album of this trilogy and features the events that led up to the scenes depicted on our first album, For the Fallen [2017]. The art shows the king leading his troops into the last battle in which he was killed. It looks bloody killer.”

Dan Seagrave elaborated: “In this moment we’re capturing the dawn of the onslaught of the city; visible from the industrial outskirts, as the forces descend with a pincer movement into the valley, spreading destruction towards their goal.

“The king character to me at this stage has become something of a creature – beyond human. There is an elemental shift in its DNA and a detachment of its ordinary senses. Held together by earthly materials, I feel its presence brings with it a surrealistic sickness that affects the immediate environment and those who tread within its boundaries.

“My aesthetic look of this was to combine the retro military tech of the early 20th century with the memory of renaissance times art. For example, tanks that have bas relief sculpture, and inventions such as the flying wingsuit – a metallic armoured vehicle contraption worn by the foreground figure. There’s less of a literal darkness in the depiction. Here there seems to be a permeating flow of dust particles, like a concocting mist of specular ice and grey concrete. The dawn of a bright day reacting with it, both illuminating and deadly.”

The track listing is as follows:

01. ‘Onwards Into Battle’
02. ‘This War Is Won’
03. ‘No Effect’
04. ‘Failure To Comply’
05. ‘Each Step (One Closer To The Grave)’
06. ‘To The End’
07. ‘Vacant Stare’
08. ‘Mass Psychosis’
09. ‘As My Heart Grows Cold’

Memoriam’s line-up was as follows:

Karl Willetts (lead vocals, ex-Bolt Thrower)
Scott Fairfax (guitar, Benediction / ex-Cerebral Fix)
Frank Healy (bass, Sacrilege / ex-Benediction / ex-Cerebral Fix)
Spike T. Smith (drums, Sacrilege)

Official lyric videos were created for the tracks ‘Onwards Into Battle’ and ‘Failure To Comply’, which can also be viewed below.

Third studio record Requiem For Mankind was released in June 2019 via Nuclear Blast Records.