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memoriam requiemformankind
Artist: Memoriam
Title: Requiem For Mankind
Genre: Black Metal
Release Date: 21st June 2019
Label: Nuclear Blast Records


Album Review

‘Requiem For Mankind’ is the 3rd album from Birmingham Black Metal band MEMORIAM and is readying itself for release by Nuclear Blast Records on the 21st June. Recorded at Parlor Studios and produced by Russ Russell (Napalm Death/ Dimmu Borgir/ At The Gates) this follows on from 2018s ‘The Silent Vigil’ which comprised of nine tracks of visceral Black Metal. This new offering carries on where this album left off...

...From the get go this album is brutal. Like a barrage of shells flying through the air and bombarding enemy defenses. ‘Shell Shocked’, the first track, does what it was intended to do and that’s to shock you out of your easy musings and into a more focused state of mind! The vocals are aggressive but are a bit quiet for my tastes. Different headphones and EQ settings didn’t really help that much but what can I do? On most of the tracks I found the vocals to be crowded out by all the other elements and I think being further forward would have increased the enjoyment quotient somewhat and given things a more balanced air!

I didn’t enjoy this album as much as ‘For The Fallen’ but It’s ok. There are some gems here to get your teeth into, e.g. the track ‘Undefeated’ is a stubborn dig your heels in four minutes that would blast you off your feet if it could. You’d have to superglue your feet to the ground and hold onto a handrail for dear life if this track was a force 10 gale! ‘Never The Victim’ has some satisfying quarter note triplets midway through that machine gun the track to its conclusion and ‘Austerity Kills’ opens with some awesome blast beat drumming strafing the track out of the blocks accompanied by staccato/ tremolo picked riffing. ‘Fixed Bayonets’ keeps the barrage going and turns out to be quite a satisfying track.

The only respite from the sonic onslaught is the slow easy final track ‘Internment’ which feels like 3 minutes 47 seconds of reflection. After listening to the other nine tracks I certainly needed this closing reflective moment. The overall tone of the album is total war! At around 50 minutes in length what you get is an ear bashing of aggression that at times overwhelmed my tolerance so I had to lower the volume or turn the music off until I’d recovered some equilibrium. As a consequence I’m not as enamored with this album as much as ‘For The Fallen’. There are some good moments and I’m sure those of you with a taste for the strong stuff will get more out of this than I did. But still a likable album.


Tracklist

01. Shell Shock
02. Undefeated
03. Never The Victim
04. Austerity Kills
05. In The Midst Of Desolation
06. Refuse To Be Led
07. The Veteran
08. Requiem For Mankind
09. Fixed Bayonets
10. Internment


Line-up

Karl Willetts – Vocals
Scott Fairfax – Guitars
Frank Healy – Bass
Andrew Whale – Drums


Website

http://www.memoriam.uk.com


Cover Picture

memoriam requiemformankind


Rating

Music: 7
Sound: 7
Total: 7 / 10




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