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Memoriam started as a project by Karl Willetts and Andy Whale of Bolt Thrower to make music in memory of the late Martin Kearns, who took over the Bolt Thrower kit from Whale after For Victory in 1994. The band has been pretty active, as this is their fifth album in just over 7 years of existence. The lineup, however, has shifted, with Whale departing in 2019, so now Willetts is the last remaining Bolt Thrower alum.

I am not normally a drum snob, but Whale's playing is so distinctive that his loss really impacted the sound of the band. This album and last year's To the End just don't sound as heavy or intense. New skinsman Spikey Smith is a veteran of a lot of bands, and he handles things competently, but he's not Andy fucking Whale, and you can tell the difference. The riff style is still amazingly close to the old Bolt Thrower approach, but this time I find the proceedings a bit too melodic and not as heavy as I would like. This is a solid album of Death Metal in that Bolt Thrower style, but it just sounds a bit too mellow for me to really get into it.