And if you also have not heard the band yet, I’ll give you one guess who they still sound like, 5 albums in.

Yeah, it’s still Bolt Thrower (with a smidge of Benediction). It is still simple, trundling but often somber death metal based on war and loss. Karl Willets is still a little less gruff ( and getting less gruff by the album…) than in his Bolt Thrower days but is still immediately recognizable.

However, after a few albums that seemed to get a tad better with each release, Rise to Power might be treading in place a bit as it seems to be sticking with me quite as well as 2019s To the End did.

Some of the lumbering death metal heft has been replaced with a more restrained sort of mid-era Paradise Lost-y, almost goth metal gloominess- just listen to “I am the Enemy”, repetitive “All is Lost” the title track, and closer “This Pain”. And while the somber element was almost part of Bolt Thrower‘s more known work and Memoriam‘s sound, it’s just lost a little of its heaviness here.

There are still a few straight-up if still melancholy death metal bruisers like opener “Never Forgive, Never Forget”, “Total War”  “The Conflict is Within” and “Annihilation’s Dawn” that all check the box for fans of Bolt Thrower, and Memoriam’s heavier style, but for the most part, Rise to Power feels a bit weaker than prior efforts.

Truth be told, there’s not much to expand on if you have heard the prior three albums. Like its predecessor,  Requiem For Mankind, it’s better than its predecessor, as Memoriam seems to get a touch better with each effort. Its a clear mix of Bolt Thrower and Benediction with the needle about 70% on the Bolt Thrower side, though the lyrics are more like 90% Bolt Thrower-y war mongering, death and loss.

You know the sound; the hefty trundles, the tragedy laced lumbers, Willet’s hoarse roar, etc. It’s all here and all completely consistent and predictable, but perfectly done, as you’d expect. From stern opener “Onwards Into Battle” to lengthy closer “As My Heart Grows Cold” (arguably one of the best, but most somber songs Willets has written), you get 45 minutes of mid-paced, slightly doomy, sometimes morose death metal. From the more urgent (though still mid-paced) tracks like “This War Is Won”, ” No Effect” and “Failure to Comply” to the more somber, standout numbers in the album’s mid section like “Each Step (Closer to the Grave)”To The End” and “Vacant Stare”.

Before the excellent, somber closer though, there is “Mass Psychosis”, an industrialized nod to Killing Joke that I thought was a cover song at first, and it stands out like a sore thumb, not in a good way. But as I’ve mentioned, the excellent closer “As My Heart Grows Cold” ends the album with a song that at times, could be a My Dying Bride number from The Angel and the Dark River. 

One could argue that Memoriam has been surpassed as the most Bolt Thrower-y band of them all by the likes of Frozen Soul and Just Before Dawn, but it’s still cool to hear an homage from these old warhorses that is essentially the remains of the band still going all these years later.

So with roughly the same turnaround for album number 3, I had concerns, but luckily Requiem for Mankind, returns to the stout sturdy sounds of the debut and arguably the most Bolt Thrower sounding material of the band’s short catalog. So much so, if one were to play the album blindly, you’d be excused for thinking the new reformed Bolt Thrower album was pretty solid.

Starting with “Shell Shock” which truly could be a lost Bolt Thrower song, the album trundles through 10 tracks of beefy, simply death metal about war and loss. The rumbling, somber Bolt Thrower strains and hues are tangible as heard in “Undefeated” (a perfect MMA, boxing/wrestling walk on song if there ever was) , “Refuse to be Led”, “Requiem For Mankind”, “Fixed Bayonets” (another track that could be from the lost Bolt Thrower archives), and the Benediction bits (i.e “Austerity Kills”, “In the Midst of Desolation”, The Veteran”) mix in seamlessly. Closer “Interment” is a moody instrumental that jolts you back to why this project was formed in the first place and ends the album on a somber note.

As with debut Willets , isn’t using a full on death metal bellow any more, but he sounds a little more gruff than he did on the last 2 albums and instantly recognizable.  There’s hardly any blast beats, virtually no solos, nothing that really makes it a special album by any means, except that unmistakable Bolt Thrower nostalgia, which to many including my self is plenty enough.

Featuring long time Bolt Thrower vocalist Karl Willets and drummer Andrew Whale, former Benediction bassist Frank Healy  and Cerebral Fix‘s Scott Fairfax ( who also currently fills in for Benediction live), the line up is an impressive British affair, especially for those lamenting Bolt Thrower‘s demise and excited to hear Willets, a British death metal institution, again after a few years away.

Well Memoriam, sounds exactly as you would expect it to sound, especially for two bands and members who have been so intertwined for the last 25 years. It’s a British, simple, beefy, meat and potatoes mix of both bands. The themes are more war/death based, and the musical needle leans a little more toward the Bolt Thrower sound, but think somber Bolt Thrower tracks a la “…For Victory”, “Mercenary” or “When Cannons Fade”  “Those Once Loyal”. And speaking of the classic “…For Victory” track, Willets’ vocals, have not aged that well, as he seems to have more of a gruff shout/spoken word that recalls his delivery of prayer of remembrance that closes that iconic track.

Still, his presence alone warrants excitement about this album, and collaboration is perfect. The simple, effective trundling riffs are more somber and patient than death metal heads might expect, but they are effective in conveying the albums themes. Bolt Thrower fans will relish the likes of “Reduced to Zero”, “Surrounded By Death” and “Resistance’ which could be Both Thrower riffs left on the cutting room floor with big, rumbling tank like salvos, with strains of despair littering the battlefield. The Benediction vibe comes through in slightly faster songs like “War Rages On”, “Corrupt System” and “Flatline”, but the balance throughout is perfect.

8 and a half minute closer “Last Words” is particularity poignant, both lyrically and musically as it mixes a little thrash chug and more morose, doomy pace into a perfect closer and epitaph to Martin “Kiddie” Kearns. And while this isn’t quite a full on  Bolt Thrower reunion or comeback, its the next best thing and I hope the project continues and develops as they move past the loss of loved ones.