Bolt Thrower - Those Once Loyal - review
Bolt Thrower - Those Once Loyal - review
Tracklist
01. At First Light02. Entrenched
03. The Killchain
04. Granite Wall
05. Those Once Loyal
06. Anti-Tank (Dead Armour)
07. Last Stand Of Humanity
08. Salvo
09. When Cannons Fade
10. A Symbol Of Eight [Limited Edition Digipack Bonus]
A review by
Richard November 23, 2005
Karl Willetts is back on vocals, and his death growl is as deep and powerful as ever. No disrespect to Dave Ingram (who performed vocal duties on 'Honour Valour Pride'), but I think Willett's voice is rather more suited to Bolt Thrower, and is an integral part of the band's distinctive sound.
The other bandmembers also put in a convincing performance, with deft drumming which is perhaps tighter than before, plenty of guitar solos, the aforementioned riffing - and the bass seems to play a more prominent role than on some of the previous albums, such as in the chorus to 'Entrenched' and the intro to 'Anti-Tank (Dead Armour)'.
The intro to 'The Killchain' will be familiar to some of you, as it is a continuation of the theme introduced on 'World Eater' and continued with 'Cenotaph', 'Embers' and 'Powder Burns' (each song appeared on different Bolt Thrower releases in the past). It's to the band's credit that they've remained true to their winning formula - even the cover photograph (of the Guard's Memorial in London) is like a visual representation of their approach, as a lot of Bolt Thrower's songs are about war, but with a sense of maturity and respect to the subject. For instance, the closing lines to 'Granite Wall' - "Mourning the tragic loss, life cut short, this broken column, immortal, names shall be carved in stone upon the granite wall".
Basically, anyone who's liked Bolt Thrower in the past should get this album without delay - I think it's an improvement on 'Honour Valour Pride', regaining some of the strength of 'For Victory' and the catchy edge of the criminally underrated 'Mercenary'. Certainly one of the strongest albums of 2005. As it says in the inlay: "In a world of compromise..... Some don't".
Written by Richard | November 23, 2005
Rating:
9.6
9.6
|
Rating:
9.6 |
While many bands seem to take the path of becoming a shitty legacy act, touring and making uninteresting "return-to-basics" albums until one of the members drops dead and nobody else has enough left in the tank to bother looking for a replacement, the same cannot be said for Bolt Thrower, who, after releasing this album, decided they had recorded something so good and so perfect that there was no longer any point in recording more material. Read more ›› |
Comments
Comments:
14
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| Möbius
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| breastfest
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Posts: 859  |
Posts: 859
Brilliant album, possibly better than War Master, which I also consider to be another great Bolt Thrower album, nevertheless, this album definately deserves a listen.
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| CrimsonSoaked
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 Posts: 4792 |
Posts: 4792
"Face to face with cold...dead..eyes" Awesome album really, I can't remember how much I've played it again and again! Does deserve it's 9. Even if it's still the same rythmic riffing formula they've been using for ages, at least it's their best, in my opinion.
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| graywolf87
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Posts: 1703
I really like this album. It shows a lot of maturity in the band even though its still has that classic Bolt Thrower groove 
---- Coldgrits
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| Jessing
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Jessing
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Brought it at wacken 08.. didn't know who bolt thrower was... so i took the chance & brought it.. i'm glad that i did 
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 Posts: 2437 |
Posts: 2437
Boly thrower rule!!! and this one one rules the most!!! Great review!
---- Υou've sold your human essence to the cold world of dead and empty things... You're SOLD!
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| Posts: 2437 |
Posts: 2437
Maybe the best album from this great band...!!!
---- Υou've sold your human essence to the cold world of dead and empty things... You're SOLD!
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 Posts: 9573 |
Posts: 9573 Written by __Az__ on 11.05.2007 at 20:09 alright then i'll listen to it! 
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Posts: 289  |
Posts: 289
I'm not able to choose on all their albums, they're so great. Killchain is a f**ckin' killer song
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Posts: 939 |
Posts: 939
What a way to end their career. I don´t know if it´s their best, but certainly comes close to it. What a blast of a record! Spectacular from start to finish. 
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