Review by UnhinderedbyTalent for Bolt Thrower - Those Once Loyal (2005)
What turned out to be Bolt Thrower's final full length saw the band go out with a real bang. Sad though it was to see them decide to not go on after Martin Kearns' sad passing their final offering as a band was every bit as entertaining as the rest of their hefty back catalogue was. A further tinge to the sadness is the belief that they could have carried on and done even more (Memoriam's output alone proves this).
Nostalgia and hope aside Those Once Loyal continued the rich vein of war themed death metal that fans had become accustomed to. Opening duo At First Light and Entrenched drive forward the Bolt Thrower charge, setting their stall out perfectly. Coventry's finest never rocked up to piss about and that attitude drips from this record. The catchy and equally ripping The Killchain pummels away at you for nearly five minutes like some relentless artillery assault, fading in like some raging machine before immediately settling down into a robust chug and cut riff machine.
The power in those riffs never sounded more full or threatening and the menace in the brooding rhythm of the sound feels as assured as it does domineering. The range and scope of the drums feel deft and dangerous as any sniper looking down on unsuspecting lead fodder. I never felt like Bolt Thrower were veterans of the metal world, despite them having been around for the best part of two decades at the point of this release. There was an energy here that belied their years, an urgency and eagerness to the sound that still appeals in bucket loads to my battered and bruised ears.
Having released the largely underwhelming Honour-Valour-Pride four years prior to this release the band took the return of Willetts as a springboard to get things firmly back on track. We might only be able to speculate on what could have been had fate been kinder but we shouldn't rest too long on that negative and focus instead on the near perfect swan song that Bolt Thrower gave us.