Bolt Thrower "...For Victory" Earache Records (1994)

"…For Victory" is the fifth album by British death metal band Bolt Thrower. It was recorded at Sawmill studios in 1994, produced by Colin Richardson and Bolt Thrower. A limited edition contains a live CD titled Live War. The song "…For Victory" contains a quote from Laurence Binyon poem, known as the Ode of Remembrance. Bolt Thrower are pretty much second tier death metal... they've been around forever yet they never get the recognition of say... Carcass. Still, England's history channel fanatics can play some solid death metal and For Victory is straight up brutal. Like damn. First time I heard Remembrance I was pinned down to the wall. By the time it was over I had whiplash. That song has the heaviest riff EVER penned, and sets the tone for a solid 37 minutes of metal.

Track listing is:

Side A:

1. "War"   1:16

2. "Remembrance"   3:42

3. "When Glory Beckons"   3:59

4. "…For Victory"   4:50

5. "Graven Image"   3:59

Side B:

6. "Lest We Forget"   4:37

7. "Silent Demise"   3:54

8. "Forever Fallen"   3:47

9. "Tank (Mk.I)"   4:15

10. "Armageddon Bound"   5:13

Bolt Thrower had progressed with each album, becoming slower and more melodic each time, eventually resulting in their most melodic album ‘The Fourth Crusade’. I can imagine the band having some thoughts about how to continue this progression but ‘For Victory’ makes perfect sense. 

Bolt Thrower are:

Karl Willetts – Vocals

Gavin Ward – Guitars

Barry Thompson – Guitars

Andrew Whale – drums

Jo Bench – Bass guitar

Compositionally speaking it was in fact a step back. In a certain way that is. Their melodic approach had not vanished but the intensity of ‘War Master’ was brought back, resulting in some up tempo parts and brutal riffing becoming a key element in their music again. So even though it was a step back on paper, the resulting blend was superb, refreshing and can afterwards be considered the ultimate Bolt Thrower sound.

After a great but typical intro the album runs of with the powerful death metal tune ‘Remembrance’ reminiscent of the earlier days but - as said - without losing their melodic qualities. Another highlight worth mentioning is ‘Tank (MK1)’ which was their grooviest song to date and remains a favourite together with ‘Remembrance’, ‘Armageddon Bound’, ‘Where Glory Beckons’ and ‘Lest we Forget’.

The album cover was pretty different from earlier works, now being just a picture instead of a painting or other work of fantasy art. It worked though and gave the album some extra freshness.

The quality standard the band set for themselves with this album would prove to be pretty hard to live up to until their 2005 album ‘Those Once Loyal’. Maybe this had something to with all their line-up changes which started around 1994.

Some link about this album: