In a world of compromise... some don't

I am now the proud and incredibly thrilled owner of Bolt Thrower's newest album, Those Once Loyal. I ordered it from The End Records last week, and while I received the other stuff I requested, the Bolt Thrower album wasn't included. No problem, sez I, and promptly made my way to Sound Exchange and bought it, since today (technically yesterday) was the US release date.

I'd heard two songs via Metal Blade's website, but after hearing the whole record, I have to say that the songs in question ("Salvo" and "Entrenched") are by no means the best that Those Once Loyal has to offer. Not to say that they're bad- shit, man, they're fucking Bolt Thrower songs- but they've got nothing on tunes like "The Killchain," which continues the thematic opening/closing riff heard previously in "World Eater," "Cenotaph," "Embers," and Powder Burns,"; "Anti-Tank (Dead Armour)"; and "When Cannons Fade." Overall, Those Once Loyal wins out over the last couple of Bolt Thrower albums because there aren't any slow points. I don't mean speed, per se, because TWL is typically Bolt Thrower in its mix of grinding speed and (as everyone on the goddamned planet puts it) tank-paced rhythm, but rather that TWL doesn't drag. I really think that this new album, in that respect, is at the top of my personal Bolt Thrower album heap- there's not a single song I ever want to skip, because everything flows perfectly.

Of course, it doesn't hurt that Karl Willetts is back on vocals, and that Jo Bench's bass is nicely high in the mix. This isn't a comeback album, however. It's simply Bolt Thrower as they are meant to be.

Here is to one of the best bands ever. Period. "In a world of compromise... some don't."