Old school death metallers, Memoriam, are set to unleash their second album, The Silent Vigil, on March 23rd via Nuclear Blast Records. In the video below, Karl Willetts (Bolt Thrower) and Frank Healy (Benediction) discuss their punk roots:

Just one year after the release of debut album For The Fallen, the band returns with an authentic, raw flood of old school death metal destruction. The album's artwork was created again by Dan Seagrave (Benediction, Dismember, Hypocrisy, Suffocation).

Memoriam on the cover artwork: "Following the success of working with Dan Seagrave for our debut album For The Fallen, we decided that we had to get Dan involved for the next album cover. Initially we used Dan as we were all very impressed with the art that he has created for bands over the decades and Scott in particular wanted to have an album cover designed by Dan Seagrave, as part of the things he wanted to achieve with Memoriam.

"Dan really encapsulates the old school death metal feel to the album covers that he creates; they are full of detail and very atmospheric. We gave him a brief for the For The Fallen debut cover and he did a great job.

"We briefed Dan and asked him to create an image which followed on from the first album; the first album features a funeral procession, the coffin of the fallen leader paraded across an ethereal battle scarred landscape. 'The Silent Vigil' represents the next phase of the journey where the coffin is lying in state with the followers standing in silence almost like terracotta soldiers. The cover has an overall solemn feel to it, with the ravaged landscape in the background and burnt out wrecks of military hardware in the foreground. The tree in the centre of the album cover is symbolic of life - that continues on.

"We are really pleased with what Dan Seagrave has created for us once again and we are proud to have his artwork on our album cover. We already have an idea for the next album cover and we hope that Dan will be able to do this for us too."

The Silent Vigil tracklisting:

"Soulless Parasite"
"Nothing Remains"
"From the Flames"
"The Silent Vigil"
"Bleed The Same"
"As Bridges Burn"
"The New Dark Ages"
"No Known Grave"
"Weaponised Fear"

Track-by-track #1:

Track-by-track #2:

"Nothing Remains" video:

"Bleed The Same" lyric video:

Trailer #1:

Trailer #2:

Trailer #3:

Memoriam was primarily developed to fill the void that was left following the tragic death of Martin "Kiddie" Kearns, the drummer from Bolt Thrower, back in September 2015. Bolt Thrower subsequently placed all activity on hold for the foreseeable future which gave Karl Willetts an opportunity to develop a new project with friends that had expressed interest in forming a band for some time. Memoriam are an old school death metal band, maintaining the high standards set by their previous bands, focusing on the themes of death, loss and war. Initially the band members got together to play covers of songs that had influenced them throughout their careers within the death metal scene, however it soon became apparent that the new songs that they created were of a superior standard.

Memoriam lineup:

Karl Willetts - Bolt Thrower (vocals)
Frank Healy - Benediction, Cerebral Fix (bass)
Andy Whale - Bolt Thrower (drums)
Scott Fairfax - Cerebral Fix (guitars)

(Photo - Anne Swallow)