BOLT THROWER - Those Once Loyal
December 15, 2005, 18 years ago
(Metal Blade)
Bolt Thrower have always served up their unflagging war metal with a sense of unhurried, unforced charm, and Those Once Loyal continues in that tradition, offering speeds and spurs not hard on the ears. In that respect, this is like more conservative, less controversial, more death-rulebooked Six Feet Under, Karl Willetts’ gruff bark possessing the relative warmth of a Chris Barnes, as the band churns away on quite hooky riffs that are as doomy and relaxed as they are death or grind, neither of which capture Bolt Thrower’s sound, a sound that is really regular and non-confrontational but nonetheless, hard-won over eight records of this. Good grinding bass guitar sound too, but the snare’s tuned too high and snappy, highlighted by a bass drum sound that reaches up there too.
