BOLT THROWER — ...For Victory (review)

BOLT THROWER — ...For Victory album cover

Album · 1994 · Death Metal

4.5/5 · 2012-05-19
UMUR

"...For Victory" is the 5th full-length studio album by UK death metal act Bolt Thrower. The album was released through Earache Records in November 1994. "The IVth Crusade (1992)" earned Bolt Thrower a lot of critical acclaim and for a release in the death metal genre the album was commercially successful too and provided the band with a position among the elite of UK death metal acts.

"...For Victory" pretty much continues down the same war/battle themed death metal style as it´s predecessor. To me it sounds like they have trimmed the fat though, making "...For Victory" a more compact and consistenly high quality release than "The IVth Crusade (1992)". It´s like they took all the great things from the predecessor but also left out the not so great ones in the process. The music is unmistakably the sound of Bolt Thrower though with heavy downtuned and groove based riffing and simple yet effective songwriting. Karl Willetts sounds more commanding and aggressive than ever while still maintaining his brutal edge. The rest of the band sound tighter than ever too. I´ve been critisizing Andrew Whale´s drumming in the past but I guess all the touring they did in support of "The IVth Crusade (1992)" payed off because here he delivers a great performance.

The 10 track, 39:35 minutes long album is pretty much packed with one gem after another. Very few times during the album´s playing time do the quality drop just slightly. Just take a listen to tracks like "Remembrance", "When Glory Beckons" or the title track which fully display the high qualilty of the brutal yet epic war themed death metal of the band. If I have to mention a minor issue with the album it´s that the tracks are slightly one-dimensional, but it´s to be expected from a death metal album in this vein and from Bolt Thrower in particular. They seldom break out of their formula to the great joy of their fans and to the great despair of their critics. If people who are not familiar with the band´s material ask me which Bolt Thrower album they should start with, I recommend "...For Victory". A 4 - 4.5 star (85%) rating is fully deserved.

more than 2 years ago
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Warthur wrote:

more than 2 years ago

It's a real shame this one didn't get more attention because I thought the Bolt Thrower formula really came together and reached new heights on this one. The next two albums are really good too.

UMUR wrote:

more than 2 years ago

History has a lot to do with it too. By 1994 death metal had already started it´s decline in popularity and black metal had started taking over. It was quite noticable back then and even some of the bigger acts like Bolt Thrower suffered the consequences. They are of course still one of the bigger death metal acts who survived the crisis in best shape.