Band:	Bolt Thrower
Album:	Those Once Loyal
Style:	Death metal
Release date:	November 2005

01. At First Light
02. Entrenched
03. The Killchain
04. Granite Wall
05. Those Once Loyal
06. Anti-Tank (Dead Armour)
07. Last Stand Of Humanity
08. Salvo
09. When Cannons Fade
10. A Symbol Of Eight [Limited Edition Digipack Bonus]

While many bands seem to take the path of becoming a shitty legacy act, touring and making uninteresting "return-to-basics" albums until one of the members drops dead and nobody else has enough left in the tank to bother looking for a replacement, the same cannot be said for Bolt Thrower, who, after releasing this album, decided they had recorded something so good and so perfect that there was no longer any point in recording more material.

I can certainly say that they made the right call here, because listening to Those Once Loyal truly does feel like listening to the perfection of an artist's craft. The album carries a distinct identity and personality that manifests across every track in a different way. The two-part opener covering "At First Light" and "Entrenched" carries a sense of panic and urgency as a strike team rushes into battle against an insurmountable foe, before this battle calms down, giving way to the impeccably groovy "The Killchain". The rest of the album carries the groove forward, becoming progressively more somber as the tracks continue, culminating in the epic finale "When Cannons Fade", a perfect closer to a perfect album and to the band's discography.

The sound of the album is composed of a mix of various styles, though primarily death metal; whereas there are occasionally thrashy or speed-oriented segments on certain tracks, and undeniable groove metal writing on tracks like "The Killchain" (as mentioned) and "Granite Wall", the grim atmosphere, crushing guitars, creeping bass, and pummeling drums, all paired together with Karl Willetts' deep, raspy, almost burping death growls, constantly remind you that what you are listening to is nothing but death metal. In that regard, however, the influences of other metal styles also make this record in particular far more accessible than something like, say, None So Vile or Close To A World Below, and for that reason, I would have to recommend this as an essential "starter album" to anyone interested in death metal.

If you're still reading this review, I'd strongly advise that you click off the tab, pull up whatever streaming service you use, and start blasting this on whatever kind of sound system you have - or, if you're a physical media purist, look for it at your local record store or nab it online.