MEMORIAM are calling it a day on record. The British death metal veterans will release Endgame, their sixth and final studio album, on January 29, 2027 via Reaper Entertainment. The first taste is the opening track, "Nothing More To Say", now streaming as a lyric video.
The single sticks to what MEMORIAM do best: slow-grinding riffs, a heavy, oppressive atmosphere and the instantly recognizable bark of former BOLT THROWER frontman Karl Willetts. Dirk Verbeuren (MEGADETH) handles drums on the album, and his blast beats push the song harder than the band's usual mid-paced stomp. Longtime collaborator Russ Russell produced the record again, and Dan Seagrave painted the cover, so Endgame closes out two partnerships that have been with the band from the start.
Willetts says the title of the opening track feels especially poignant now that the band knows this is its last album. MEMORIAM, he explains, gave him a way to channel anger, grief, frustration and hope, and to share those feelings with people who understood them. He thanks everyone who bought the records and came to the shows, and signs off with a twist on the song title: "There is still something left to say. This is Endgame."
Formed in 2016 out of friendship and remembrance, MEMORIAM have spent five albums mixing crushing heaviness with pointedly political lyrics. Endgame stays on that course, tackling war, political manipulation, social division, environmental decline and humanity's failure to learn from history, with mortality and finality as an added layer this time.
The current lineup is Karl Willetts (vocals), Frank Healy (bass), Scott Fairfax (guitar) and Dirk Verbeuren (drums).
Endgame will be available on CD, digital and vinyl, including a limited collector's edition.
Tracklist:
- Nothing More To Say
- The Trench
- At The Point Of No Return
- March Of Time
- Another Battle Won
- The Frontline
- Close The Skies
- The Final War
- Endgame
- Psychological Scars (digipak bonus track)
- No Tyrants Survive (box set bonus track)
- Damage Done (box set bonus track)
Order & Stream "Endgame": lnk.to/MemoriamEndgame