UK power metal band Memories of Old was formed in 2017 by instrumentalist Billy Jeffs who was joined by keyboardist Anthony Thompson and following the release of some singles in 2019, released their first album The Zeramin Game in 2020 with Tommy Johansson (Sabaton, Majestica, ReinXeed) on vocals. For Never Stop Believing, vocalist Noah Simmons joined the band along with Rhys Morgan on bass filling out the lineup.
Never Stop Believing opens up with “The Turn of a Page”, a symphonic keyboard intro that sounds a lot like something you’d get from a movie with an aerial shot over a landscape, not sure why it’s here. This leads right into a fast drum fill that opens up “Never Stop Believing” and that song sets the stage for the rest of the album. The drums and guitars are mostly lost in the mix and just there to provide support for the keyboards, which is disappointing. Noah Simmons vocals are velvety smooth and he has a good range into the upper registers but here like the instruments, there seems to be a lack of emotion. That may be due to the overly polished production but it certainly takes away from any impact the songs may have. As one might expect by now, there is a keyboard solo and the song has a quieter section of only keyboard and vocals that instantly brings me back to when hair metal became cheesy in the late 80s.
The guitars in the opening of “Guardians of the Kingdom” gave me hope we may be venturing into territory like Wind Rose, but then those guitars essentially went away and we return to power ballad territory for a while before picking up the tempo. Even the gang vocal part is suppressed in the mix. I will say the chorus when the song picks up is sort of catchy, showing some potential.
“Memories of Old” starts out with a dirty, crunchy riff and some shouted gang vocals which gave me hope but then the keyboards came in and took over. The chugging riff for the verses which is a metal staple here doesn’t feel like the same riff in other songs and the more I listen, the more this album reminds me of bands you’d see in late 80s teen movies.
Based on Spotify plays as I’m writing this, “Fly Away Together” is the most played song on the album and it’s really just more of the same. Promising opening, but then a pop/rock verse section driven largely by keyboards and a chorus that is somewhat catchy. Noah Simmons vocals here have a bit more of an edge and force to them in some parts which is a good direction. After this the plays on the songs plummet, almost as if listeners have had enough. I will say though that the beginning of “After the Storm” sounds very much like a homage to Europe and maybe that’s the idea behind the sound they’re aiming for. I just didn’t like it then and really don’t like it now.
To my ears, Memories of Old may have created (or re-created) a genre of metal, power pop metal or something to that effect or maybe they are aiming for a throwback sound to late 80s radio-friendly hair metal. There are some hints of older bands like Europe in some of the tracks but the overly clean production and dominance of keyboards and soaring choruses, make this some pretty soft metal. When I think of power metal, I immediately turn to bands like Iron Savior that also have some fantasy concept like albums and slightly cheesy anthemic songs but musically rely on traditional metal guitars, drums and vocals and production that keeps an edge to the sound. Performances here are strong, but they’re hidden in the mix like in the late 80’s/early 90s radio-friendly hair metal.
Rating: 5/10
Written by John Jackson
Tracklist
- The Turn of a Page (intro)
- Never Stop Believing
- Guardians of the Kingdom
- Memories of Old
- Fly Away Together
- After the Storm
- Fire in the Night
- Life Begins Again
- End of the Tunnel
- Rebirth: An Epilogue
- Journey to the Stars
Record Label: LImb Music
Band Members
Noah Simmons – vocals
Billy Jeffs – guitars
Anthony Thompson – keyboards
Rhys Morgan – bass
Wayne Dorman – guitars
Video for “Fly Away Together”:
Video for “Memories of Old”:
Video for “Guardians of the Kingdom”
Weblinks
Band site: https://www.memoriesofold.co.uk/
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/memories.of.old
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@memories.of.old
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/memoriesofold
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MemoriesOfOld/videos