Metalcore band Your Memorial, from the Twin Cities of Minnesota, are back with their last release, a self-titled EP. The band was founded in 2008 and they released three studio albums before this last EP. On May 9 in 2017 the band announced that they were disbanding. On November 11, 2017 they played their final show. Now let’s check their last EP out;
First track of this five-song EP is called ‘Degenerate’ and it begins with a menacing sound and the brutality and heaviness don’t let you wait for too long. The drumkit is almost smashed to pieces when it all begins. Totally no sign of degeneration here. Compared tot heir previous album “Redirect” this album follows suit and picks up where they left with that album. The riffs and screams are, as always, perfectly intserspersed with clean vocals.
‘Embers’ is the track that follows and boy, what an emotion is packed into this song. For me this song is the highlight of this album. Up-tempo beats and riffs blast through my headphones. The melodic guitar parts with the screams, to top it all, give me goosebumps all over. And again the cleans are not overdone but serve the song to give it some extra depth.
The third track ‘Anchor’ begins with soft distorted guitars but the heavy part kicks in soon. This is songwriting with a capital S. And the guitar-riff from 1.08 minutes shows that Your Memorial is more than djenty open chord chugging. And the clean part from 2.32 minutes is an ocean of tranquility in the midst of all the mayhem before it all starts again.
‘Regenerate’ is a song that surprises you with emotion and heavy but also clean parts. And I mean clean singing but also clean guitars with a nice low bassguitar underneath it all.
And then we already have reached the last song of this album. ‘Steadfast’ is a track that has all the aforementioned elements. Heavy riffs, check! Clean parts, check! Djent, check! Clean singing, check! And don’t forget the obligatory breakdowns. They end with a bang! The last song that they will ever release is a worthy goodbye. The harmonics almost bring me to tears, and to know that such a gifted band is calling it quits is hard to swallow. But thank you Your Memorial for all the awesome music and your ministry throughout the years. God bless you all!
Rating: 8.5/10
Written by: René Woning
Tracklist:
1. Degenerate
2. Embers
3. Anchor
4. Regenerate
5. Steadfast
Band members:
Willy – Guitars
Blake – Vocals
Tommy – Drums
Skip – Bass
Discography:
“Seasons” (2008)
“Atonement”(2010)
“Redirect” (2012)
“Self-Titled” (2017) EP
Record label: Facedown records, November 2017
Buy the album here:
Holland: First Paradox
Norway: Nordic Mission
Lyric video for ‘Degenerate’
Video for ‘Embers’