When an album has a good solid start is hard to expect less from the rest of the production; Those Once Loyal is one of those records that grab you by the nuts from the start and it doesn’t let go until the last riff is played.

It took these Brits four years to come up with this new material and it was all worth the waiting. The sound is clear and heavy, the riffs are catchy and display great ability, the drums are grenades blowing up all around you, and the bass is a heavy machine gun keeping everything together.

Those Once Loyal is not your typical Bolt Thrower album (even if the band insists on it); yes you can definitely identify the band just by listening to the first track, but this time around the band has mixed its old school elements and sounds with a more “modern” feeling; the tempo changes, the production and mixing give this album a very “up to date” sound; a crystal clear sound and strength make this record the best in Bolt Thrower’s history.

At First Light begins with some atmospheric sounds that really put you in the “calm before the storm” position; this is like many Bolt Thrower’s albums, a record about war; and this time around they tell us about World War I. At First Light is heavy and with a couple of tempo changes that help you feel the guitars and the power of the drums a little closer, just like you would if artillery fire was raining down on you.

Entrenched is a fast track, the drums really take it to another level, while the guitars play as heavy as they can in the background, great high speed song and Karl Willetts growls through the song like an evil captain leading his regiment through enemy fire.

The Killchain has probably the most remarkable riffs of the album, simple yet penetrating and sharp as barb wire.

Granite Wall is a song to remember those fallen in action, but is not an anthem, is an evil song to remember those soldiers with anger because they lost their lives in a crazy war; again great riffs, and a perfect bass that helps the drums continue its destructive path.

Those Once Loyal continues along the line of the previous song, but with a slower tempo and even deeper growls.

Anti-Tank (Dead Armour) this is the track where Jo delivers great, crunchy bass riffs; she has really come a long way, and you can tell. Good lyrics about bravery and honor.

Last Stand Of Humanity picks up some speed and gives you that old school brutality you crave so much, while Salvo slow things over to show one more time, great guitars and thick tank drumming. When Cannons Fade ends the record with an inner struggle many of the soldiers and victims have to face once the Great War is over. Like I said before, this is by far the best album done by Bolt Thrower and the album that has introduced their sound to the new millennium.