Those Once Loyal

Those Once Loyal is a death metal[22][23][24] and heavy metal[25] album. Described by critics as a continuation of the sound of Bolt Thrower's previous albums, particularly to that of Mercenary and Honour – Valour – Pride,[26] it features mid-tempo grooves,[27][28][29] melodic riffs and guitar solos,[27][30] heavy percussion,[31][32] and growled vocals,[27] while incorporating shorter, tighter arrangements into their sound.[27][28][33] The album has also been noted for having a cleaner, more "natural-sounding" production, in comparison to previous albums.[32][26] Bench's bass in particular has been noted by critics for its unusual prominence in its mix.[27][31][34] Bench has said of the album's mixing:

It was a bit of a gamble because [Bolt Thrower's] sound has been based on the whole 'wall of guitars', but not necessarily the bass guitar. So we thought if we pushed the bass higher in the mix that we may lose something else. But it worked out great! My bass sound was the best I've ever had and it just complimented the overall sound of the album. We're still learning as far as production goes but yeah, we're all really happy with how it came out.[21]

"The Killchain" was written as the final part to a "chain" of six songs starting with the title track of Bolt Thrower's debut album In Battle There is No Law! (1988), and continuing with "World Eater", "Cenotaph", "Embers" and "Powder Burns".[35][36] The band intended to play this "chain" of songs together live in one suite.[18][35]

The Guards Memorial in St. James's Park, London. The album cover is derived from a plaque found on the memorial.

In line with Bolt Thrower's previous albums, the lyrics of Those Once Loyal discuss various aspects of war,[18][27][28] ranging from its effects on individuals and groups,[24] to honour, loyalty and camaraderie, which Willetts considered its "positive aspects".[12] Several critics and commentators have said that the album has a thematic focus on World War I, which the band had covered previously on their fifth album ...For Victory (1994), and remembrance.[22][24][37] Despite the album's distinctly militaristic song titles and themes, Willetts and Ward said that the lyrics of Those Once Loyal are not intended to glorify war.[38]

The opening track of Those Once Loyal, "At First Light", "describes the prelude to going over the top"; Willetts said that "waiting and anticipation is a recurring theme throughout the music [Bolt Thrower] create [...] It's about the psychological effects, the feelings."[37] "The Killchain" covers the asymmetrical, "computerized and detached" nature of modern warfare.[12] Other songs, however, do not focus on war specifically; in a 2007 interview with Metal Review, Willetts stated that "Entrenched" can be viewed "as your position in life", and "The battlefield you can equate to your everyday life".[15]

In a 2014 academic paper discussing the relevance of World War I in popular music, British cultural historian Peter Grant wrote that ...For Victory and Those Once Loyal both "contain highly graphic, though stylised, point-of-view songs, but with no identified protagonist and no sense of the ability of the individual to influence events".[37] Grant additionally described the ways in which Bolt Thrower presented the subject of war, specifically in regards to World War I, citing the title track of ...For Victory and "At First Light" as particular examples:[37]

Both songs evoke the terrors and horrors of war, immensely magnified by the music, but paradoxically adopt a sober, neutral stance that does not condemn war outright, instead presenting the listener with its impact [...] Bolt Thrower's contemplation of war in general and the First World War in particular is complex and distinctive. They avoid simple stereotypes and instead express the ambiguities of warfare: it is both horrifying and glorious, both insane and necessary.[37]

The cover art of Those Once Loyal is taken from a plaque found on the Guards Memorial, a World War I memorial, in St. James's Park, London.[35][39][40] Bench, who came up with the idea of using the plaque for the cover, said that Bolt Thrower wanted to distance themselves from the "fantasy battle" artwork used on their previous releases and find something that was less predictable and more "epic-looking".[39] The band commissioned a photograph of the plaque before it was altered into a cover by Jan Meininghaus.[39] Regarding the album's title, Ward said: "They were once loyal, and now they're not because they're dead!".[11]

On 8 September 2005, Bolt Thrower unveiled the release date and track listing for Those Once Loyal.[9][41] Prior to its release, Metal Blade Records launched an "online player" that allowed users to listen to two songs from the album and organised several "release parties" in Germany and Austria in early November 2005.[42][43] To prevent the album from leaking onto peer-to-peer file-sharing sites, some promotional copies of Those Once Loyal were overdubbed with recordings saying "This is the new album from Bolt Thrower!" at various intervals, featuring the members of band.[40][N 2]

Those Once Loyal was first released in Germany on 11 November 2005, coinciding with Armistice Day.[9][44] It was released to the rest of Europe on 14 November 2005 and in the United States on 15 November 2005.[9] Alongside the album's standard CD and vinyl release, Metal Blade issued a limited edition digipak version of Those Once Loyal, featuring the bonus track "A Symbol of Eight".[41] The album debuted and peaked at number 76 on the German Offizielle Top 100 chart, becoming the highest charting album of Bolt Thrower's career.[45]

Bolt Thrower performing at the 2006 Inferno Metal Festival in Oslo, Norway

Bolt Thrower embarked on the Those Still Loyal Tour across Europe between January and June 2006. The tour's name is a tribute to Bolt Thrower's supporters.[46] The band were supported by Malevolent Creation, Nightrage and Necrophagist on the first leg of the tour, which lasted between January and February 2006, and by God Dethroned, Kataklysm and others on the second leg, between April and May 2006.[47][48][49] The band also made appearances at the Inferno Metal Festival in Oslo, Norway and the Rock Hard Festival in Gelsenkirchen, Germany.[50][51][52] Bolt Thrower planned on taking the Those Still Loyal Tour to the United States—which would have made it their first tour in the country since 1994—but were forced to cancel due to a lack of support from Metal Blade.[15][53]

On 18 January 2006, Bolt Thrower cancelled a planned performance at the Anomalia Club in Prato, Italy after one of its roadies was electrocuted four times due to reported electrical problems at the venue.[54] The venue's promoter released a statement blaming Bolt Thrower for the show's cancellation,[55] although this response was disputed by Necrophagist frontman Muhammed Suiçmez, who said that the owners of the venue had been uncooperative when Bolt Thrower and others attempted to sort out the electricity problem.[56] Bench said that the band were disappointed by negative reactions to the show cancellation online: "We don't cancel shows without a good reason and we've only pulled a handful of shows over 20 years [...] I thought [our fans] knew us better than that."[21]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[25]
Blabbermouth.net	7/10[23]
Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles	7/10[57]
Chronicles of Chaos	9/10[33]
Metal Storm	9.0/10[27]
PopMatters	7/10[22]
Rock Hard	9/10[30]
Stylus	B[28]
Terrorizer	8.5/10[32]
Zero Tolerance	4.5/6[26]

Those Once Loyal was well-received by critics upon release. Jackie Smit of Chronicles of Chaos hailed the album as "a resounding triumph" that represents Bolt Thrower "at the absolute peak of their craft".[33] Ian Finley praised the album in Terrorizer as "immune to the corrupting influence of all musical trends" while offering "the epitome of what a metal album should be: hard, fast and uncompromising".[32] Likewise, Boris Kaiser of Rock Hard commended its mix of intensity, melodies and catchy harmonies.[30] Adrien Begrand of PopMatters praised the band's vocal and instrumental performances on the album whilst noting how its lyrics describe "The brutality of trench warfare, the empty feeling of facing certain death as the sun rises, and the poignancy of both the quiet battlefield and the granite cenotaphs [...] in remarkably eloquent detail".[22] Cosmo Lee of Stylus Magazine felt that what the album lacked in terms of "memorable songs", Bolt Thrower made up for with "top-notch riffs", as the band "has always been more about sound than the song".[28] Lee also noted the album's "abstract" lyrical descriptions of war which, while making it "tough to extract emotional significance" from, ensured its longevity.[28]

With the band's twentieth anniversary approaching, several contemporary critics compared the level of innovation between Those Once Loyal with that of Bolt Thrower's previous albums. In a mixed assessment of the album, James Christopher Monger of AllMusic remarked that Bolt Thrower's lack of change was "either a strength to those who love them or a weakness to their detractors".[25] Kevin Stewart-Panko of Decibel perceived several "noticeable" albeit "minute" changes to Bolt Thrower's sound with the album's riffs, bass sound and Willetts' return to the band.[31] Markus Endres of Metal.de said that the improvements in its production made for a "clearer and therefore more precise" album.[58] Likewise, Adam Chapman of Zero Tolerance said that the album improved over the production of their previous albums—although its songs lacked ...For Victory's "instantly memorable riffs".[26] Blabbermouth.net commented that, in spite of the album's general lack of "innovations", Bolt Thrower's "quality, if not the originality, is always there".[23] Despite perceiving that there was nothing on the album that was "really incredibly intriguing even if it is flawlessly executed", Exclaim! reviewer Jill Mikkelson found Those Once Loyal to be "a solid album" by "a solid band [...] even if they are slightly past their expiry date".[29]

Retrospective reviews of Those Once Loyal have been largely positive,[24][59] with critics praising the album for its refinement of Bolt Thrower's sound.[60] According to Kez Whelan, writing for The Quietus in 2021, the album displayed Bolt Thrower's "absolute mastery" of their "late-period groove", with every track being "a certified classic".[36] Revolver said that the album was "remarkably efficient and still endlessly re-playable" in 2022, as it "just zeroed in on what [Bolt Thrower had] spent the last 20 years mastering — bulletproof riffs that churn like tanks rolling over stacks of bodies".[61] The album has also been praised by Frank Watkins of Obituary,[62] Jacob Bannon of Converge[63] and Riley Gale of Power Trip, the latter who named it one of his top five metal albums of all time.[64] In the 2016 edition of Choosing Death: The Improbable History of Death Metal & Grindcore, Albert Mudrian, founder and editor-in-chief of Decibel, selected the album as part of his book's "Essential Discography" for 2005.[65]