If you are a fan of Bolt Thrower, you're going to love this album. It can't be much closer. But important Death Kommander is not a copycat. They just follow in that kind of death metal that made Bolt Thrower so special. Death Kommander has members from different countries, the UK (Scotland), Germany, and Switzerland. The music has that classic death metal sound, with chunky riffs, powerful drumming, and growling vocals. The lyrics are about WWI, and I hope this band goes for a concept album; they are tight, and the lyrics are not about " The glory of war, " but more about the hell of war. WWI was cruel, with the use of chemical warfare and so many casualties. World War I resulted in an estimated 16 to 22 million deaths, including both military personnel and civilians. Military deaths alone account for roughly 9.5 to 10 million, with around 20 million more wounded.

Death Kommander's lyrics are on a high level, well-written. We head into the first track, "Bayonet Drill" a heavier track, a lot of riffs, and yes, that old school death metal sound, hits nice. You feel the dark and brutal atmosphere very fast. I can't go track by track here, and as a fan of historically themed music, it will be hard. "Bazentin Wood" is another strong track, and Death Kommander's high musicianship level is evident; to be honest, this album works best when read in conjunction with the lyrics. Doing historically themed music and being able to connect the music to the lyrics in death metal takes a lot of skill. But you will hear the same thing in the following track, "Yellow Cross" also known as Gelbkreuz or Mustard gas ( the Germans did have more than one kind of chemical warfare, Green cross, Blue cross, and White cross, all different mixtures of chemicals for warfare). Mustard gas is the most well-known, and this track describes an attack with Mustard gas. To be a soldier and the horror. Death Kommander does it well.

The track "Aftermath" stands out and gives me a vibe of Entombed. "Never To Grow Old" the title track, has a strong melody; no, it is not melodic death metal, but the lead guitar is strong and the solo fits perfectly. Old school death metal, on such a high level, and lyrics that are so well written, I can't find a weak song on the album. Death Kommander has probably released the best old-school death metal album of 2025. The lyrics are a huge part of that, and of course, the high level of musicianship. Amazing.