MEMORIES OF OLD's - Albumankündigung & erste Single
German Heavy Metal label LIMB MUSIC will release British Symphonic Power Metal group MEMORIES OF OLD's new masterpeice "Never Stop Believing" on October 24th, 2025!
As a first appetizer, the first single "Guardians Of The Kingdom" as single and Official Lyric Video last week:
Memories Of Old - Guardians of the Kingdom (Official Lyric Video): https://youtu.be/_7w8m8DqEGY
Single GOTK Smartlink: https://orcd.co/moo-gotk2025
A true piece of classic Epic Symphonic Power Metal, welded with fire and ice: After a five-year hiatus, British act Memories Of Old deliver a first class follow-up to their stunning debut ‘The Zeramin Game’. Gorgeous melodies and a talented new voice meet stellar guitar work, embedded in an impeccable production.
Multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and orchestrator Billy Jeffs, who names Yngwie Malmsteen and Freddie Mercury as his prime musical influences, laid monumental foundations to ‘Never Stop Believing’, collaborating with his partner-in-crime, keyboardist Anthony Thompson. Mastermind Jeffs, a lifelong disciple of Dream Theater’s Mike Portnoy, not only hammered away all the drums tracks in style, but also added vast parts of the neoclassical guitar work himself.
Heart and Soul
Since 2017, Billy and Anthony have been the heart and soul of Memories Of Old. In the days before Billy founded the band, the duo played together with NightMare World, whose releases were produced by Threshold’s legendary lead guitarist, Karl Groom.
Billy greatly values his friendship with Anthony: “He keeps me going during dark times, and never lets me give up. Without Anthony I can truly say this band simply would not exist.” Anthony’s response sounds very similar: “I look up to Billy as a musician and songwriter, and as someone who forever influences me to be a better performer, writer, and overall, a better person.”
Anthony, a big fan of the likes of Nightwish and Sonata Arctica, started his musical journey in his teenage years as a guitarist, following the footsteps of heavy metal icons Metallica. However, in 2010 he switched his primary instrument: “A big part of my love for power and symphonic metal was the epic keyboards and orchestration, so becoming a keyboard player was a natural move for me.”
Self-taught Power Lessons
Billy was on the road to stardom even earlier: “I started playing drums when I was around five years old. My half-brother, who left home when I was born, had left his drum kit in my fathers shed. Eventually I discovered it, however there were no sticks, so I grabbed two pieces of wood and just started bashing around.” In his early teenage years, he also taught himself to play electric guitar, and the rest is history.
Since releasing ‘The Zeramin Game’, the British band went through various line-up changes without any loss of quality. In 2022, bassist Rhys Morgan became the band’s low frequency backbone: “Rhys is a big friendly giant, a kind and quiet person with a heart of gold. He is an amazingly solid bass player who plays our style of music perfectly.”
Funny as Hell
In 2024, Billy stumbled over the incredible talents of US-American singer Noah Simmons, who became the new voice of the band, following in the footsteps of former Memories Of Old vocalists Tommy Johannson (Majestica, ex-Sabaton) and Jamie Jordan (Skies Turn Black): “I actually discovered Noah on Facebook singing a cover, and fortunately he was already a fan of our music. He is a true legend, a very bright and vibrant person who is incredibly proactive and devoted to the band. He is funny as hell and is also very family oriented, which for me is very heartwarming. His voice is, in my opinion, one of the best in the world of power metal.”
Nailing Visions
The fifth star in the ‘Never Stop Believing’ mix is Wayne Dorman, former lead guitarist of British thrash pioneers Onslaught, who discovered Memories Of Old by answering an ad. His sense for crystal clear melodies connected strongly with Billy: “Wayne was our saving grace! He wanted to leave his thrash metal days behind and return to his power metal roots. At the last minute, we managed to get him onto the album, even recording solos during the final mixing sessions. He is an unbelievable guitarist, and his playing is truly flawless. He is able to write solos as if he is inside my mind, nailing my vision every time without fail.”
‘Never Stop Believing’ contains eleven epic tracks, two of which were previously recorded with former singer Jamie Jordan, those being ‘Guardians of the Kingdom’ and ‘Fly Away Together’. They were both released by Limb Music in 2022 and 2023 respectively.
Icing on the Cake
The icing on the cake for this stellar album came in the form of its production, highlighting all the best and most epic qualities it has to offer. Billy worked alongside former Power Quest vocalist Alessio Garavello to mix and master the album at Rogue Studios in London. The epic sweeping soundscapes and orchestration perfectly highlight the solo guitar work, and combine with the vocals to deliver an impact that is both majestic and heavy.
During the Covid-19 years, Billy decided to build and setup his own professional studio: “Building the studio was huge achievement and was always a dream of mine to accomplish. We are a Cubase house, and use a huge number of digital plugins for production, but I do have a 32 channel Allen & Heath desk which has some very nice EQ's. I love to use analogue wherever I can and a mix of analogue and digital can give amazing results.”
Beating the Drums
Above all, the quality of songwriting helps to define what makes this album so great. ‘Never Stop Believing’ is an album literally packed with anthems and emotions. ‘Guardians of the Kingdom, ‘Fly Away Together’, ‘Life Begins Again’, and the self-titled ‘Memories Of Old’, not to mention the album’s title track, are all perfect additions to the band’s repertoire.
At the time of writing, the band is only missing one piece of the puzzle: a drummer for the stage line-up. Although Billy still loves playing drums, he prefers taking his guitar on the road: “I could always play both instruments and whilst drumming is and will always be my true passion, I wanted to play guitar in Memories Of Old in order to have a closer connection to the fans when playing live. Also, so I don't have as much gear to bring…”
MEMORIES OF OLD
https://memoriesofold.co.uk
facebook: memoriesofold
instagram: memories.of.old
YouTube: @MemoriesOfOld
LIMB MUSIC
https://www.limb-music.com
https://www.limb-music.bandcamp.com
facebook: limbmusic
instagram: limb.music
YouTube: @limbmusic
Quelle: GerMusica PR