I hadn’t heard of Siege of Power to be honest with you, but once I took a look at the band members, I realised that I probably should have done. An American-Dutch collaboration, they’re essentially a bit of a “who’s who” of the Dutch scene, along with one of the godfathers of American extremity. Featuring Chris Reifert (Autopsy, Abscess) on vocals, Paul Baayens (Asphyx, Hail of Bullets) on guitar duties, Theo Van Eeklen (Hail of Bullets, Houwitser) on the four string bass machine and Bob Bagchus (Asphyx, Soulburn) on the drums, this is a band who are not short of experience.
So this must be an oldschool death metal band, right?
Wrong.
Siege of Tomorrow are essentially a thrash band with some death metal influences, and pretty excellent at that. “Force Fed Fear” is a quintessential opener, with an infectious, sharp main riff that cuts like a sabre. Reiffert’s vocals are as deranged as ever, whilst the main riffing drives forward incessantly. “Sinister Christians” has a creeping fear, a slow burner with the same kind of slightly doomy vibe that Asphyx are famous for. “Scavengers” has – of all things – a main gallop, propelled by some excellent bass-work and simple but oh-so-effective drumming. The chorus is in the same ball park as modern Unleashed, being an anthemic mid-aced stomper that invites headbanging. “Zero Containment” brings the light-speed thrash back into the fray, equal parts channelling Slayer and the unbridled fury of prime The Crown, except sounding even more insane.
“Ghosts of Humanity” provides a brief respite from all the breathless thrashing, building atmosphere as it does so. Repeated waves of riffs keep breaking upon the shore, until with around a minute to go, all hell breaks loose, and the dogs are let off the slip for some more pure thrashage. “As the World Crumbles” does not actually appear to be a song about The Great British Bake Off, but instead has a more apocalyptic message. It has some very subtle melodies, producing a real sense of dread. “Oblivion” goes for the throat right from the first guitar note, whilst “Deeper Wounds” is a six minute epic with some really tasteful six string moments.
“The Devil’s Grasp” brings the punky vibe, with a main riff that could easily have been a Misfits number back in the day, and allows the crew to have a little fun with it. “No Salvation” does what it says on the tin, and this more than any other track on here really does place them in the same bracket as one of my absolute favourite bands, The Crown, except here they manage to meld it with some of that trademark Autopsy sickness. “This is Tomorrow” is an absolute death-march of a track. Bending notes collide with a stomp so insistent that it could be the sound of a marching army, step after step crushing all before it.
Not what I expected at all, and in fact a really refreshing listen. I’m a sucker for Reiffert’s insane yowling, so to be able to hear it in this context has been really fun. Here’s hoping they manage to make some live appearances!
(8/10 Chris Davison)
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