SIEGE OF POWER „This Is Tomorrow”

Metal Blade Records, February 2023

Music: Death / Thrash Metal

Website:

https://www.facebook.com/people/Siege-Of-Power/100046272619949/

https://siegeofpowermetal.bandcamp.com

Duration: 40:45 (11 tracks)

Country: The United States / The Netherlands

The name of the band says a lot about the content of the album. The line-up does not include any new faces in the music industry, because they are the musicians who are or were the members of ASPHYX or inactive HAIL OF BULLETS. What is more, the one and only Chris Reifert from AUTOPSY is handling the vocal duties and this time he focuses on this job only.

Debut album “Warning Blast” which was issued 5 years ago was a bit over 40 minutes long and contained 20 tracks. Except one song that was over 4 minutes, the other ones were around 2 minutes long or even shorter. Although, there are a few super fast shots on new album, most of the songs are longer, more complex and versatile here. There are classic death metal tracks like „Force Fed Fear”, „Zero Containment” or „Oblivion” which destroy everything on their way. They are heavy, fast, fierce and very imaginative when it comes to vocal performance. Chris is able to present a wide range of brutal growls, grunts and screams. They suit the music perfectly and intensify the musical power of the songs. His performance takes each song to another level of brutality.

The song that stands out from the rest the most is “As The World Crumbles” in which the band explores doom metal in its most natural form. Musically it would fit perfectly on CANDLEMASS records. Thanks to lighter riffs without the fuzz contradicted with heavy ones in refrains and together with a short guitar solo, the song is a great game changer in the middle of the album. The first album had some slight traces of such ideas, but there they might have not been even noticed. The main aim of that album was to simply punch the listener straight in the face and it did the job perfectly. It does not mean that “This Is Tomorrow” is a milder version of the debut album. It is not that simple. The variety of ideas and doom metal references which are present in a few more moments in the album do a great job and definitely they do not weaken the crushing power of the whole album. Sometimes, the contrasts emphasize the intensity of the album and they keep the listener more focused. Great example is a doomy and melancholic ending of “Deeper Wounds” which turns into fast and energetic MOTORHEAD style “The Devil’s Grasp”.

The band members do not lack enough creative ideas to make a killer mixture of thrash and death metal. Let’s hope this project will turn into a serious band and we will not have to wait another 5 years for a follow-up.

Tracklist:
1. Force Fed Fear
2. Sinister Christians
3. Scavengers
4. Zero Containment
5. Ghosts Of Humanity
6. As The World Crumbles
7. Oblivion
8. Deeper Wounds
9. The Devil’s Grasp
10. No Salvation
11. This Is Tomorrow

Line-up:
Chris Reifert – wokal
Paul Baayens – gitara
Theo Van Eekelen – bas
Bob Bagchus – perkusja

Rate: 9.0/10