Siege Of Power originally harks back to 2013 as a project between friends when, under the moniker First Class Elite, they released a split album, which was “then left for dead, buried and almost forgotten until the rotten corpse was exhumed in 2017.” Resurrected under the current and much better name, Siege Of Power, this resulted in the debut album Warning Blast in 2018.
Siege Of Power – This Is Tomorrow (Metal Blade Records)
Release Date: Out Now
Words: Jools Green
Their mindset towards their debut album was that they were just “four friends in the studio with the intention simply to play together with no expectations.” Personally, I was blown away by the result and I think they grossly underestimated just how good or just how well-received that album was going to be.
Five years later, these International Death/Thrashers, consisting of Chris Reifert, Paul Baayens, Theo van Eekelen, and Bob Bagchus, return with their latest beast of an album, This Is Tomorrow, and for them, the pressure was definitely on regarding the follow-up’s creation.
“We still like the debut a lot,” Drummer Bob Bagchus said, “but after a few years, we started talking about doing another album, and then we realized we had to be more serious. So, we started writing eleven songs – all killers, no fillers!”
Most song ideas come from guitarist Paul Baayens, who continuously writes riffs, and then they built the songs around those. “We didn’t really rehearse,” Bob said, “but booked a studio to see what we could come up with. Most of our inspirations on this album came from old-school bands like Venom, Bathory, Slayer and even Black Sabbath. Combined with our own personal style we have had for decades, of course.”
This Is Tomorrow is, the band say, “a reflection of our current times.” It’s darker than its predecessor but also more focused, things have gotten a whole lot more serious this time around. Opening with Force Fed Fear, an unrelenting driver, punctuated with an addictive repeat riff and the repeating snarl from Chris of “Force Fed Fear”, this is followed by Sinister Christians, where there’s a groovy quality to the driving riffs and a great d-beat undercurrent. But it’s still brutal as hell, and I love the brief, haunting melodic drops in pace which allow the vocals to become more impactful.
Scavengers is slower in pace, with a sleazy groove, packing a heavy punch, and in contrast, Zero Containment delivers a frantic unstoppable but undulating drive, addictive repeat riff, falling away midway just enough for a burst of squealing thrashy leadwork to break through.
Ghosts Of Humanity is slow and reflective to open, with a great haunting repeat riff. A contemplative piece that builds in layers, suddenly ramping into a full-throttle assault midway through, but the haunting repeat riff remains, weaving its way through and towards the close a burst of squealing leadwork.
As The World Crumbles is a bleak haunting beast, part crusher, part ominous reflector with a superb swathe of haunting leadwork towards the end. An understatedly superb piece, the pace then ramps up to a thrashy gallop for Oblivion, an addictive driver that packs a punch with Chris’ raw vocal screams of “Oblivion!” cutting through impactfully.
Deeper Wounds is a beast at six minutes duration. Dark and compelling from the offset, with a sinister determined plod melded with a haunting melody, plummeting a way to doomy depths just after midway all the way to the fade out. Add to this Chris’ snarling, often dramatically protracted vocals, and I’m completely won over. An understatedly superb track that sends a chill down your spine.
The Devil’s Grasp is strikingly different to its predecessor. An up-tempo punky driver that bounces along with midpoint soaring, squealing leadwork. A hugely engaging, compact number that you can’t fail to love.
The penultimate piece, No Salvation, is another rousing driver with a catchy d-beat and snarling vocal delivery, dropping back in pace midway, developing a sinister and haunting air. The vocals also take on a more sinister leaning, ramping back up in pace towards the close.
The final piece and title track, This Is Tomorrow, is doomy, moody and reflective to open, building with a chugging repeat riff, midway becoming bleak with tolling bells, dramatic single drum beats, fading out and making a dark dramatic close to the album.
This Is Tomorrow is an end-to-end well varied and engaging listen with Chris delivering some of his best vocals to date.
