Lay Siege
Garry from SAN PR is always sending us through new bands to check out, and never seems to come across one which isn’t good, so when he sent through details of Lay Siege and their latest offering, Obulus, who was I to turn down the chance to hear it?! Formed in 2010, these guys have self released their EP and are now set on taking over the world – so I figured I’d see if I could do my part to help them! Promising full throttle vocals, gargantuan riffs and groaning basslines, I figured this could be something pretty damned special.
Opening with Explorer, there’s an immediate sense of dark and industrial rumblings combined with a fresh and new approach, taking a stale old genre and turning it into something new and more exciting. This feeling soon transforms into something far more pressing, something where the aim of speed drives the melodic force behind the vocals and where the over arching feeling is one of all out aggression. Sounding like a hybrid of Fear Factory, Soulfly, and Lamb Of God, these guys seem to have taken metal, turned it on it’s ass and made it their bitch – and they’ve done it damned well too! What’s most striking about this opening track is the sheer number of elements which form the track, when you really listen to it there’s so much going on that it’s impossible to know where to listen at first, the whole mix simply grabbing your attention and forcing you to take note of what they’ve got on offer.
Moving into The Ferryman, the feeling of all out power continues except this time with more ferocity and power than before. Starting at break neck speed and not relenting until the moment the track is coming to a close, this is the sort of track which you crave on the live scene as you know that it’s going to destroy the crowd leaving nothing but a wake of devastation in its way. Even sitting at home listening, this is one which is going to get you moving! Snarling Teeth once again changes things and this time reverts us to the slower and more carefully crafted power, throwing straight down into a pit which is going to get circles forming where ever it’s performed. This track stands out to me as a serious high point, purely for the way it progresses and changes as it comes into being around you. Whilst the track starts off slow, there’s moments of faster aggression, moments which make you sit up and take note, and moments which you can barely comprehend without actually hearing it – it’s the musical equivalent of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre played at 5 times the normal speed.
Glitches comes up next and keeps the theme of power going, this time launching us into a track full to the brim with roaring guitar lines, guttural vocals and drums which will convert anyone to the ways of the band. Alternating the vocals between roaring and spitting those roars and what you’ve got is a track which is perfectly crafted for the live scene, this is going to destroy venues for sure. Wastelands is much the same sort of track, once again opening as it means to go on and allowing you to fully appreciate everything the band are creating. Heavy, raw, aggressive and yet somehow, melodic at times, this is a further example of why you need to check out this album when you get a chance. Personally, this is my favourite track from the EP, there’s just something about it which I really connected with as it played, and something which makes me think that this is going to be a band we hear more about pretty damn soon.
Closing the EP with Solitary Confinement there’s one last chance to witness first hand just why you need to check these guys out, the fast paced aggressive tones grabbing you by the eyeballs for one last hurrah. As a closing track I’m not sure this one packs as much punch as some of the others, but what it does do is leave you wanting more, which is surely the point of the last track on the album?!
What I really like about Lay Siege is that they’ve clearly not listened to people who have told them to try different things, they’ve stuck to their guns and come up with an EP which is going to excite you about music once again. Does the EP push boundaries or offer something which hasn’t been done before, I don’t know, but what it does do is take a genre, change it to make it their own and present you with 6 tracks of sheer power. Prepare to be excited about the metal scene once again – these guys are one to watch.
To find out more about Lay Siege, check out their Facebook page HERE.
Words: Dave Nicholls
Opening with Explorer, there’s an immediate sense of dark and industrial rumblings combined with a fresh and new approach, taking a stale old genre and turning it into something new and more exciting. This feeling soon transforms into something far more pressing, something where the aim of speed drives the melodic force behind the vocals and where the over arching feeling is one of all out aggression. Sounding like a hybrid of Fear Factory, Soulfly, and Lamb Of God, these guys seem to have taken metal, turned it on it’s ass and made it their bitch – and they’ve done it damned well too! What’s most striking about this opening track is the sheer number of elements which form the track, when you really listen to it there’s so much going on that it’s impossible to know where to listen at first, the whole mix simply grabbing your attention and forcing you to take note of what they’ve got on offer.
Moving into The Ferryman, the feeling of all out power continues except this time with more ferocity and power than before. Starting at break neck speed and not relenting until the moment the track is coming to a close, this is the sort of track which you crave on the live scene as you know that it’s going to destroy the crowd leaving nothing but a wake of devastation in its way. Even sitting at home listening, this is one which is going to get you moving! Snarling Teeth once again changes things and this time reverts us to the slower and more carefully crafted power, throwing straight down into a pit which is going to get circles forming where ever it’s performed. This track stands out to me as a serious high point, purely for the way it progresses and changes as it comes into being around you. Whilst the track starts off slow, there’s moments of faster aggression, moments which make you sit up and take note, and moments which you can barely comprehend without actually hearing it – it’s the musical equivalent of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre played at 5 times the normal speed.
Glitches comes up next and keeps the theme of power going, this time launching us into a track full to the brim with roaring guitar lines, guttural vocals and drums which will convert anyone to the ways of the band. Alternating the vocals between roaring and spitting those roars and what you’ve got is a track which is perfectly crafted for the live scene, this is going to destroy venues for sure. Wastelands is much the same sort of track, once again opening as it means to go on and allowing you to fully appreciate everything the band are creating. Heavy, raw, aggressive and yet somehow, melodic at times, this is a further example of why you need to check out this album when you get a chance. Personally, this is my favourite track from the EP, there’s just something about it which I really connected with as it played, and something which makes me think that this is going to be a band we hear more about pretty damn soon.
Closing the EP with Solitary Confinement there’s one last chance to witness first hand just why you need to check these guys out, the fast paced aggressive tones grabbing you by the eyeballs for one last hurrah. As a closing track I’m not sure this one packs as much punch as some of the others, but what it does do is leave you wanting more, which is surely the point of the last track on the album?!
What I really like about Lay Siege is that they’ve clearly not listened to people who have told them to try different things, they’ve stuck to their guns and come up with an EP which is going to excite you about music once again. Does the EP push boundaries or offer something which hasn’t been done before, I don’t know, but what it does do is take a genre, change it to make it their own and present you with 6 tracks of sheer power. Prepare to be excited about the metal scene once again – these guys are one to watch.
To find out more about Lay Siege, check out their Facebook page HERE.
Words: Dave Nicholls