Lay Siege – Hopeisnowhere (2015)

With the tons of so-called Modern Metal releases coming out these days, we can easily make a 10 ft tall pile of albums that sound alike. Lay Siege is here to defy this trend and unleash the punishing “Hopeisnowhere” upon the world’s population. Featuring 11 tracks of Post-Metal/Sludge/Groove brutality, the band goes beyond being heavy and catchy, and delivers one of the most engaging and clean sounding Modern Metal releases of 2015.

The groovy “Irebot” quickly sets a very harsh tone with its pummeling riffs and Meshuggah-esque vibe, and this intensity continues with the funky “Glass Veil”. The vocals and some of the tempo changes have a certain Deathcore-ish vibe, but the overall structure of the music is much more than that. The oppressive “Hollow Hands” has some tight drum patterns that when paired with the crystal clear production, sound like a million bucks.

With the melodic opening to “The Illusion of Choice”, the band quickly steps out of the mainstream line for Modern Metal bands into a more melodic Post-Metal/Sludge line of music that nicely enhances the overall experience in this release and makes the band stand out from the rest. The band even throws in a Post-Rock-ish interlude track with “Hopeisnowhere”, only to return in full melodic strength with our headbanging favorite “The Afflicted”.

Remind us of the atmospheric proficiency of The Ocean, “Black Cloud” is another hard-hitting track that makes this release very diverse and enjoyable. For those looking for crushing brutality and moody tempo changes, “March The Flock” and “A Fictional Sound” are tracks that you do not want to miss.

Overall, “hopeisnowhere” is one hell of a crushing and diverse release. It breaks the pattern of monotonous Modern Metal albums, and shows the immense potential behind Lay Siege. If you like The Ocean, Hacride, Dagoba, Meshuggah, etc., you will surely love this release, so get off your ass and pick up a copy of this today.

Label: Lifeforce records

Release: April 7th, 2015 (North America)

Genre: Modern Metal

Country: UK