Review by Alex on August 17, 2020.

The outlaws are back in town, Siege Column that is. New Jersey's peace-defying parade of maniacs high on the thrill to kill and whisky. Back in 2018 they stormed through the city, harassing towns folk with Inferno Deathpassion, an album that was greatly overlooked due to so much happening at the time for underground death and black metal. But when starved of attention some bands only act out more violently, thus Siege Column reentered their lair to plan and execute their most vitriolic output to date, Darkside Legions. A thrashing surge of combative death metal featuring bottle breaking drums, whisky spitting vocals and high velocity, Tasmanian-devil style riffing. Altogether with and attitude that says fuck off and some samples of eerily played keyboard synth makes the visit all too ominous and nail biting.

Feel the sweat trickle from your forehead all the way down to your non-confrontational ass cheeks; posers retreat to their safe-spaces and cuddle in warm, fluffy sheets as the barbaric sounds of sirening-guitars and disastrous drumming lay a passage for the ring-leader to demolish the town with ball and chain throaty barks. Henchmen gather in support of the tyrannically adjudication instigated with opening track 'Devil's Nights of Hell', circling the listener whilst hooligans chant the deathspell. And bang! a shotgun of raw n' rugged death metal takes a pelt at the petrified.

Obscenities shouted, a cry for more barbaric demonstrations, and from the sulfuric tongue, 'Echoes from the Underworld' is provided. A mace-wielding, testosterone-drenched slob of medieval death metal completes with mayhemic guitars and rough-cut vocals; this joyride has just begun. Gratifyingly and suitably to match the ugliness of the title, 'Snake Skin Mask' hits like a warmetal brigade alongside a thrashing frenzy like a nomadic, once institutionalized, over medicated madman, diving dumpsters and upturning trash-cans. I mean what more brutal pieces can one think of than track titles and matching hymns such as 'Speed of Omen Winds' and 'Buried in Lava'?, those songs are downright mean and punishing. Not to mention how believable the musicianship backing them is. You get a crossfire of instrumental stalwart and prowess as a balance between sonic ferity and precision.

Written like royalty, the decree to pass judgement-on, and executed savagely by the swing of bardiche, mace and the tossing of mortars, Darkside Legions continues to advance further and more viciously with 'In the Stolen Tomb' and 'Gloves of Fire', both embodying and glamorizing the cover artwork accompanying the wild ride of a record. Amidst this predatory conduct, the songs here are seemingly more catchy than those of Inferno Deathpassion; the mid-paced groovy moments of 'Funeral Fiend', 'In the Stolen Tomb' and 'Buried in Lava', add a moody and melodic texture to the music also the efficient depth needed to translate the artwork on Darkside Legions.

The production used has not changed since Inferno Deathpassion, thus it has become one of the common grains used in the crafting of a Siege Column album. That said, their sound has a quality that stands out, it's easily recognizable which is a good asset to possess as to not get lost amidst the saturated scene. Apart from such, their production also matches the music they compose, and the themes expressed in their songs. Like a strange blend of urban decadence, deterioration and ancient dungeon-eque, primitive workings, Siege Column's music matched with THEIR production value has aided tremendously the band's identity and facilitated a basis for growth and development.

Still somewhat derivative of their earliest installments (Nocturnal Attack Formation etc.), Darkside Legions, goes beyond the threshold of Inferno Deathpassion, thus making the record, Siege Column's best uncivilized sacrifice to date. Out through Nuclear War Now August 15th, 2020.

Rating: 8.8 out of 10

Review by Felix on November 17, 2019.

Galaxy is another new name in the scene. The dudes originate from Australia and present their debut. It's an EP and this approach reminds me of the eighties when many labels tested the impact of a new band by releasing an EP. But the format is not the only thing which pays tribute to the golden decade of heavy metal. The music itself also works as a time machine and sends the listener into a period where things like world wide web, mobiles and even refugee crisis were totally unknown. So, follow me into, well, the galaxy of Galaxy.

Names like Agent Steel, Omen or, to drop a more modern name, Portrait must be mentioned when it comes to the influences of the formation. The high pitch of the lead vocalist brings Mercyful Fate to my mind as well. Galaxy combine traditional metal with speed metal elements and the sometimes-massive reverb on the vocals create an Agent Steel-compatible atmosphere. This kind of music is not new, not groundbreaking and not trendy, but it scores with a very important feature: honesty. Dudes who play this style in the 19th year of the new millennium must be fans of their own compositions, anything else is hardly imaginable.

More details give reason for joy. The songs sound fresh, they rely on pretty mature patterns and, if we forget the overlong end of the closer, they avoid boring parts. "Dreaming Out" with its powering double bass drum at the beginning and the precise riffing makes fun, also the guy behind the microphone should not use the highest pitches that much. Either way, the newcomers show that they can pen a number with a length of more than six minutes without the slightest form of repetitiveness. Thumbs up. The lively "Sons of Titan" presses the pedal to metal without neglecting melodic elements in the chorus and with these two numbers the spectrum of the band is more or less completely covered.

Not only because of the nearly flawless production, I can recommend this EP to everyone who has an affinity for sounds that are older than her or his date of birth. Or for people like me have witnessed the pioneering times of metal. Or for people who like Speedclaw's "Beast in the Mist". The listener of Speedclaw's EP enters an old galaxy, but its stars are still sparkling. Maybe Galaxy will soon enrich the firmament of this cosmos with their light.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10