Originally hitting the streets on a self-released basis, the second album for New York’s Final Siege sees a reissue push through Wormholedeath in Nuclear Doom State. Arriving on the scene in 2018, there’s been a slow but steady evolution through lineup changes as they released a debut album March to Your Grave in 2021, finding their latest drummer and second guitarist in 2023 while garnering live seasoning in clubs/venues on the East Coast with D.R.I., Suffocation, Atheist, and Warbringer among others. These seven tracks possess a raw commingling of groove, thrash, and death metal sounds that could appeal to a wide underground community who love a mix of crossover influences.
What immediately makes these ears perk up is the devastating drum tones and infectious energy from Ameer ‘The Beheader’ Aljallad – his fluid kit mentality and execution exemplary at any tempo, especially evident in the groove to vicious double kick head crushing “Psychological Maceration”. The guitar work from Gil Vives and Rob Maldonado slices through beefy rhythms that contain additional tasty twists, sometimes working through tremolo-picking aspects of a thrash/death versatility, pumping up the energy in specific sequences of songs like “W.A.R.” and “Taxed to Death”. Where the crossover hardcore to metal elements sink in are through slower transitions as well as the hearty commander-like vocal presence Mr. Vives displays throughout. You can tell the quartet possess an equal affinity for Exodus as they do Power Trip when it comes to attitude, intensity, and strength. Speaking up for the working class and government /religious corruption in the lyrical themes matches the fierce musical components on display – the production values align well with what you would expect from the band live, just at a louder volume.
Favorite tracks change daily – the title cut a certain standout through its immediate gang-chorus appeal beyond the shredding lead breaks that pop in and out of the back half of the arrangement, while “Primordial Combat” throws a bevy of thrash and death passages into a solid twister of a song, the mid-tempo crunchy transitions sure to elicit windmill-like headbanging action. Final Siege is a force to be reckoned with through Nuclear Doom State – delivering in your face music that’s impossible to ignore.