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BESIEGED
Violence Beyond All Reason

Unspeakable Axe (2022)
Rating: 8/10

The 2010 debut opus (Victims Beyond All Help) from these Canadian death thrashers seems so long ago, but it blasted its way into my list of extreme metal favourites this side of the millennium.

The band is far from prolific. In 2015 they issued a self-titled EP that was as equally good as the debut, and now, seven years later, a second album hits us in the face like a fizzing, uncontrollable firework. Violence Beyond All Reason is some seriously ferocious hyper thrash, taking the style of classic Sepultura but speeding it up considerably.

Opener ‘Last Chance’ is a hostile expression to say the least, but a perfect yet harmful way for the band to announce its return. The drumming of Tristan Smit is exceptional in its brutality, often hyper yet always on point to deliver those wild, savage slaps. As equally belligerent are the barks of frontman Nolan Smit, his harsh, reaching tones whiff of Max Cavalera at his most primitive.

Besieged, in their 19th year of existence, hasn’t altered its chips one bit and this album unravels in the expected yet full on aggressive way with snappy outbursts delivered like toxic shards of glass to the ears, solos drenched in 80s aggression, and just a general feeling of having your face ripped off with each passing whirlwind.

Of the seven tracks on offer on this criminally short (26-minutes – an ode to Slayer’s Reign In Blood?) album, my favourites have to be the scalding ‘Paragons Of Brutality’ with its jarring opening assault, the hardcore-ish melody of ‘One Word Coma’, and the tornado that is ‘Descent Into Despotism’.

I’d never call Besieged technical, but they still offer enough time changes and sharp angles which result in frenzied attacks. If Besieged was a predator then they’d be a school of piranha, a swirling nipping, sniping yet utterly destructive killing machine that charges in, gets the job done and hastily retreats. What’s left is a pile of flesh and smouldering rubble which will take you at least five to ten years to recover from, and hopefully by that time the band will have released another patter.

Neil Arnold

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