"HIEROPHANT returns after six long years with "Death Siege," the latest battery in their assault of unconditional extremity. On the album, the band lets loose a raw, blackened assault that is both feral and relentless. All subtleties are cast asunder as track after track swarms with primal fury." The album contains ten tracks.

"Mortem Aeternam" is the first. It's a brief, one-minute instrumental of nasty sounds and torture methods. "Seeds of Vengeance" is the first proper track. The assault on the ears is noteworthy. Musically, they sound like Death Metal, but the vocals are somewhere between Death and Black Metal. The music, while harrowing, isn't overly original however. "Devil Incarnate" is another intense offering of thick Death Metal riffs. As with many bands in this genre, the drummer is the most talented musician in my opinion. The bass is nearly mixed out completely.

"Bloodbath Compendium" begins with a bit of promising variety, but soon digresses back to the sounds of old school Death Metal. There isn't much in the way of creativity or uniqueness here. The short "Interlude" connects the first half of the album with the second. I feel like the band does a good job with these instrumentals, or at least, better than the tracks with vocals. "In Chaos, In Death" is another intense rager with a lot of chaos in the beginning. As the band mentioned, this is indeed an album of "primal fury." Beyond that, there isn't much to champion. "Abysmal Annihilation" is more of the same. How many times on one album can the band make nearly the same song?

"Death Siege" is again, very similar to the other songs on the album. Damn, what else can I say? "Nemesis of Thy Mortals" closes the album. Finally, we get a little variety again in the opening. But, as expected, it descends back to that same sound again. When dealing with this genre, you have to keep in mind that the boundaries aren't as slim as a lot of bands interpret them. You will not lose fans if you experiment a little and put your own personality into the music. The easy road would be to just re-create the sounds of the past, which is the route "Death Siege" has taken. But, the band isn't without some talent, and are signed to a major label. Which begs the question of why?