Back in 2012 Inner Siege released their debut album Kingdom of Shadows with authority and now nine years later the power metal band has released the follow up Fury of Ages, picking up where they left off and giving us an album filled with everything you’d expect from power metal – blazing solos, a pounding rhythm section and strong vocals with a few twists thrown in for good measure.
Since I live somewhat near, I can confidently say that being a power metal band in Peoria, Illinois must be a bit of a daunting task as that is a long way from Europe where power metal has a much stronger foothold in the music scene. I said that in 2012, and it still holds true. The band itself was formed in 2008, with each member having a love for European power metal. As you might imagine, the band names influences like Within Temptation, Symphony X, Dream Theater, Fates Warning, Rob Rock, Iron Maiden, Queensryche, and surprisingly Motorhead and Metallica.
The album starts out very much in the power metal realm in terms of sound with a driving riff and drum staccato bit to start before heading off into a galloping pace. Production quality is excellent and a perfect fit for the genre. All the instruments are clear in the mix as well as the vocals and there is a welcome low end that is seems more present than often heard in power metal releases. Wade Helm on drums and Ravn Furfjord on bass make for a great team in driving the song forward. The song does feature a couple surprise elements in some near black metal spoken vocals and a very impressive acoustic guitar solo. The fast pace of the song immediately conjures up images of helicopters on stage for those with the hair to pull it off.
“Reborn” is a bit slower in pace to start before shifting to a heavy galloping rhythm. Jeremy Ray’s delivery and phrasing fits the music perfectly and the song gives him the opportunity to show some higher register range. The main riff, really chugs along greatly and carries with it a bit of power that comes from the rhythm section. Kevin Grose and JL Prater add in some nice tandem solo work in the song as well which is always a good thing when you have two guitarists in a metal band.
“Firewind” brings in some of the influences from older Iron Maiden and other NWOBHM bands especially in the opening riff which reappears later as well. The intro section showcases some great guitar work and the song twists and turns between the NWOBHM influences and what to me sounds a bit like some of the hair metal bands of the late 80s, which makes for a bit of an odd mix but it works. For example, I could argue that I hear everything from White Lion, to Dokken to Iron Maiden in the song.
“Virtuous Iniquity” gives Jeremy Ray a breather as the band adds in an instrumental that showcases their musicianship as well as their ability to craft a song that can deliver emotion and feeling without words and not end up as an excuse for an extended guitar solo. Later in the album “Iron Lotus” shows a different take on the instrumental and sounds a bit like it would be a song with vocals where instead, the band has chosen this time to showcase the guitar playing of JL Prater and Kevin Grose. There are a variety of different guitar tones and playing styles in the song to keep it interesting and a good bit of melody and harmony that keep it from just being an extended solo.
One thing that fans of power metal really look for are those cool riffs and there are plenty on Fury of Ages. Songs like “Echoes into Eternity” and “World of Darkness” are great examples of songs where the intros lull the listener into thinking the song will go one way and then the main riff takes off in a different direction. Strangely, to me at least, the band released a lyric video for “Stronghold” which is a fine song in its own regard, but to my ears is one of the weaker songs on the album, so that being said, I would encourage listeners to definitely check some of the other tracks even though “Stronghold” does have a great guitar solo.
Many metal albums feature an anthem and Fury of Ages is no different in that regard with “Power. Metal. Glory.”, a song recounting a listener’s discovery of metal and how the impact of the music over a lifetime, one that many of us can relate. Fittingly, this song was the band’s first release from the album as it is fist raising material for sure, even if on the surface it seems a bit cheesy….
Inner Siege has certainly made us wait a long time between releases, nine years. During their time away the band has added a bit of maturity to their songcraft and retained the exceptional musicianship found on their debut release if not even improved on that. Fury of Ages shows that quality power metal is not a strictly European thing and can be found even in the Midwest US.
Written by John Jackson
Rating: 8/10
Tracklist
- Calling for Violence
- Reborn
- Firewind
- Virtuous Iniquity
- Echoes into Eternity
- World of Darkness
- Power, Metal, Glory
- Iron Lotus
- Stronghold
- Hero
- World on Fire
Release Date: 11th. June 2021
Record Label: Quram Records
Albums:
2012: “Kingdom of Shadows” (review)
2021: “Fury of Ages”
Band Members
Jeremy Ray – Vocals
Kevin Grose – Guitar
J.L. Prater – Guitar
Wade Helm – Drums
Ravn Furfjord – Bass
Weblinks: Facebook / Spotify / Twitter / Website
Lyric video for ‘Stronghold
