Sieges Even Germany
"Sieges Even's second album is a somewhat bold step forwards from their Watchtower-ish debut, "Steps" is much more unique, melodic and sophisticated, sounding very much like Rush in the gutar tone but with the incredible technical skills of Watchtower mixed together. Another difference is that this album rarely has any "metallic" moments except a few harder notes on the guitar and the bass, but otherwise it's fairly calm. The arrangements are jarringly complex; I do not lie if I say that "Steps" is one of the most complex and intricate albums in the prog-metal genre. The epic opener, "Tangerine Windows of Solace" alone is stuffed with odd (and I mean ODD) time signatures and weird musical breaks, yet shows structure, focus and variation, a very challenging listen overall though and definitely not very accissible for many. The other songs are similar, only shorter but still filled with incredible complexity and very progressive and varied melodies. Sometimes they're not as focused and creative as the opening epic though, but that's only one of the two things that is weak about "Steps". The other thing is vocalist Frans Herdes' vocals which is an acquired taste for almost all who have listened to this album; he sounds like a poorer version of Bruce Dickingson from Iron Maiden and does not handle all notes so well that he should. I think he's OK though but I think the album would have been much better if Jogi Kaiser (the vocalist on their "A Sense of Change" album) should take care of the vocals here instead. The musicianship is brilliant; the Holzwarth brothers again shows their huge talents on their instruments and they both masters this über-complex music perfectly. Notably Olvier Holzwarth does a mighty impressive job on bass and stands out as one of the finest bassist I've heard in a while. Markus Steffen's guitar playing is incredible as well and has a very unique guitar style. His work here is some of the best he's done with the band if you ask me! All three works wonderfully together and theres never any troubles technically here. Overall, this might not be the best Sieges Even album to start with though it defines their highly unique style well. "A Sense of Change" is a much better introduction since it's easier to "get" musically. If you like/love that one, you'll definitely find much to enjoy in this one. "Steps" deserves a 4.5 star rating from me!"
"Very promising but somewhat obscure debut by Sieges Even but it really shows this band's talents well with technically top-notch performances and solid song writing. The similarities with Watchtower are obvious yet they manage to mark their own sound well and avoid many of the clichés often used in the 80's progressive metal scene but not all. Technically speaking the band surely knows how to handle their instruments well and the music get's very complex at times though it rarely goes truly overboard and the band knows when to calm down in time. As mentioned this album sounds a lot like something Watchtower could have recorded only that "Life Cycles" has a more epic feeling to it plus being a tad more progressive and varied. The instrumentation is wonderful and the Holzwarth brothers are one of the finest rhythm sections in prog-metal and Markus Steffen's guitar playing is splendid throughout the album with a very raw and Watchtower-ish guitar tone without forgetting to add some acoustic parts at some places too.
However, there are flaws here too. Franz Herde's vocals might be an acquired taste for many. While is voice is fine sometimes but he can go a bit overboard during some parts making his voice sound a bit weird and not that great. Another flaw is the production, while it's pretty good it's lacks balance and the overall result sound a bit sandwiched together at times, but in general it doesn't bother me that much. In sum this is a great though sadly overlooked early tech-metal album with a few dominating flaws but excellent stuff overall. Unfortunately, Sieges Even's earlier albums are very hard to find but the best Internet record stores might have them so look out for them. Very recommended for Watchtower and tech-metal fans especially, and Sieges Even fans who haven't heard this one should definitely pick it up too. It might not be the best starting point for newcomers to this band, I'd recommend you to get "A Sense of Change" before this one but otherwise check this one out."
"As the dawn of the 90's appeared, Sieges Even releases their third release "A Sense of Change", a fitting title considering that this work is notably different from their first two ones. It's a rather melodic album and has a far more laid back and comfortable style to it, still, it carries a lot of Watchtower and Rush influences, but in a more melodic vein than Rush and a less chaotic and more emotional vein than Watchtower. It has some really tricky moments, there's lot's of complex time-signatures here, but the band masters them with great control and all of the songs has such a well performed and arranged style and the band glides through the music as a knife in warm butter, showing that these guys really can play, extremely well too! Jogi Kaisers vocals are excellent as well and he fits into the band well.
It's excellently produced, the sound quality is clear and the instruments are perfectly balanced. Together with the excellent music, this gives the album a unique mood to it. It's hard for me trying to find some weak moments here, the only one possibly being "Change of Seasons", a pure classical track supported with an acoustic guitar. It's a very good track, though I like the rest much better.
In sum: A unique and superb release, recommended to anyone who likes complexity in their music with great control, melodic and diverse songs backed up with flawless playing and great production. One of my finest discoveries in a long time!"
"One of my favorite progressive metal albums. This is a very challenging album. Nothing about this album is easy to like. Vocals take some time to get used to, song structures are really weird, time signatures are all over the place and melodies hard to locate (the album itself is impossible to locate). BUT, if you can find light at the end of the tunnel, it's one of the most rewarding albums. Unfortunately, if you don't already own the album, you'll have almost no chance of buying it. I have it on mp3, and at least once a week, I check the German and US ebays to see if it shows up. I've never seen it available to buy anywhere. Hopefully, the band's new label will buy the rights to the album and re-release it, but I'm not going to hold my breath... Anyway, I suggest that you get your hands on it by any means available. It's fresh, original, solid, optimistic metal!"
"I really wanted to like this album, but maybe I was searching a little too hard for the old Sieges Even. Sieges Even had created a very distinct sound on Sophisticated, but as the band admits on their website, they are almost nothing of the band that they were before. Personally, I found many of the lyrics cliched and overdone. The music sounds closer to CCM than metal. Musically, it is good, but not innovative. I can understand why a good number of people might like this album, but it just didn't manage to spark my interest."
"OMG do I these vocals.
Now with that out of the way: It's a really nice album musically, very diverse and not really metal in the original sense of the word. There are lengthy passages which are dominated by acoustic guitars and/or slightly distorted electric guitars, the overall sound during the non-acoustic parts reminds me much of early Enchant, although this album is much more quirky and technical.
About the vocals: The singer is simply trying too much to be creative and experimental ... in this case less would definitely have been more."
