Sieges Even

Paramount is one of my favorite prog albums of all time. Owing more to progressive rock than progressive metal, the album is beautiful and moving from start to finish. The clean (distortion free), picked guitar parts are unbelievable. The music as a whole is outstanding, but SE creates such satisfying moods when they are melding the clean guitar with the delicate vocals of Arno Menses. As one reviewer pointed out, Paramount has a few songs that talk about God/Jesus/spirituality. I don't see things the way they do, but the lyrics don't in any way take away from the music. In fact, they couldn't. Menses could be reading from a phone book and the album would still be brilliant. If you like most any prog rock, you will probably find much on this album to enjoy.

If you like slick tight production , soaring vocals , atmospheric soundscapes and crunchy guitars you will probably love this. These are meaningful and well thought out lyrics about something that is obviously very important to them ( and me as well). If you are one of those people that are anti religion though you should probably steer clear of this one and find some other form of release.

Sieges Even is another group that I came across, like Fair to Midland through the internet. Another top notch album with all the progressive elements that shine throughout. I can't think of anything here on this album that would be negative. I think their current singer has really picked up where the last one left off. I listened to some samples from older albums and I just prefer their current singer and the music is awesome also. You will not be disappointed if you pick this up looking for a progressive album with great sound scapes and multi-part themed songs which is very typical of progressive music. Great job guys.

This is "Christian" music. Yet nowhere is this indubitable fact advertised. Which in my experience is typical of 21st Century "Christians": they shroud their "Christianity" behind an appealing or "edgy" veil, in this instance "prog rock" and "metal." However, the veil is patently false. And therefore this makes Sieges Even no different from any other thumper I have ever come across. At best they are poseurs and, at worst, hypocrites. Buyer beware; don't buy Sieges Even unless you either are a thumper already or attend a megachurch.

This album is even better than The Art Of Navigating the Stars. These guys improve every time out. I hope that they tour north America this year.

I purchased their second album with the new vocalist prior to this one, and the changes between the two almost strike of a whole new rhythm line up, but that is not the case. Unlike many when I purchase a CD and find something I like, seldom do I hope for the same thing all over, and Sieges Even everything. There are several bands their sound can be associated with, although I am not going to pigeon-hole them, what I will do is tell you that if you like well thought out creativity and the demo's offered by Amazon, you will like this entire CD. I have no idea what they sounded like prior to Arno Menses arrival, but with the core being largely the same I am willing to find out. One of musics pleasant surprises is discovering a band that is new to you, that they have a fairly extensive catalog, and you don't have to wait a year or more to hear something new. If you are a fan of German rock (Rammstein, Megaherz, Die toten Hosen, Scorpions, etc), don't go looking at Sieges Even for they do not sound foreign (accent, tempo).

I know these guys have been around for a while, but this is the first album I have purchased by them. I am not even totally sure where they are from although I think from Germany. This is a disc that had to grow on me. At first I found it rather generic and reminded me a lot of Enchant. Upon additional listens I came to enjoy the disc a lot more, especially the last third of it. The band is fairly typical of the Inside Out label, solid mainstream progressive rock that occasionally borders on metal. Instrumentally the band is solid and vocally they use a lot of harmonies to get their point across. I have also seen them compared to Riverside and indeed there are some similarities. This is a very nice album that I think would appeal to fans of other Inside Out label artists.

Intelligently crafted, symphonic music. Some of the tunes are a bit mellow, but overall the disc is excellent. The first few songs are the best, with powerful vocals and hook-laden tunes.

This album is very good. The thing, for me at least, that keeps it from being great is that the band has not quite mastered the english language. While the musicianship is 5 star, the lyrics need a little work. Still though the band is excellent and the slightly imperfect phrasing has not stopped me from ordering their next album "Paramount", which is due out Oct. 9, 2007.

I listen to a lot of prog and have for over 20 years. This CD was in my car player for abour 3 months and I have probably listened to it over 20 times. The first thing that I noticed was that the vocals and lead guitar are heavily overprocessed with gobs and gobs of "chorus" effect - and not always tastefully so. It is applied liberally to everything on every song. Bands that overprocess generally are trying to compensate for something. The main theme of the album is just ok, and it gets repeated until you think you are just hearing the same song over and over. The songwriting and composition of the music to me seems uninspired and often appears forced with deliberate complexity that just doesn't flow naturally. It's good prog rock but not the sort of thing I will have in my favorites list or listen to again down the road.

If you're not familiar with Sieges Even then this might be a great place to start. Basically this live cd would be a snapshot of their latest 2 cd's plus 2 tracks from their cd 'A Sense of Change'. I will agree with the other reviewer here that I enjoy their current lead singer much better over their previous singer. I kind of tapped into Sieges Even with The Art of Navigating by the Stars and have been hooked since. I've listened to some sound clips from their previous albums, but none can compare to their latest two studio efforts. Arno Menses gives the band their latest and best sound. If you love progressive, but love the lush harmonies as I do, then check these guys out and then pursue their latest two albums - Paramount and The Art of Navigating by the Stars.

First, I'll say that I'm an avid fan of the new vocalist for Sieges Even; their last two albums have been brilliant, 5-star expose's for prog rock. Their early stuff is a bit... different, but still listenable and interesting.

So, being that this live album is mostly composed of their newer stuff, I was pretty excited to hear it - and it does not disappoint. The musicianship is top-notch, although music of this complexity really lends itself better to a studio setting; however, I will say that hearing the bass as up-front in the mix as it is brings a whole new dimension to the music that I hadn't really appreciated before.

The only real distraction is the layering of the vocals. One of my favorite things about the The Art of Navigating by the Stars and Paramount was the lush vocal harmonies; the harmonies are still mostly present, but they are much quieter than the lead vocals, which gives them less impact on the listening as a whole. Also, the lead singer chooses some strange vocal lines occassionally out of the density of the harmony, although that's really just my opinion. And, of course, his stage presence leaves a little to be desired...

Overall, this is a welcome entry into the Sieges Even catalog, and shows that they can pull off their amazing (and complex!) songs quite well in a live setting. It was also nice to hear a couple of the older numbers with updated vocals, as the previous vocalist was really kind of a distraction in how strange he sounded (and chose to sing things!). If you like the last two CD's, I would definitely recommend giving this a listen (if you like live albums, that is). It doesn't really add much to the songs hearing them live, but the bass and old numbers are worth hearing here.

I bought this CD based on the numerous 5 star reviews I read here. All I can say is, it didn't strike me the way it struck those other reviewers. I enjoy Rush, Fates Warning and Queensryche - as so many reviewers drew parallels to these bands. Are there similarities - yes, but I'll take the originals over Sieges Even pretty much any day.

There's talent here - no question about the musicianship of the members of this band, but for the song construction - it wanders and is littered with 'noodling' and constant tempo and key changes that after a while, just flat out became irritating. It seemed that just when a song began to coalesce, some needless key change, or irritating noodle would mess the composition up. I got sick of it. It seemed that there were constant changes just for that reason - no intrinsic value at all.

Quite frankly, if you want to buy this CD, I'll be selling mine on Amazon Marketplace pretty soon - cheap -.

This CD was just plain irritating.

Sieges Even 'A Sense of Change' is an absolute progressive Tour de Force of a recording. In what ranks in one of my top 5 favorite progressive metal CDs I've ever heard, this mid-period recording from the German quartet will take you from the highly complex to the extremely melodic and everything else in between. The song writing is superb, the musicians are top-notch and the production is absolutely crystal clear. Those looking to whet their "metal" roots will not find that characteristic here. Instead, this recording contains more of a fusion or lighter-mood approach, mainly led by the ala'-Alex-Lifeson (Rush) sound & brilliant arpeggio guitar work of axeman, Markus Steffen. And as a fellow drummer, I can't think of a better musical and "part-oriented" drummer as Alex Holzswarth (outside of Mark Zonder from Fates Warning). Jogi Kaiser, vocalist, creates plentiful melodies that still causes the "chill machine" to kick in when I listen to the CD (which makes me wonder why he wasn't used on any other future Sieges Even recordings). For those looking for the complex arrangements (with great melodic structure as well), try tracks such as "The Waking Hours," "Behind Closed Doors," and "Prime." And for a journey through the light orchestral quartet sounds, try the poignant "Change of Seasons" (wow, those lyrics KILL me!).

But, what would a review be without some warning shots fired, right!? I must admit, when I first listened to this CD, I was a bit irritated by the little extra musical "tags" put at the end of every phrase. The songs are very busy and loaded with constant changes, but what completely outweighs those would-be-negative characteristics is the presence of great SONG underneath all the "fluff" in every track. Each tune has a memorable chorus, great lyrics with excellent melodies and very creative/melodic musical parts as well, despite all the busy part-writing. It's a tough listen at first, but when it hits, it knocks you over like a ton of bricks. And to support some critical ears out there, this recording is blatently reminiscent of Rush in all it's glory (especially Steffen's obvious similar style & sound to Alex Lifeson). However, if you can see past the extreme similarities (OK, some may say EXACT similarities), you'll hopefully become settled with the fact that this is where Rush SHOULD be today from a song-writing/compositional perspective. Even with the comparisons, Sieges has a style all their own and a song-writing strength to convince even the nay-sayer of progressive metal! Go out and get this NOW!

With A Sense Of Change Sieges Even created their masterpiece.The songs feature a lot of technical playing by the guitarist of SE,as well as a very solid rythm section by the Holzwarth brothers. However the singer of the band really makes the difference and gives the band a really artistic air. He later left the band to study opera but in this album his contribution is evident. Thus the orchestrations of the songs have an undeniable edge and the two songs in which a string quartet plays too are diamonds. Add to this the other songs too and you've got a winner

This album with their previous album steps is excellent music along the very best of rush circa 1976. Their vocalists are horrible but it is still worth listening.

Back in 1991, Sieges Even, a Progrock/metal band from Germany, made a perfect album. If you're a fan of progressive bands such as Fates Warning or Rush, you should get this album, it's really an essential album. The musicianship is executed perfectly and the singer fits to this kind of music just nicely. Jogi Kaiser (The Singer) really has THE voice, the range to impress you with every listening. He also does some amazing tricks with his voice. The drummer also shines here, his style is HIGHLY progressive and insane at times. I haven't heard this complex yet acceptable drumming ever. 'A Sense Of Change' is one of those albums which gives you something new everytime you listen to it. Highly recommended.

Imagine Rush collaborating with Watchtower and releases an album, only much more complex and technical than they usually are. That's how "Steps" are best described. This is Sieges Even at their most technical, difficult and intericate, but extremely rewarding at the same time. This release is harder to like than most of their other albums but if you're ready for a challenge, and if you liked their "A Sense of Change" album, you should be able to swallow this one well. The only flaw here is Frans Herde's voice, which is fairly bad, but if you ignore that, you'll soon be swallowed in 55 minutes of pure brilliance. An acquired taste for many but fans of this band will love it!

Steps is Sieges Even's sophomore album and essentially the next step in the evolution of their sound. At this stage the music is not very accessible at all and the vocalist has a style that is an acquired taste at best. Later this band would come around to stronger songwriting and arrangements but for now the focus is on chops - a lot of them. The songs have a somewhat dissonant air and there are fills aplenty. The drummer and bassist keep the rhythm section tight and technical, and the album has many peak moments. I think it's a great album, but fans of their later material may be caught off-guard by it.