UMUR "Playgrounds" is a live album release by German progressive metal act Sieges Even. The album was released through SPV Records/Inside Out Music in July 2008. It succeeds the release of the band´s seventh full-length studio album "Paramount" from September 2007. It was the last release by Sieges Even before they disbanded. They split-up in mid-2008, so they were probably already disbanded when "Playgrounds" was released.

The material featured on the album was recorded during the tour supporting the release of "Paramount" (2007), and the 10 song tracklist features no less than 5 tracks from the album. The remaining part of the tracklist comprise 3 tracks from "The Art of Navigating by the Stars" (2003) and 2 tracks from "A Sense of Change" (1991). So "Playgrounds" only features material from three out of the band´s seven full-length studio albums, and predominantly focuses on the last two studio releases. The show is incredibly well performed. All instrumental performances are brilliant and lead vocalist Arno Menses delivers his lines with great conviction and skill. It´s sometimes to a point where you´re in doubt if this was truly recorded live, but there are some audience noises here and there to make sure this sounds like an authentic live release. Menses also speaks to the audience on a few occassions, telling which song they are about the hear, making a joke about one of the songs being a hit in Lichenstein, because it sold 3 copies...etc.

The track selection works fine and there is a focused red thread throughout the show in terms of flow. While the tracks from the two preceding studio albums work well it is still nice to hear "The Waking Hours" and "These Empty Places" performed by this lineup of Sieges Even. I´m temped to say that these versions are better than the original studio versions. "Playgrounds" features an organic, powerful, and well sounding production, which suits the material perfectly, and upon conclusion it´s a high quality swansong release by Sieges Even. Hopefully one day I´ll be forced to revisit this review and delete the word "swansong". A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Paramount" is the seventh full-length studio album by German progressive metal act Sieges Even. The album was released through Inside Out Music in September 2007. It´s the successor to "The Art of Navigating by the Stars" from 2003 and features the same quartet lineup who recorded the predecessor. Sieges Even have existed in different lineups since 1985 albeit with a couple of longer hiatuses, but "Paramount" was the last full-length studio album released before their 2008 split-up. A split-up that has now lasted 14 years (this review was written in 2022). Guitarist Markus Steffen and lead vocalist Arno Menses went on to form Subsignal, while the Holzwarth brothers (Alex on drums and Oliver on bass) went on to work on several other projects and ultimately became permanent members of Rhapsody of Fire in 2011 (and are now working on other music projects).

The material on "Paramount" continue the melodic and dynamic progressive rock/metal style of "The Art of Navigating by the Stars" (2003), but it´s a slighly more accessible release featuring more memorable vocal melodies and choruses. It´s not necessarily a less progressive release, but it´s a little less complex and instantly catchy album than its direct predecessor. Menses carry a lot of weight here and his strong voice and passionate vocals give the music a lot of power and emotion. The many backing and harmony vocals are also quite a treat. Steffen has a subtle playing style which is often non-distorted and clear, but even when he plays distorted riffs there is a nice sophistication to his playing which isn´t completely unlike the playing of Jim Matheos (Fates Warning, Arch/Matheos, OSI). I also hear a lot of Rush influences in the music. The Holzwarth brothers of course also deserve a mention as they as always deliver a varied, technically complex, and clever performance. You couldn´t wish for a more skilled and classy rhythm section.

The songwriting is intriguing, varied, and dynamic, and although there is generally a melancholic atmosphere to the album, there´s also often an uplifting and light mood present in the music. The tracks appear one after one like pearls on a string until the two closing tracks, which are slightly different sounding. "Mounting Castles in the Blood Red Sky" is an atmospheric instrumental featuring voice samples from Martin Luther King´s "I have a Dream" speech, and the almost 9 minutes long title track which closes the album is one of the more progressive tracks on the album. Every single track on the album is however a high quality composition and although the album features 10 tracks and a total playing time of 61:46 minutes it never feels that long and when it ends I want more. That´s always a sure sign of greatness.

One other asset which deserves a mention is the clear, detailed, and powerful sounding production job. "Paramount" is an incredibly well produced release, where you can clearly hear all instruments and vocals in the mix. So upon conclusion "Paramount" is a high quality progressive rock/metal release. It´s subtle, sophisticated, and clever, and often leans a bit more towards progressive rock than metal, but it does pack a bit more punch a few times during the playing time, and as mentioned above it´s both a diverse and dynamic release. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "The Art of Navigating by the Stars" is the 6th full-length studio album by German progressive metal act Sieges Even. The album was released through InsideOut Records in September 2003. Sieges Even split-up after the release of "Uneven (1997)", so "The Art of Navigating by the Stars" is their first release in 6 years. The Holzwarth brothers Oliver (bass) and Alexander (drums) spend the time doing session work/touring with artists like Angra, Blind Guardian, and Rhapsody of Fire, but after reuniting with original Sieges Even guitarist Markus Steffen (who appeared on the first three albums by the band and left in 1992), and hiring new lead vocalist Arno Menses, a new band lineup was complete.

Stylistically the return of Steffen results in a sound which is closer in style to the mellow and thoughtful progressive metal of "A Sense of Change" (1991), than to the two succeeding energetic and bombastic jazz/fusion and funk influenced albums which didn´t feature Steffen. So in some ways "The Art of Navigating by the Stars" is a step back to some of the elements of their early 90s sound, but they´ve evolved too, and one of the features which has been scaled down is the use of distorted guitars. In fact most of the music on the album is more appropriately labelled progressive rock and not progressive metal. When the rare chugging distorted heavy metal guitar moment occur it´s actually the least interesting part of the music.

The music predominantly features non-distorted electric guitars, which are sophisticated in style, but still mellow and pleasent to listen to. The rhythm section are also more subtle playing than on the last couple of releases, and often have a light-jazzy/fusion touch to their delivery, although both bass and drums also play more harder edged and heavy parts. Use of unusual time signatures and the occasional complex instrumental part are still a part of the band´s music.Menses has a strong voice and a passionate delivery, and his vocal style is bit more "normal" than the preceding vocalists in the band. At times even leaning towards mid-range alternative rock vocal stylings. Choirs and vocal harmonies are often used.

After a short intro the remaining tracks on the album are part of one long thematically connected composition/lyrical concept. All tracks except the intro are titled "Sequence I-VIII)" and then a subtitle. The lyrics are philosophical in nature, but mostly a bit vague in terms of what they are actually about. Maybe a celebration of life/our world and how we deal with it as humans... There´s definitely a positivity flowing through the album though, and it´s not a dark and brooding listen, but instead an uplifting listening experience (with the occasionally more dark and melancholic moment).

"The Art of Navigating by the Stars" is a very well produced release. It´s interesting because the sound and production of the instruments and the vocals could easily have been featured on a harder edged metal album, but instead the metal production aesthetics are now heard on a predominantly much less heavy and more mellow sounding release. The sound is clear, powerful, and detailed, suiting the material perfectly. Upon conclusion this is a pretty unique sounding release. Probably not heavy enough for those coming to it from a heavy metal background, but maybe still too much rooted in progressive metal for the more regular progressive rock listener. Personally I find the songwriting lacking memorable hooks, and only a few tracks into the album, I´m starting to wonder if I´m still listening to the same song as the one I just heard (I´m aware the tracks are thematically connected, but there are still not enough hooks and variation between tracks). So compositionally I don´t think this is a perfect release, but it´s still very interesting because of how unique is sounds. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Uneven" is the 5th full-length studio album by German progressive metal act Sieges Even. The album was released through Under Siege Records in 1997. It´s the successor to "Sophisticated" from 1995 and adds keyboard player Börk Keller to the lineup. Other than the addition of Keller, the lineup remins the same as on "Sophisticated (1995)".

The stable lineup has resulted in a stable sound and style too, because the material on "Uneven" is a natural continuation of the music style on "Sophisticated (1995)". Highly energetic, funk/jazz/fusion infused technical/progressive metal with loads of melodic themes, and a distinct sounding lead vocalist in Jogi Kaiser, who sometimes sound like he is the singer in a funk band and other times like he is singing on a Broadway musical. He´s got a great range, a powerful and distinct sounding voice, but his delivery is pretty surely an aquired taste.

The technical playing is through the roof on "Uneven" and the skillful and varied playing is one of the great assets of the album. The Holzwarth brothers Oliver (bass) and Alexander (drums) play some extremely challenging rhythms and bass lines, while guitarist Wolfgang Zenk constantly shows virtuosic playing and his great knowledge in many different musical styles. He can play neo-classical influenced power metal riffs and melodies one minute and the next rhythmically challenging funk riffs, and then the next moment intriguing melodic guitar solos and progressive metal complexities. That man is a genius on a guitar. As far as I know the two Sieges Even albums are unfortunately the only metal oriented releases he appears on.

"Uneven" is an album for the adventurous and open minded progressive metal listeners. It would be the last Sieges Even album featuring this lineup and this style before the band split-up in 1997. Upon their return in 2003 the lineup was different and the music style changed with the new members (one of them a returning Markus Steffen on guitars). Both "Sophisticated (1995)" and "Uneven" are quite unique sounding technical/progressive metal releases and while Sieges Even have certainly made other great albums, that´s the period in the band´s career, they released their most distinct sounding and unique material. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Sophisticated" is the 4th full-length studio album by German progressive metal act Sieges Even. The album was released through Under Siege Records in October 1995. It´s the successor to "A Sense of Change" from 1991 and features two lineup changes since the predecessor as guitarist Markus Steffen has been replaced by Wolfgang Zenk and lead vocalist Jogi Kaiser has been replaced by Greg Keller. The remaining members of the lineup who recorded "A Sense of Change (1991)" are the Holzwarth brothers Oliver and Alexander on bass and drums respectively.

Sieges Even started out being a Watchtower clone and later they were heavily influenced by Fates Warning, but on "Sophisticated", they finally found an original sound. Most of the material on the album are in a highly energetic and very complex technical/progressive metal style, greatly influenced by both funk and jazz/fusion. Keller has a rather distinct sounding voice and vocal style, and sometimes the vocals and vocal melodies are pretty paatos filled and close to sounding like something out of a Broadway musical and other times like they belong on a German speed/power metal album.

So needless to say, that "Sophisticated" is a very eclectic release, featuring a skilled band incorporating many different musical elements and playing styles to their music. The album features one jaw-dropping technical playing moment after another, and it´s not an album with much room to breathe (and that goes for both the listener and the band themselves). There are melodic moments on the album and a track like "Dreamer" is even very melodic in style, but Sieges Even always make sure that even the most accessible elements/moments of the music is paired with some crazy technical playing.

While the main elements of the band´s sound are vocals, guitar, bass, and drums, there are also quite a few keyboards on the album, which often provide the tracks with an extra musical dimension. The keyboards are played by two of the most prolific musicians/producers of the German metal scene in Sascha Paeth and Miro. "Sophisticated" was recorded at Kai Hansen Studio, Hamburg and C.C.C. Studio, Bräuningshof, between May and June 95, with producer/engineer Charlie Bauerfeind (another German legend), and the sound production is massive, powerful, and detailed. When the album opens with "Reporter", it´s almost impossible not to by blown away by the powerful sound of the album and the high energy of the music.

Upon conclusion this is a monster of a funky, fusion influenced, technical/progressive metal album and I don´t think I´ve ever heard anything quite like it (not then, not since). It´s not a perfect release, and there are some points of critique which drag my rating down a bit, like Keller´s thick German accent, which isn´t always that pleasing on the ear, and his voice and singing style are probably also both an aquired taste, but when all is said an done, "Sophisticated" is still one of the most interesting and unique sounding technical/progressive metal releases out there, and if you´re looking for something truly progressive and different metal, this wouldn´t be a bad place to start. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.