The German progressive metal band Sieges Even has a long history, having formed back in the mid 1980s. There was an eight year gap in studio albums as there were lineup changes and band members explored other projects. A few years ago original members Markus Steffen (guitar) along with brothers Oliver (bass) and Alex (drums) Holzworth teamed up with vocalist Arno Menses, and that version of Sieges Even has released a couple of CDs.
Playgrounds is a live CD. Eight out of the ten songs are from Sieges Even's last two albums: 2007's
Paramount and 2005's
The Art Of Navigating By The Stars. That's when Menses joined the band, so it makes sense the majority of the tracks are from those CDs, although it would have been nice to have more of a career spanning collection. The other two songs are from 1991's
A Sense Of Change. The audio quality is great, effectively capturing Sieges Even's style of prog, which runs the gamut from trippy and mellow to loud and intense. They embrace elements of both the metal and rock sides of progressive, sometimes playing in the vein of groups like Dream Theater, and other times sounding more like Rush. It's always complex, but they are able to make it compelling instead of self-indulgent.
It's easy to forget that Playgrounds is a live CD. The production is crystal clear, and the crowd noise is way in the background, and usually only audible at the end of songs. If you're a fan of Sieges Even, you'll want to add this one to your collection, and prog fans will find this a good place to start exploring the band.
(released July 29, 2008 on Inside Out Music)
