LIFECYCLE

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.