A SENSE OF CHANGE

My connection with Sieges Even was a bit of strange. Steps was the first one that came to my possession, but it didn't click with me at all (perhaps it's time to revisit it). Then it was Paramount which changed my opinion completely and then The Art of Navigating by the Stars cemented my belief that this band must be huge. A Sense of Change came next which left me with mixed feelings. How come? The music is unique, unusual, elevating, full of surprises and brilliant ideas. Consider, for instance, the title-track which is based purely on a string quartet that drips with emotion; the change of pace is marvellous to say the least. The metal elements are almost completely shedded (Life Cycle seems to be worlds away and not just three years before). The drumming of Alex Holzwarth is phenomenal and surely it is one of the highlights of the album. Sometimes Fates Warning came to my mind because of the extensively used arpeggiated chords (perhaps they overegged the pudding, if I was to point out a flaw in music). Then what went wrong according to my taste? It is the voice of Jogi Kaiser. When the music was recorded and it was time for Franz Herde to sing, it became obvious that his voice didn't fit anymore since the songs were more melodic and Franz couldn't meet their demands. Therefore he was replaced. Now, if up until Dimensions it isn't much of a nuisance to my ears, on this song there are some awful vocalese parts followed by an unparallel lyrical ending which is definitely among the best parts of music I have ever heard. On Prime these awful vocalese parts are still present and although "awful" and "Sieges Even" are words that don't go in the same sentence (except stringing them together as "awfully good"), well, this is how they sound to me. As far as I know, Oliver and Alex Holzwarth initially considered the option to ask from an American singer to take over, but although her voice was excellent, it was way too much on the soul side and the guys hesitated to take such a huge risk...perhaps they should have done so, but we'll never know.

Like most Sieges Even albums, I keep spinning it very often. I always check in if my taste over the vocals has shifted, but no. I firmly believe that if they sound all right to you, you may well discover a gem that you won't know how you lived so long without it. I'm not surprised seeing people awarding it 5 stars. But what they did next, was much more right up my alley.

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