Playgrounds | 
 enlarge | Artist: Sieges Even
Label: Inside Out Music / SPV
Category: Music
List Price: $16.98
Buy New: $11.52
You Save: $5.46 (32%)
New (35) Used (5) from $11.52
Rating:  2 reviews
Sales Rank: 57077
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 4.9 x 0.4
MPN: 79842
UPC: 693723798424
EAN: 0693723798424
ASIN: B0018ETW0G
Release Date: July 29, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: BRAND NEW Factory Sealed - Ready to be shipped within 24 hrs from California - Average 5 workdays delivery time - Excellent customer service - Buy with confidence!
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| Tracks:
| • | When Alpha And Omega Collide | | • | Tidal | | • | Unbreakable | | • | The Waking Hours | | • | Iconic | | • | These Empty Places | | • | Duende | | • | Paramount | | • | The Lonely Views Of Condors | | • | The Weight |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
The first ever live album of Sieges Even is a perfect sampling of their musical work over the years, starting with the legendary When Alpha And Omega Collide in a unique live atmosphere. The focus is on the tracks that appeared on the two latest studio albums The Art Of Navigating By The Stars and Paramount . The feature on these tracks being vocalist Arno Menses, who joined Sieges Even three years ago and has been at the epicentre of this perfectly measured soundquake ever since. Together with Oliver and Alex Holzwarth (bass and drums), Steffen and Menses have concentrated on the essence of their talent more than ever before. Playgrounds consists of ten live songs that take the listener on an adventurous journey, setting free a diversity of emotions, and evoking the spirit of the bands live performance.
"Playgrounds" is a unique live document of the band s music and proves that SIEGES EVEN are among Germany s elite when it comes to progressive influenced rock.
Album Description
Sieges Even are considered an institution on the German progressive rock music scene by critics, colleagues and fans alike - four musicians who present ambitioned performances and musical enthusiasm to satisfy even extremely demanding standards. Their latest release, Playgrounds, is Sieges Even's very first live album and offers fascinating insights into the creative output of this exceptional band, having captured gems such as the ingenious 'When Alpha And Omega Collide' and 'The Waking Hours' in a unique live atmosphere. The selection of songs focuses on their two most recent studio albums, 'The Art Of Navigating By The Stars' and 'Paramount', which saw the group's charismatic vocalist Arno Menses deliver impressive proof of his skills, supported by Markus Steffen (guitar), Oliver Holzwarth (bass) and Alex Holzwarth (drums) - three true-to-the-bone musicians who know how to impress their audience at all times. Especially the Holzwarth brothers' rhythm section is a real eye-catcher live. Their occasionally acrobatic stage performance and tongue-in-cheek gestures have their audience marvel and smile, making every Sieges Even show an entertaining occasion.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Lush Harmonies Live August 11, 2008
Glenn O. Kirms (Anywhere, USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
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.
 Solid live album, somewhat lost in translation July 30, 2008
Scrotor
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.
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