UNDER SEIGE “Under Seige”

Self Released, 2018

Music: Melodic Death Metal / Folk Metal

Website: https://m.facebook.com/undersiegemetal

Duration: 37:00 minutes (tracks)

Country: Italy

Melodic Death Metal has been around for a while and Swedish death metal scene contributed majority of the stellar albums. Even though it mostly pictured to be a genre that is by far the most stereotypical and unoriginal, we do have some bands that try to produce euphony through Folk elements and later on blending them along with the ferocity of Death Metal. This experimentation has both good and bad sides. The good part is that the sound that this experimentation makes is less stereotypical, yet the badder side being the lack of punchy elements to make an album memorable.

Hoping for the brighter aspects of this experimentation, I got into the Italian Melodic Death Metal band, Under Seige’s debut record, Under Seige(Yes, a self titled album). After a six minute intro track which was insanely catchy the next thing to hit the track-list is The Warrior which has a beautifully executed intro which transits in to the typical singalong vocals. The album as a whole has a splendid track listing starting from The Warrior to the perfect Trifecta outro tracks, Sotto Asedio, One to Us and Bright Star of Midnight.

If we look close to the said outro tracks starting with Sotto Asedio, which is a 4 minute banger which starts with a heavy riff accompanied with a little Melodic touch. Moving on, we have One To Us, which in my opinion is the best track on the album. Why??, Well the intro captures your interest and the part that follows it keeps you  hooked. I’m not going to spoil your surprise by explaining this particular track instead I’m gonna go through the last track. Bright Star of Midnight is a track that adds an extra oomph for the album. A perfectly executed ballad that not only is melodic but also show a small teaser trailer kinda thing on what to expect from them next time.

Overall, I pretty enjoyed the album. There is nothing bad about the album. The album doesn’t lack anything except for the tracklisting. If only the last three tracks where distributed evenly as the first mid and ballad as the last one, one might sit through the album a lot of times. For me, this album is definitely worth sitting through for about 5 times or something. That being said, Under Seige just made a spot for themselves as one among the finest new and upcoming Italian band.

Line-up:

Paolo Giuliani – Bagpipes, Vocals
Livio Calabresi – Bass, Vocals (backing)
Marzio Monticelli – Drums
GianLuca Fiorentini – Guitars
Daniele Mosca:- Guitars, Vocals (backing)

Tracklist:

1.  Blàr Allt nam Bànag
2. Warrior I Am
3. Time for Revenge
4. Beyond the Mountains
5. Invaders
6. Underbed siege
7. One to Us
8. Bright Star of Midnight

Rate: 9.0/10