Track By Tracks: Under Siege - Under Siege (2018)

1. Blàr Allt Nam Bànag:

Blàr Allt Nam Bànag (the battle of Bannockburn in ancient gaelic) was the first track we wrote down. The bagpipes intro seemed the perfect opening for the album and for our live show as well. The song celebrates one of the most important victories of the Scottish army over the English. Epic and triumphant parts are counterbalanced by slower passages through which we wanted to recreate the dramatic tension of the battle. Everything is structured to be the perfect framework for the lyrics which required most attention and research.

2. Warrior I Am:

In “Warrior I Am” we tried to mix an epic attitude, folk elements and a solid, aggressive sound. The basic idea of the arrangement was to create an ibrid between classic heavy metal and melodic death, using both electric and acoustic guitars, choirs and vocal harmonizations. Its an hymn to the battle, straight and pure: a call to the inner warrior living inside all of us to face the challenges in our life. Taking no prisoners.

3. Time For Revenge:

Time for revenge just push down on the gas pedal. The track, in its style and purpose, is close to Swedish melodeath. Fast drum patterns and rushing guitar riffs take the lead and accelerates the song. The music grows increasingly intense, along with the growling voice until the chorus.  It is the most technical and grinding track of the album. It expresses the desire for revenge born inside who saw his childhood being destroyed and drag away. His home, his family and everything is precious in one’s life. It is not just fiction: the same things happen nowadays everywhere in the world and not just litterally. Modern society, false ideals and idols, our alienating technology destroy what should be the spring of the new generations life, the greenest age.

4. Beyond the Mountains:

Beyond the Mountains is a tribute to classic scandinavian viking metal, and specifically to the great and unforgettable Quorthon. It is an atmospheric track, lilting and obsessively dark. It is meant to warn people from unknown perils hidden and waiting for the incautious. We are living in the age of over-communication: people knows everything, or at least they think they do. There is no place for immagination, no room left for the fantasy. But not so long ago, the unknown was the creadle nurturing whispers, myths and legends. Ignorance made them grow and, finally, made them just real.

5. Invaders:

Invaders represents, as long with Beyond the Mountains, the darkest side of the album. It stands between trash and death metal: the verses roll brutally, through a violent bridge, until the melodic chorus opens up. In the finale the same chorus is sustained by powerful and epic vocal harmonizations. The lyrics describe a fictional vengeful invasion: pagan peoples taking retribution on the christian world which subjugated them.

6. Sotto Assedio:

Sotto Assedio (the italian words for “Under Siege) is another battle hymn, in our own language. A sharp guitar riff is the prominent element structuring the verse. Here the voice leaves a more technical growling stance and turns into an istinctual and dirty scream. A bridge resembling the classical heavy metal culminates in a powerful chorus, almost a stadium chant. It is our musical banner, describing the siege we all face and the rebellion against what oppress us. Against a morbid and corrupt society that enslaves our spirits. The only possible reaction is to wake up and realize we have to fight to take back the values and the freedom we’ve been deprived of.

7. One To Us:

The bagpipe emerges again as one of our characteristic features. It rises, in the opening of the song unveiling one of the most suggestive tracks of the album. It mixes the different compositive souls which already showed up in the other songs: folk, classic heavy, melodeath. One to us represents our intentions as a metal band, with accurate orchestrations, aggressive voices, engaging rythms and catchy melodies. It is a toast to ourselves, to everyone standing in front of the stage with their horns in the air, and to the memory of the brothers who are no longer with us.

8. Bright Star of Midnight:

The album ends with this acoustic ballad. Harps, winds, stirngs and several vocal and acustic guitar’s lines. It is the most evocative song we wrote. It echoes Blind Guardian’s 90’s albums or the first works by Ensiferum. We tried to exalt the central theme that is the structural pillar of the song. It is almost a bonus track. A lullaby, a spark of peace after the war. It is the prayer of a people lost over the course of a journey.  A cry for a guide elightening the path asking for blessing and protection. Maybe, something all of us need.