Year : 2020
Style : Melodic Progressive Metal
Country : Greece
Audio : 320 kbps + scans
Size : 125 mb
Bio:
Fortress Under Siege was formed back in 1992 by Fotis Sotirpoulos (guitars) and John Vasilakis (guitars) after the split up of the traditional heavy metal band Gladiators. With the addition of Michael Smeros on vocals, Nick Dedes on drums and guest musician Aris Matheakakis on bass, in December 1996 the guys released their debut, a self-titled mini CD, that had a great impact at that time and still considered to be one of the best progressive power metal releases from a Greek band. In the meantime, Vangelis Hatziandreou (bass) and George Georgiou (keyboards) had joined the band and therefore started promoting their new release with live performances but unexpectedly the band split up on 1998. Although inactive as a band since then, Fortress Under Siege continued composing and finally reunited on 2010. On July 1, 2011 their full-length debut album "The Mortal Flesh Of Love" was released through Metal Mad Music. 2012 found the band alive and kicking, trying to book as many shows as possible with pre-production for a second album having just started, but suddenly, on December 2012 Michael Smeros left the band. Immediately Alex 'Hannibal' Balakakis (ex-Spitfire) took his place as the band's new singer and started working with the rest of the band on preparing their sophomore album. On October 10, 2014, Steel Gallery Records announced contract deal with the band in releasing "Phoenix Rising" on December 15, 2014. The period from 2015 to 2020 was marked by several successes like being chosen as main support on mighty Accept Athenian gig in May 2015 and headlining the Hermoupolis Indie Rock Festival and Athens Wreck Festival in 2016, efforts to find the right person to handle the vocals after Alex departure and a decision to have Tasos Lazaris as a second guitarist on their arsenal. Overcoming all drawbacks, Fortress Under Siege entered Devasoundz Studios, Athens Greece, with producer Fotis Benardo and although the tough decision to replace the singer Mike Livas almost at the end of the recordings and record all vocals right from the beginning had to be taken, the band manage to deliver the heaviest album of its history. On this album, entitled "Atlantis", Tasos Lazaris shifted from guitars to vocals while Themis Gourlis will be the band's new rhythm guitarist. "Atlantis" will be released by Rock Of Angels Records. The lyrical power prog metal adventure continues ...
Album:
Hailing from Athens, Greece, FORTRESS UNDER SIEGE is a Prog/Power Metal band formed in the mid-1990s and still going strong today. “Atlantis” is their latest offering, dropping October 9, 2020 via Rock Of Angels Records. Incorporating two guitars and a keyboard, they bring a little extra to the prog arena. Many of the 80s and 90s Prog Rockers either used two guitars and “hidden” keyboards or one guitar and heavy keyboards (often with layered guitars). These guys are honest about the size of their sound.“Atlantis”, the title track, uses coordinated guitars bits with an ethereal undertone from the keyboards. The guitars stay in sync for much of the song, not trying to venture out and create melodic harmonies. Even the runs are coordinated. The drum fills are the highlight of this song for me. They stand out without overpowering the sing. I like the sound of this. Straight-forward, no frills, closer to the power metal end of things.“Silence Of Our Words” starts with a catchy bass line. The vocals tend towards the more ethereal at the beginning, but get more power oriented later. Here, you get the guitars doing a little more counterpart in their sounds. Not true competing solos like many dual guitar bands, but still adding to the complexity of the arrangement. “Seventh Son” is another really good example of the guitars playing both together and apart. With a few interesting tempo shifts and transitions, this is a really solid Power Metal song.There are two short instrumentals on the disc, “Holding A Breath” and “Lethe”. Both are slow paced tunes that feature the guitars prominently working together, one acoustic and the other electric, playing different melodies, tied together by the bass and keyboards. Neither feature speed of power elements, nor do they have time for a typical prog metal shift of gears. Instead, they give the listener a little break between the songs they separate. A nice interlude to catch your breath before the next run.“Time For Rage” and “The Road Unknown” bring the album to a slightly more Progressive Metal end. Working in the Power realm, but showing off the Prog chops, this is a fitting end to a record that has a wide variety of tempos and themes. This is one of the songs that has a better example of the lead guitar taking going solo. Most of the songs has the lead staying close to the rhythm, but this one moves away and plays more into the limelight. Both methods work for this band.The guitarists are definitely familiar with the others style of play and they can work in tandem or individually. The drummer knows how to fill in when needed and when to just pace the band. The bassist is solid. You hear him, but he isn’t trying to run the show. Keyboards can go lead or hide underneath and just influence the overall sound. These are the marks of a good mix of instruments and personnel. FORTRESS UNDER SIEGE is a band that is composed of talent both at musicianship and song writing. I definitely recommend giving this a listen.
Line-Up:
Tasos Lazaris - Vocals (2019-present) - See also: Erase, Hyperfuel, Sidë Effects, Ghost Season
Georgios Georgiou - Keyboards - See also: Harry Loisios, InnerWish
Fotis Sotiropoulos - Guitars (1994-present) - See also: ex-Gladiators, ex-Mindcrime Empire
Dimitris Kapoukakis - Drums (2014-present) - See also: Sunlight, ex-Floating Worlds, ex-Mute Tale, ex-Heart Attack, ex-Mindcrime Empire
Alex Stavrakas - Bass (2015-present) - See also: ex-Guardian Angel, Gary Moore Greek Live tribute, Maidenance, ex-Karmic Link, ex-Night Shadows, ex-Vorphalack, ex-Billy Merziotis & After Hours, ex-Customize!, ex-Evil Monkey, ex-Mindcrime Empire, ex-Rosebud, ex-Wild Card, ex-Αντώνης Δανέζης & Μπακ-Ράουντ, ex-Μέθεξις
Themis Gourlis - Guitars (2019-present) - See also: ex-Celestial Ode
Tracklist:
01. Love Enforcer
02. Lords Of Death
03. Atlantis
04. Holding A Breath
05. Silence Of Our Words
06. Vengeance
07. Seventh Son
08. Lethe
09. Spartacus
10. Hector's Last Fight
11. Time For Rage
12. The Road Unknown
Download links for all albums only on our blog here: http://goodmetalandhar.do.am/
