Van Records
2014
1. Distant Attack
2. Be My Ghost
3. A Killing Pace
4. Pyramid Lake
5. Powersigns
6. Labyrinth Of Death
7. Temple Of The Lost
8. Evil Ways
Castle are a band that I've very much been liking since I first heard their debut and I'd have to count their third album as one of my more anticipated albums of the year. I just really dig their occult themes, dark feel, and the way they keep their songs moving with more of a heavy/traditional pace while still keeping that doom feel in place. I have to say that I was also impressed seeing this band live on their first tour and being able to deliver live always helps my opinion of a band along.
Even before listening to this album I had one gripe immediately though so I'm just going to throw it right out there. The album clocks in at a total of just under 34 minutes. It's true that Blacklands was also just over 35 minutes, but there it is. I felt like, in retrospect, I let the last album slide a bit on that and two albums of that length is a little on the weak side. I may also be noticing it because the Sabaton album I just wrote a review for had the same damn problem. If you're going to make something virtually EP length, it should be at those kind of prices and not advertised as a full length album. At least not these days where total album length is generally considerably longer. Ok I said it. Now we can move forward.
Listening to this one, Under Siege is not the sort of album that offers much in the way of surprises. As is often the case, this kind of evens out as being both the strength and the weakness of the release. The sound is very enjoyable for sure with it's earthy, haunting vocals and somewhat raw, dark sound but the songs here are also pretty familiar to anyone who has heard the other two albums. The sound hasn't worn too thin yet and this makes for the kind of album that's pretty good for fans of the band and a little bit more driving doom, but it also doesn't break enough new ground or get adventurous enough in the songwriting to really qualify as a real highlight of the year sort of an album. Basically, this one offers up material that's familiar enough to easily be accepted by fans, but not new enough to elicit a great deal of excitement. The driving pace is there and the haunting atmosphere is too, but there's not a lot of excitement in this. The best songs of the album tend to be more based on memorable vocal passages like on Be My Ghost or a rhythm that sticks in your head like the roll of Temple Of The Lost than anything remarkably new.
Overall, if you like that kind of energized doom with an occult feel than this is still above par stuff. I just wouldn't expect a lot of surprises or progression of the band's sound if you've heard them before. If you haven't, this is certainly a good female fronted doom/heavy band and worth checking out. Their sound is still recognizable and strong and that goes a long way to carrying this album to a good rating. It's an enjoyable listen and that's good enough for a third album. I can just feel the moment approaching when the band is going to have to get a little more adventurous/creative with the songs to stay relevant. And please Castle... Maybe a little bit longer albums/more songs?
Highlights: Be My Ghost, Temple Of The Lost, Evil Ways
Rating - 3.5/5
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