Metal band tries to stay fresh, positive

Besieged got its start at SVSU in fall of 2004

January 28, 2008 —

by Christina Dillbeck

Besieged band members (from left to right): singer Tyler Germain, drummer Josh Schroeder, guitarist John Pichla, guitarist Chris Greene and bassist Nick Fonzi.

by Christina Dillbeck

by Christina Dillbeck

Tyler Germain is a secondary education English major, works at the SVSU Writing Center, is on the Cardinal Sins staff, enjoys reading and is the lead singer (or screamer) for a metal band. A Christian metal band. That's right. A Christian metal band.

The name of the band is Besieged, and I had the pleasure of hearing them practice (with earplugs) Saturday afternoon in the basement of Don and Irene Bauer (the middle-aged in-laws of Besieged's drummer--Josh Schroeder), which is right next to an elementary school in Bay City.

"We love their music," Irene says.

Schroeder is the only remaining founding member of the band, a former SVSU graphic design major and His House member, which is how Besieged started.

"We started out as a praise and worship band for His House and would play at SVSU every week," Schroeder says. "Pretty soon we figured out that we all liked metal, so it sort of grew from that."

"We try to do something fresh and positive with our music," Germain says, "because there is generally a lot of negativity in the genre."

They released their first full album last year--titled Atlantis, which they completely recorded and mixed on their own.

The band just got back from a nine-day tour just before the semester started. They played at various venues in Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina and Ohio. The tour involved a lot of random house-squatting.

"I beat Tetris," says guitarist Chris Greene, a Delta College Student.

The band tries to get together once a week or so to practice, which is sometimes hard.

"Unfortunately, today is the first day we've practiced since our tour," says John Pichla, the band's second guitarist and also a student at Delta College.

They have almost 20,000 fans according to their Myspace page. There you can order their album, t-shirts, sweatshirts and other merchandise (all of which is designed by Schroeder).

The band also has a bassist--Nick Fonzi, who is a student at Ferris State University.

Besieged will be playing at the Cardinal Sins Slam this Friday night, which starts at 7:00 p.m. in the Multi-Purpose Room.

Upcoming shows:

February 17 @ Jamestown Hall in Saginaw

February 23 @ UAW Hall, Local 362 in Bay City