Zachary Stevens was the singer who took over from Jon Oliva as vocalist for Savatage. Following such a great singer is a feat that would worry most singers but to do so and manage to keep the fans happy too is a very rare feat as changes in singers are usually controversial and hotly debated topics among fans. He recorded four albums during his eight years in Savatage, before leaving in 2000.
After a break of a couple of years, he started work on his new project – Circle II Circle. With the help of both Jon Oliva and guitarist Chris Caffery, he wrote the first album ”Watching in silence”. with five full length albums and three EPs released in the bands ten years of existence, a best of album seems like an obvious step.
”Full circle – the best of” is a double album with all the bands hits plus single B-sides and rare bonus tracks. All 32 songs have
been specially remastered for this release.
There’s a good mix of songs, from the slow ballad-like songs to the faster power metal songs, and this means there’s a whole lot of variety here, with one thing being consistent – the fact that the quality is excellent across the whole album. The vocals are simply superb and the music is excellent too – really there’s little if anything to criticise about the album.
It’s a great release – 32 tracks of great power metal. Fans of Circle II Circle are likely to want this release for the rare tracks, but for people who havent listened to the band before then it’s a great introduction to the band.
A great album that’s well worth buying.
”Full circle” is out now on AFM records
Track listing:
Disc 1
1. All That Remains
2. Who Am I To Be
3. Consequence of Power
4. Watching in Silence
5. Dead of Dawn
6. Into the Wind
7. In This Life
8. Out of Nowhere
9. Revelations
10. Blood of an Angel
11. Heal You
12. Open Season
13. Echoes
14. Out of Reach
15. Forgiven
16. Redemption
Disc 2
1. Every Last thing [Edit]
2. The Circle
3. Sentenced
4. Take Back Yesterday
5. The Middle of Nowhere
6. Soul Breaker
7. Darkness Rising
8. Into the Wind [Acoustic/Version]
9. Shadows
10. Symptoms of Fate
11. Stay
12. Watching in Silence
13. Burden of Truth [Acoustically Enhanced/Version]
14. Against the World
15. Evermore
16. Strung Out