CIRCLE II CIRCLE'S "FULL CIRCLE - THE BEST OF..." OUT NOW
Friday, 20 July 2012 15:42 | 
Written by Marc 'Lazy Rocker' Schneiders |
U.S. power metallers Circle II Circle (with former Savatage member Zak Stevens on vocals) will release their first ever career retrospective "Full Circle - The Best Of" on July 20th. The retrospective includes highlight tracks off the band's five studio albums, many b-sides, bonus tracks, and rare songs. All tracks have been remastered for this compilation.
For a period of eight years from 1992 until August 2000, Zachary Stevens was the mere infallible lead singer of power metal legends Savatage. His huge vocal range, controlled crafts and thrilling energy guaranteed splendid gigs night after night, every single show worthy of a live album. The young man from South Carolina accomplished something absolutely unique in five decades of rock history. Coming into play as a real rookie, he followed the charismatic and vocally incomparable Jon Oliva as Savatage´s lead singer without getting even a slight complaint from the longtime 'tage fans.
The polishing of the uncut diamond happened early during his childhood. His ambitions to play drums at an early age led to lead him to join a Kiss cover band when he was only nine years old. Filling both the drummer and lead vocalist roles, he was light years ahead of any auditioning singers. After recording four outstanding albums with Savatage, Zak left the band rather silently in the fall of 2000.
During winter time 2002/2003 the family man started his comeback, logically supported by his musical family Savatage. Songwriting genius Jon Oliva and guitarist Chris Caffery co-wrote with Zak the songs for the brilliant CIRCLE II CIRCLE debut "Watching in Silence". Zak acted as producer of his new band and realized his dreams by hammering away the drum tracks of a long play album for the very first time in his career. The album earned glorious reviews all over the hard rock and heavy metal planet. It was among the top 3 positions worldwide in most magazine's annual reader polls as "Best Newcomer Act" and even entered the sales charts in several countries.
The production of the second CIRCLE II CIRCLE record, "The Middle Of Nowhere", features Zak´s talents even more intensively, taught to him by Jon Oliva and Paul O'Neill's super-advanced master's school of power composition, production and improvisation.
The sacred atmosphere around CIRCLE II CIRCLE´s "Burden Of Truth" album (2006) has gained more weight than anticipated since its release last year. The conceptual album, inspired by the books "The Da Vinci Code" and "Holy Blood Holy Grail", takes on a life of its own with Zak's powerful and highly expressive vocal-approach placing himself in the middle of the story as the main-character.
2008 saw CIRCLE II CIRCLE release their 4th album, "Delusions Of Grandeur", followed by 2010’s “Consequence Of Power”. Tours and appearances on the most important festivals sent CIRCLE II CIRCLE all around the globe. Now, after a full decade of band history, it’s time to take a look back on the achievements of CIRCLE II CIRCLE: „Full Circle – The Best Of” is a double album with all hits of their five studio albums, single B-sides and rare bonus tracks. All 32 songs have been remastered for this compilation exclusively.
Website: www.circle2circle.net
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