Former Savatage vocalist Zak Stevens has been forging a path with his band Circle II Circle for some time now, and after what was arguably their career high point with 2010's Consequence of Power, they are back here at the start of 2013 with the extremely powerful Seasons Will Fall. This is Circle II Circle's sixth studio release, and for those who still miss his work with Savatage, there are moments during Seasons Will Fall that clearly touch on Wake of Magellan era Savatage. With its mix of epic & melodic power metal, hard rock, and progressive metal, Seasons Will Fall has a little something for everyone.
With crunchy tracks like "Diamond Blade" and "Killing Death", each one chock full of great guitar work and Zak's soaring vocals, it's hard to resist what's on display here. "Epiphany" offers up what we loved about late period Savatage, complete with haunting piano, crushing riffs, and plenty of bombast, while "Dreams That Never Die" is just ultra-catchy melodic heavy metal with a memorable chorus, chugging riffs, and ethereal keyboards. "Only Yesterday" will instantly take Savatage fans back to Edge of Thorns, a stirring ballad that ends this CD on a heart wrenching, haunting note with its tender piano, poignant vocals, and sizzling guitar solo.
Consequence of Power had more consistent power metal from top to bottom, but there's no denying that Seasons Will Fall is a much more varied platter from Circle II Circle. Plenty of those old Savatage elements are in abundance (don't think Stevens will ever truly get away from that), so for many, that will be a very good thing. Either way, this is an outstanding release.
Track Listing
01. Diamond Blade
02. Without A Sound
03. Killing Death
04. Epiphany
05. End Of Emotion
06. Dreams That Never Die
07. Seasons Will Fall
08. Never Gonna Stop
09. Isolation
10. Sweet Despair
11. Downshot
12. Only Yesterday
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