Circle II Circle
Watching In Silence

As can be seen from the white sticker that stands out at the bottom right on the cover of this debut, Circle II Circle is the new creation of the former Savatage singer Zak Stevens, whom many fans of the Floridian band still miss, especially considering how events have since evolved. But let's put aside needless regrets and focus on this self-titled album, universally known as ''Watching In Silence''. There are no big names accompanying Zak in this new adventure (among others Matt LaPorte on guitar) and thus, for most of the songwriting of this work, Stevens makes use of the enviable contributions of former bandmates Chris Caffery and John Oliva. And it is quite noticeable.

''Watching In Silence'' is branded with a energetic Savatage imprint. It would have been strange to expect otherwise, it's true, yet what emerges is an album that doesn't merely live off the looming shadow of the past. If ''Forgiven'' is the classic piano power-ballad endowed with orchestral parts and endless grandeur as per the Savatage tradition; if ''Walls'' echoes even more grandly the multi-vocal inserts, among which it's unmistakable to recognize ''Mountain King'' John Oliva; and if the title track could realistically represent an outtake from ''Dead Winter Dead'' given the clear touch of the Tampa group in every single note, it must be acknowledged that these tracks embody just a part of the album. All the rest certainly has a different soul, a daring essence, a liberating spirit that stands out in the opener ''Out Of Reach'', an immediate track with excellent guitar work, followed by ''Sea Of White'', where the nu-metal brushes (especially in the bass lines) are not that hard to grasp; or in the concise and seventies-sounding ''Lies'', where Zak dares, blending his magnificent voice in a typically Hard Rock context. Other songs bring to mind Anthrax from ''We've Come For You All'' and even more, the post-reunion Armored Saint (''Revelation'') even though Circle II Circle operate on decidedly more melodic and traditional coordinates; what's remarkable, however, is Zak's splendid voice, as always at ease both in the most sinuous moments and in the fiery and thrilling ones.

''Watching In Silence'' is an album full of contrasts and mutations. A record in which old Savatage fans will find something to heal the wounds opened by the last phase of their favorites and which has all the credentials to take root in a different market (as indeed it has), less classically metallic, but, in any case, fond of massive and robust sounds.

Sparkling and more flavorful than one might superficially assume.