Frontiers Music s.r.l.

Release: 14 February 2020

Line-up:

Vocals : Zak Stevens

Guitars : Aldo Lonobile

Bass: Yves Campion

Drums: Marco Lazzarini

Keyboards & Piano (Studio): Antonio Agate

Tracklist:

Fallen
The Serpent
Rise
Under The Spell
Twilight
Faces Of Innocence
Hit The Wall
Who’s In The Mirror
Brought To The Edge
Return Of The Storm

As a lifelong fan of Savatage, I feel compelled to check out as many of the bands and projects that crop up from the members of the band, and there are a few: from Jon Oliva’s Pain and Doctor Butcher to Chris Caffery’s fantastic solo albums to Zak Stevens and Circle II Circle to even TSO, there is a wealth of additional music that warrants your time. Zak is back with a new project called Archon Angel that out of the bulk of stuff that has been released since the “hibernation” of Savatage, we’ll call it, is closest to what he did with Savatage.

Zak came in at a weird time for the band- Jon was wanting to focus more on songwriting and behind the scenes stuff of the band then the sudden loss of a brother and guitarist Criss, Jon’s life was upended in a way he never expected. When I heard they were going to have a new singer I was skeptical, but Stevens has such an amazing and powerful instrument and the songs were some of their best (Edge of Thorns in case you didn’t know) that it made it an easy transition. Circle II Circle was a fine band with a great set of songs over many years, but Archon Angel not only encapsulates the heavy meets symphonic style that made Savatage so popular and unique yet delivers it without sounding like a copy. The debut album Fallen is a powerhouse masterpiece of Power Metal featuring one of the best voices of the genre. Stevens sounds in perfect voice, and the songs are so damn good. Tracks like “Rise,” “Hit the Wall,” “Twilight,” and the brilliant album closer “Return of the Storm” sound like a fully-realized band instead of a project, with something to prove, showing that the second voice of Savatage still has plenty to offer his fans.

Archon Angel’s Fallen is an amazing album. Since Savatage has been on hiatus, fans have longed for something to fill that void, and I truly believe this album is as close to a Zak era Savatage album we may get, despite him being the only former member of that band. If that’s the case, then let’s hope Archon Angel will prove to be more than a one-album project. The music on Fallen is that good. For me, this is easily going to be a Top Five album this year.

Written by: Chris Martin