Watching in Silence

I’m stuck without having heard most of Savatage’s records, so I can’t really compare this and that. I bought this record only because I heard the title track on a promo disc from AFM Records. The emotions, the leads, the vocals, nice piano melody – it all kicked ass. But it was the rough mix. No that I listen to the album mix I can’t help thinking about sending mail bombs to AFM Records. Where the guitars and bass were hard, loud, heavy; where the beat was heavy, the sound blasted from the speakers as to surround, embrace and beat down the listener there now seems to have been a vacuum that more or less has sucked up all the energy.

Sure the lead, the riffs are creative – but why put it lower in the mix and removing it’s bass voice? Now the music just feels emptied, exhausted, smeared and watered out. And then Watching In Silence remains the best, most outstanding and energetic song on the album. I hate when guitars get to pay for bad production. This raw edge that is here, oh so much fleshier it could’ve sounded with a proper non-AFM Records-production.

The music moves around in slow-tempo, it’s mid-paced at most. The choruses are long and extended, usually with slower, majestic drums and an oh-oh. What disturbs me the most (except for the production) is that the same composition model, that sure works, is used on every single song, and these hilariously parts when the tempo is increased logarithmically and he shouts/sings his lines faster than he really can. They get a point for their way to use keyboards though, it’s nicely done, applied when needed and not all the time.

There’s just too much of the same to make a good record with this lousy production. Like the obligatory piano intro before every song. Much is copied though. The strophe ‘edge of light’ is sung where alike Savatage’s ‘edge of thorns’. We got rhythms and vocal arrangements that remind of a few other power and heavy metal bands.

Okay, these guys are basically a carbon copy of Savatage, but with a little less operatic elements. I really wish Zak Stevens had stuck with Savatage instead of going off and making another band thats EXACTLY THE SAME. Not that these guys sound bad in the least, but really, whats the point of having TWO Savatages?

But anyhow, Circle II Circle have some pretty solid riffs, so they get points for creativity on that aspect. They're very impressive and they get stuck in your head easily. I also like the abundance of keyboards they've put in. You don't see that in alot of metal bands these days, and often times the keyboards are just overpowering or don't fit in well. Circle II Circle have found the perfect blend.

What would make this album even better would be if I could actually HEAR the bass more than 50% of the time. During 'Watching In Silence' the bass sound is pretty thick, but other than that I found it to be weak and overpowered throughout the entire album.

The drums remain solid through the duration of the album. The beat is always changing so the drums never get boring. And, as always, Zak's voice astounds me more and more with every note. He's written some powerful lyrics on this album as well. "Time to hate you! I forsake you! I could never replace you! I should of never tried at all."

Best Tracks: Out of Reach, Face to Face, Lies, and Watching In Silence.

From first listen, this album definately has elements that Savatage has been using as of recently, such as memorable songs, counterpoint vocals, and one chord guitar introductions. It also displays a few elements that Savatage hasn't necessarily used all that much of, such as extended choruses and extended use of clean vocals. This album is definately a masterpiece to show off the pipes of Zak Stevens. Its not musicially virtuositic though, in fact only about three songs on the album have solos, the first coming on the sixth track.

Sea of White reminds me of songs that have been on Savatage's Wake of Magellan. It is not necessarily a very heavy song, but focuses mainly on the chorus. This is probably one of the most catchy choruses I have ever heard, because even after first listen, this song was already stuck in my head.

Into the Wind is rather similar to Sea of White. It is still a relatively light song, however the chorus is sang at a much quicker pace, similar to songs off of Savatage's Handful of Rain, only in my opinion slightly more melodic, which is rather difficult to accomplish.

If you want to hear a song that could have easily been on any savatage album in the past decade, listen to Watching in Silence. I personally think this track resembles Morphine Child, only much much shorter. It is a rather epic song of less than epic length.

Forgiven is my absolute favorite track on the album. I have never heard Zak put so much emotion in to one song. It seems as if the chorus is going to go on forever. "I've seen night...". It just sends chills to realize that the human voice can sound so good.

F.O.S. utilizes a limited amount of counterpoint vocals towards the end of the song, but not quite enough to establish it is epic. Basically, this track is pretty much a watered down version of Savatage's One Child.

If you like Savatage with Zak Stevens, there is absolutely no reason to not enjoy this album. My only problem with the album is that the guitar playing for the most part is pretty uninspiring. The riffs are catchy, but there needs to be quite a bit more soloing. If you aren't a fan of Savatage's last three or four albums, then I would probably steer clear of this cd.

I bought this album because I am a big fan of Savatage and I expected something like Dead Winter Dead. Well after first listening my feeling were cold. This album is nothing special just a bad copy of Savatage if you ask me. In fact on whole album I can't find one really great song because it seems all songs are practicly the same, nothing new, just using the same formula for all 10 tracks. Well anyway the best song on the album is title track Watching In Silence with really good refrain and great vocal. I must say, the best part of this album is Zachary Stevens which is once again amazing. I think Circle II Circle will have to work a lot to get on the level where Savatage are currently for now they are far behind.