earMUSIC
2013
1. Diamond Blade
2. Without A Sound
3. Killing Death
4. Epiphany
5. End Of Emotion
6. Dreams That Never Die
7. Seasons Will Fall
8. Never Gonna Stop
9. Isolation
10. Sweet Despair
11. Downshot
12. Only Yesterday
It's been awhile since I've listened to a Circle II Circle album so you can't really count me as much of a fan. The last album I reviewed from them was Middle Of Nowhere in 2005. I remember thinking they were OK, but I was never very interested. The band just didn't have that certain extra something to me. Competent, but the songs never quite grabbed me. Really, the main draw/claim to fame this band has is Zak Stevens and I was never much of a fan of later Savatage either. This is more the sort of album I go into hoping to be pleasently surprised by than one I was expecting a lot of.
Listening to Seasons Will Fall, nothing really surprised me much. This sounds like melodic rock with a bit more heaviness and the song structures are pretty familiar. Nothing here sounds bad and the band's sound isn't bad, but there's not a lot to distinguish Circle II Circle from the pack of bands who draw on melodic rock/AOR influences. I can't help but also think the vocals are a bit overly melodramatic as Zak Stevens trys to pump more feeling into the songs than they actually have/warrant. That really about sums up this album and band for me. Melodic and easy to listen to (maybe a little too easy/unchallenging) with a pretty good, but sometimes flamboyant vocal presence.
Seasons Will Fall feels like the sort of album I could listen to and not feel like I have to turn it off, but it's also the sort of album I couldn't see myself choosing out of all the metal out there. Not exactly a rave review, but basically they don't suck. This might be worth it for fans of melodic rock/metal and probably worth it for Zak Stevens fans, but in the grand scheme? Barely a blip on the metal radar for me. My opinion of Circle II circle remains more or less unchanged.
Highlights: End Of Emotion, Epiphany
Rating - 2.5/5
2. Without A Sound
3. Killing Death
4. Epiphany
5. End Of Emotion
6. Dreams That Never Die
7. Seasons Will Fall
8. Never Gonna Stop
9. Isolation
10. Sweet Despair
11. Downshot
12. Only Yesterday
It's been awhile since I've listened to a Circle II Circle album so you can't really count me as much of a fan. The last album I reviewed from them was Middle Of Nowhere in 2005. I remember thinking they were OK, but I was never very interested. The band just didn't have that certain extra something to me. Competent, but the songs never quite grabbed me. Really, the main draw/claim to fame this band has is Zak Stevens and I was never much of a fan of later Savatage either. This is more the sort of album I go into hoping to be pleasently surprised by than one I was expecting a lot of.
Listening to Seasons Will Fall, nothing really surprised me much. This sounds like melodic rock with a bit more heaviness and the song structures are pretty familiar. Nothing here sounds bad and the band's sound isn't bad, but there's not a lot to distinguish Circle II Circle from the pack of bands who draw on melodic rock/AOR influences. I can't help but also think the vocals are a bit overly melodramatic as Zak Stevens trys to pump more feeling into the songs than they actually have/warrant. That really about sums up this album and band for me. Melodic and easy to listen to (maybe a little too easy/unchallenging) with a pretty good, but sometimes flamboyant vocal presence.
Seasons Will Fall feels like the sort of album I could listen to and not feel like I have to turn it off, but it's also the sort of album I couldn't see myself choosing out of all the metal out there. Not exactly a rave review, but basically they don't suck. This might be worth it for fans of melodic rock/metal and probably worth it for Zak Stevens fans, but in the grand scheme? Barely a blip on the metal radar for me. My opinion of Circle II circle remains more or less unchanged.
Highlights: End Of Emotion, Epiphany
Rating - 2.5/5
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