Album Review: Archon Angel - Fallen

People have been clamoring for nearly two decades for Savatage to return, and I don't quite get why. I find their career to be way too inconsistent, but more than that, the main players are still out there doing their thing. John Oliva has put out plenty of records, and so too has Zach Stevens. What I can say, after hearing most of them, is that none of it points to a reunion of Savatage being great. Both sides have played out that style of music for so long they don't have much left in the tank. There have been highlights along the way, but neither side has shown any ability to follow through time and again.

Zach is someone I like as a singer, even though I shouldn't, and Circle II Circle does have three albums I think are fantastic. The problem is that they are interspersed with some epically boring ones, which makes it hard to be a fan. That band seems to be on hiatus, so Zach has started this project, where he makes the same sort of music with a few different people. If that doesn't sound exciting, it's not meant to.

Archon Angel recylces the same sounds Zach has been associated with all along, just repackaged under a new name. What has been true of Zach for as long as I've been listening to him is this; his voice is very flat, and because of that he needs songs with super-sized melodies or drama to compensate. At his best, he's able to ground melodramatic music with a darker sound. At his worst, he is the very embodiment of dullness.

This album falls somewhere in the middle. There are a few songs, like the title track and "Rise", where there is enough melody to buoy Zach's voice, and the results are crunchy and appealing. While he can be a polarizing singer, Zach works for me when the material is good, like those songs are. However, Zach's writers on this album don't give him enough of that. We also have plenty of songs like "Under The Spell", where there is practically no melody, which turns the song into a long slog that never goes anywhere.

I was afraid this album was going to mine the Savatage sound too much, but the real fear was in taking more cues from Circle II Circle, specifically their weaker material. Much of this record is lacking drama, or any real presence. They are standard metal songs written to make Zach comfortable, which feels to me too easy. There's no "Edge Of Thorns" on this record. Heck, there's no "Diamond Blade" either. Even though this is a new project with new players, this could easily be one of the Circle II Circle albums I don't care for. Everything about it has that sound and feeling, which also leaves me wondering why they needed to start a new band to make such similar music.

There's nothing here we haven't heard before. The question you have to ask yourself is whether you want to hear more second-rate Zach Stevens music. I'm holding out for his better work, so I think I have to keep waiting.