 CIRCLE
II CIRCLE
The Middle of Nowhere
AMF Records 2005
www.circle2circle.net
Read the Zachary Stevens interview
What’s the 4-1-1?
Singer Zak Stevens and company are back with the follow up CD to their
2003 debut album Watching In Silence. Available only in Europe at this
time.
Genre
Metal
The Good
The music throughout the album is really quite spectacular. The band consists
of guitarists Andy Lee and Evan Christopher, bassist Paul M. Stewart, and drummer
Tom Drennan. They switch gears from the more somber or deliberate stylings
to the all out speed and symphonic metal vibe with ease. The band, including
Stevens, really shine on tracks like “All That Remains,” “Hollow” and “Psycho
Motor.” The vocals combined with the driving pounding rhythm really combine
to make these
songs soar.
The Bad
Sadly, I’m very disappointed in this album mainly due to the vocals.
On most of the songs, I found myself feeling that something was just “off” with
the delivery of the lyrics.
I found that the sequencing of the tracks could’ve been better. The opening
track spent the first 2 ½ minutes in a complete slow down mode, it darn
near killed the entire album for me. Also, while I liked the acoustic driven
ballad “Lost,” I felt placing it as the final song on the disc has
the album going out with more of a whimper than a roar.
The Verdict
I was highly anticipating this album, and now I’m massively disappointed.
4 songs out of 10 does not a great album make. There are times when you
can fall back on blaming the producer for how an album turned out. The
Middle Of Nowhere was produced by vocalist Stevens, so the fault can
really only be placed at his doorstep.
Did You Know?
The musicians who recorded The Middle Of Nowhere, saving Zak Stevens,
are an entirely different lineup from the ones who recorded the debut album
Watching In Silence.
Savatage members Jon Oliva and Chris Caffery assisted on the songwriting for
the album.
Rating:  out
of 5
Related Reviews:
Circle II Circle - Watching in Silence
Savatage - Edge of Thorns
-- Jay Roberts
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