Circle II Circle: A hometown treat
Recently returning from their European tour, Circle II Circle decided to make a stop in their hometown. The heavy metal band, formed 8 years ago by former Savatage lead vocalist Zachary Stevens, filled State Theater in St. Petersburg, Florida with the volumes of history, tragedy and triumph through two decades of music. The five bands supporting them to be one of the best supporting local lineups in a long time — fitting, professional and engaging acts.
Circle II Circle riled the crowd up quickly by starting off the set with “Complaint in the System (Veronica Guerin),” off of Savatage’s The Wake of Magellan album. Singer Zak Stevens doesn’t believe in a slow start; leaning over the edge of the stage, he swayed against the staccato beat and encouraged the crowd to clap, while the others in the band rocked out at their own pace.
As the first song came to a close, Zak held the microphone close to his lips and stared out into the quiet, attentive audience. “Listen to this one very carefully,” he said. The drummer kicked into what proved to be a true-as-ever rendition of Savatage’s “Edge of Thorns,” the band’s first radio hit in 1993 after Zak joined as the front vocalist.
Half-sleeve tattoos decorate the underside of Zak’s arms, almost invisible when his hands are hanging by his side. When he belts out the choruses, both hands gripping the microphone, a skull over each elbow stares back at the crowd.
Their set was a plethora of Savatage covers seamlessly intertwined with Circle II Circle favorites, including hits like “Lights Out,” “Watching in Silence,” and the newer song “Take Back Yesterday,” as requested by shout-outs from the audience.
He’s a natural frontman, a natural singer and crowd-pleaser. And whether he’s singing Savatage classics or great Circle II Circle hits, his performance is always worth it.
Members of the crowd delivered jager shots and beer to the band as they led the local gig. “That’s the problem with this business – people are always feeding you drinks,” Zak joked.
Although Zak’s quirky, charming sense of humor kept the show entertaining, he took a moment to say somberly pay homage to Criss Oliva and recently late Matt LaPorte with a few words and a song. As the keyboards began the introduction to Savatage’s “Alone You Breathe,” Zak pointed to the sky, eyes closed. It was an emotional, fitting tribute.
They finished off the night with the upbeat rocker “Taunting Cobras”, another of Zak’s hits from his Savatage days. To the end, his eccentric style and vigor for being on stage made for a great show. Nothing beats seeing these international, legendary acts on the small stage in their hometown.
Every time you see one of the bands stemmed from the 80s legend: Circle II Circle, Jon Oliva’s Pain or Trans-Siberian Orchestra, none of them forget where they came from. On the surface, each group has its own identity, its own path and style — but underneath, their sets pay tribute to their roots in Savatage.
The Opening Bands
Many long-listed lineups leave everyone cringing by lack of identity, originality, form. Not this night. Unlike many local shows, however, each band produced solid material and performed with great skill and cohesion.
Their sound mostly rang true to the early-2000s alternative rock movement. Think Pearl Jam, Creed. The only exception to this was The Eyes of God, who had their own spin on the style. Each band was tight, entertaining, catchy – fit for air on radio. Each one of these bands could be plucked from the local scene and dropped onto a larger stage, and people wouldn’t question their talent.
Go check out their music and our photo galleries of their performances. In order of their lineup:
- Fight Another Day
- Third Nail Rising
- The Eyes of God
- Thrown Alive
- 20 Shades
And don’t forget to check out the full photo gallery of Circle II Circle’s set as well.
About the Author: Stephanie (a.k.a. Steph Rose)
Steph is a tea-drinking, metal-obsessed resident of South Florida. She programmed this site in the name of metal, she travels cross-country (and hopefully internationally eventually) in support of metal, and she should probably be in Manowar because she sure as hell would die for metal.