Customer Reviews

Burden of Truth

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Circle II Circle's previous effort The Middle of Nowhere was a let-down for some; gone were the band's amazing keyboard and piano arrangements, terrific lead playing, and even Zak Stevens' vocals seemed to suffer from the sub-par production. Compared to their debut album Watching in Silence, it just didn't have the staying power despite some really well-written numbers.

On their third album Burden of Truth, it is obvious that Zak Stevens and his new band spent more time honing their sound. For starters, the production is absolutely classy, highlighting Zak Stevens' amazing vocals and melodies thoroughly. Andrew Lee and Evan Christopher's guitars have a lot more punch to them; the riffs are heavy and well-timed. Add to this the solid rhythm slam of drummer Robert T. Drennan and Paul Michael Stewart and you have a strong work of melodic metal. On the previous effort, Stewart's bass was the best thing, as they had mixed it a bit high and made it really audible. The guitar work, on the other hand, was less interesting; some of the solos seemed to drag on without developing into anything. This disc puts the band back on track. Starting with the ambitious "Who Am I To Be?", a Sava-like number, bringing forth dramatic piano and melodic guitar crunch and underpinning Stevens' impossibly amazing vocal harmonies. The rhythms provided through drums and the two brief guitar solos also add to the richness of the song.

One of the most striking aspects of Burden of Truth is the way the guitars and vocals were arranged. Stevens apparently has made an effort to stray away from the paths of his former band; some of the songs he's written sound nothing like Savatage, which is a big plus. Rather, he's set out to do his own thing, and the result is more than satisfying. He knows how powerful his voice can be when backed up by melodic threads of guitar and the occasional keys, and that's what he does on songs like "A Matter of Time", "Heal You", and "Evermore". The songs are faster and more energetic. The soaring chorus of "Heal You" and the strong backing harmonies of "Evermore" will make excellent choices in a live setting. Both songs also have slightly rock-flavoured lead solos, unlike the more metallic, heavy explosions heard on their debut.

Zak Stevens absolutely shines on "Revelations", one of his greatest achievements in Circle II Circle. The song begins with crushing staccato riffs in an almost thrash metal sense before dissolving into a sea of melodies. The guitar playing on this song is mind-blowingly beautiful; the short yet sweet tapping lick in the beginning of the intro brings to mind the late Criss Oliva circa Sava's Streets and it's really emotionally fatiguing in its aura. On the acoustic ballad "Your Reality", Stevens opts for clever dynamic shifts in mood and tempo, and makes it work perfectly.

"Into the Black" and "Sentenced" find the band still retaining unmistakable Savatage characteristics, but unlike Watching in Silence, they really try to add their own spin to the pieces, which is great to notice obviously. The melodic singing on "Into the Black" is right up there with the statements Zak made on Handful of Rain, one of the darkest and most powerful albums ever. "Sentenced" has a cool bass groove to it, planted underneath an acoustic and electric guitar respectively, yet it really heightens the song's quality.

"Messiah" is an unapologetic rocker and one of the heaviest songs Circle II Circle have written. The ferocious guitar work and heavy riffage throughout will undoubtedly please fans of melodic heavy metal. This song also being in between the two Sava-like cuts helps diversify the nature of the album and prevents it from sounding samey. The title track is easily their most challenging work. It begins with neat acoustic guitars and strong vocals before Andrew Lee lays down a phenomenal lead solo. The feel on this track is immense and underscores the great counterpoint vocal experiment at the very end.

The lyrics of the album suggest Burden of Truth is a conspiracy theory conceptual work and there is also a secret message hidden in the artwork for the die-hard fans to figure out. I myself haven't gotten to it yet, but it will certainly be interesting to check it out.

While Watching in Silence still remains a personal favourite, I feel Circle II Circle have come very close to matching its magic with their new album Burden of Truth. If you want to hear one of the finest vocal performances of the year, you can't pass this disc up.

At this point I have to assume that just about everybody checking out a Circle II Circle album knows the band's connection to the mighty Savatage, so I'll skip the history lesson. Circle II Circle had an incredibly strong debut album (Watching in Silence) and a follow-up album (The Middle of Nowhere) that was not quite so well received, so I found myself nervously awaiting the arrival of the band's third album, called Burden of Truth.

I shouldn't have worried. Burden of Truth is a very strong, very powerful, very dramatic album, and showcases the band at their very best. Zak Stevens & company incorporated the powerful songwriting from Watching in Silence with the some of the experimentation from The Middle of Nowhere, resulting in an album that reflects the best of both albums.

Every aspect of the band shines on Burden of Truth. As noted in the product description, Burden of Truth is a concept album heavily influenced by The Da Vinci Code, and Stevens's obvious passion for the subject matter comes through in his songwriting, which is as strong as it's ever been. Plus, the man's vocals are as incredible as ever. The musicianship is top notch as well. Musically, Burden of Truth is very much a straightforward metal album, with powerful guitars and a nice use of keyboards. And while it's impossible not to notice the lack of Jon Oliva or Paul O'Neill behind the scenes, the production is good enough to rival their work on Watching in Silence.

Those of you who were disappointed by The Middle of Nowhere should find themselves right back in the Circle II Circle camp after hearing Burden of Truth. Those of you who never left should be happy that Zak and the boys have managed to release another terrific album.

Having listened to this, the bands third full length, several times I can say without reservation that Circle II Circle fans will enjoy this traditional metal brew that has nice solid production values which come courtesy of the bands vocalist Zak Stevens.

Teh eleven numbers on the album comprise a concept story about religion and the crusades perhaps taking its cue from Dan Browns Da Vinci Codes' popularity at the time. Certainly the predilection of Zaks' former band Savatage for concept albums was probably an inspiration. Most of the songs are mid paced pounders which are great for showing off Zaks' great pipes that are full of texture and if comparison with his former outfit be deemed necessary, well then this album is less inclined to long mellow sections and less progressive in execution.

If you are unfamiliar with Zak Stevens then definitely listen to a few samples and if you like what you hear then part with your cash with confidence for this nicely realised slice of traditional metal.

From start to finish a solid effort from Circle II Circle. This is on par with Watching in Silence, maybe a little better, and definitely better than Middle of Nowhere. Highlights are Who Am I To Be, Heal You, and Your Reality. Buy it, and hope they start touring the U.S soon.

As what alot of people already have said, this cd is their best to date. First off the production on this cd is incredible, Zak Stevens voice is superb, and the rest of the band are tight! Every song on this cd are great no fillers here. The first song "Who am I to Be' is a perfect example. If you own the other cd's then this is a "MUST HAVE". One of the best from 2006!!.

Fueled by the near hype of all the 5 star reviews it was getting all over the Internet, I have to say I was disappointed on my first listen of Burden Of Truth.

After sensibly giving it a few more listens, I've grown more fond of it, but Burden of Truth still falls well short of a 5 star album.

I enjoyed both previous albums of C2C equally. Some slammed their second album Middle Of Nowhere, but apart from two weak songs I couldn't see a whole lot wrong with it, plus it featured some great long guitar solos (although some people even had a problem with that) opposed to the near absense of solos on their first album, Watching In Silence. Middle Of Nowhere remains my most listened to C2C album.

Fast forward to Burden Of Truth (BoT). Apparently a concept album, this doesn't come across as a very cohesive album. The balance of song lengths in particular leave a lot to be desired. Some of the best songs on the album (Heal You, Revelations, Messiah) barely reach the 3 minute mark before fading out, some clearly prematurely, while the mediocre and tedious title track clocks in at over 5 minutes. It's a downright shame that some great songs here fade out into the next track almost without warning just when you're really starting to enjoy them, while some of the weaker songs just go on and on.

This imbalance is made worse by some other truly mediocre songs. Evermore at 2 minutes is a pretty standard C2C song, not spectacular, not bad, short, virtually pointless. The Black, strong in the verses, is tripped up by a ho-hum chorus, plus an all too familiar passage that sounds like it was taken straight from the song "Watching You Fall" from Savatage's Handful Of Rain album. This passage added nothing to that song, so I have no idea why they chose to recycle a slightly modified version of it here, because it adds nothing to The Black either. It smells of lazy songwriting. Once again the imbalance crops up here as The Black clocks in at nearly 4 minutes, while they would have done well to cut it at 3 minutes. It's just not that good. I already eluded to Burden Of Truth, the title track, being too long as well.

Indeed, if it wasn't for the 5 minute title track (without which the album wouldn't have been any weaker), Burden Of Truth would barely have cleared the 30 minute mark for total album length across 10 songs. That's not a whole lot of music for your money, especially considering that the best songs are the shortest. I've never had a problem with long tracks as long as they remain engaging for whatever length they run, but I have serious problems with great songs being butchered before the 3 minute mark when they obviously have more to offer.

In the end C2C has delivered yet another solid effort, but failed to produce enough goods to make a truly spectacular album. Tracks like Who Am I To Be, A Matter Of Time, Heal You, Revelations and Messiah are up there with the best tracks from their previous two albums. Unfortunately the songwriting gets just a little too repetitive and unimaginative at times, some choruses fall flat, and the premature ending of the best songs is seriously frustrating and also gives the album a somewhat disjointed feel.

With all the potential in the world for a magnificent album bubbling underneath, Circle II Circle's Burden Of Truth fades out before it reaches the 4 star mark. (3.5)

Just listenin to the 1st track and the guitar and piano playin together makes me wanna cry, his voice is great, this is the best by CIIC ever

This the best Circle II Circle have done so far. Great job guys!