CIRCLE II CIRCLE – Full Circle – Best Of

October 15th, 2012 by Yiannis

AFM RECORDS – Out Now

Zachary Stevens is a man who should really need no introductions! Following a very sucessful stint as the frontman of the mighty Savatage between 1993 and 2000, he went on to create similarly impressive music under the moniker Circle II Circle using the services and support of the German label AFM records.

Now, eleven years and five studio releases later, the US Heavy/Power Metal outfit has decided to release a two disc collection entitled “Full Circle – Best Of”. Is this release an indication that the relationship between the sextet and the label has finally run its course and a way of helping the band fulfill its contractual obligations? Only time will tell… in the meantime, let’s see what this ‘best of’ collection has to offer.

Such collections are normally not my cup of tea as you very rarely find one which gives justice to its title and which are what you could honestly describe as real value for money, however it might just be that “Full Circle – Best Of” is the exception that proves the rule… Why? Well, apart from the fact that what’s on offer here are two discs and a staggering thirty two compositions in total, this collection covers material from every single Circle II Circle album, all being represented in equal measures.

Thought I am pretty sure that there will definitely be at least one long term fan who will claim to be unhappy from the omission of a certain favourite track, the vast majority of the band’s audience will undoubtedly be satisfied with the song selection.

Apart from the obvious fan pleasers, such as “Watching In Silence”, “In This Life” and “Forgiven”, all heavily influenced by the works of the mighty Savatage, this collection features material that even those of you who already own all of the band’s albums might just want to get your hands on.

“Against The World”, “Strung Out” and “Shadows” were previously available only to the Japanese market; “Stay” – only to the owners of the limited edition of “Delusions Of Grandeur”, while the live versions of “Watching In Silence” and “Evermore” to no-ne whatsoever. Those of you who choose to invest in this collection will also be given access to acoustic versions of the amazing “Into The Wind” and “Burden Of Truth”, an edit version of “Every Last Thing” and to “Darkness Rising” – a mid tempo belter filled with groovy riffs and flamboyant guitar solos!

Being a massive Savatage fan, I am still not quite sure why I never really paid much attention to the music of Circle II Circle before, especially as a decent amount of the band’s music features contributions from both Jon Oliva and Chris Caffery! Well, “Full Circle – Best Of” proves how wrong I was and promises much with regards the band’s back catalogue.

Circle II Circle deserve both your attention and support and, if you are not already a fan, this collection will probably sway you.

John Stefanis

Rating: **** (4.0/5.0)

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions, streamed via Facebook.
In 2023 he signed a recording deal with Sony in Canada and released a new single on 15 September.

Next session: Sunday 1 December

Check out videos here: https://www.facebook.com/getreadytorockradio

David Randall presents a weekly show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, Sundays at 22:00 GMT, repeated on Mondays and Fridays), when he invites listeners to ‘Assume The Position’. The show signposts forthcoming gigs and tours and latest additions at getreadytorock.com. First broadcast on 3 November 2024.

UK Blues Broadcaster of the Year (2020 and 2021 Finalist) Pete Feenstra presents his weekly Rock & Blues Show on Tuesday at 19:00 GMT as part of a five hour blues rock marathon “Tuesday is Bluesday at GRTR!”. The show is repeated on Wednesdays at 22:00, Fridays at 20:00). This show was first broadcast 29 October 2024.

How to Listen Live?

Click the programming image at the top of the page (top right of page if using desktop)

Listen via Windows Media Player. Click or tap here and “open file”
Listen via other media player (eg. VLC) Click or tap here and “open file”

Get Ready to ROCK! Radio is also in iTunes under Internet Radio/Classic Rock
Listen in via the Tunein app and search for “Get Ready to ROCK!” and save as favourite.

More information and links at our radio website where you can listen again to shows via the presenter pages: getreadytorockradio.com

Power Plays w/c 11 November 2024

ARCANE MOON Hello Sun (indie)
S8NT ELEKTRIC XTC (Long Branch Records)
ARCANA KINGS Here We Go (Curtain Call Records)
KLOGR face The Unknown (Zeta Factory)
BEYOND UNBROKEN Dance With The Dead (FiXT)
REVENGIN Decadent Feeling (Wormholedeath)

Featured Albums w/c 11 November 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Singer Songwriter)