Frontiers Music Srl will release Archon Angel's second album, II, on April 14. It follows the band's 2020 debut, Fallen, which saw vocalist Zak Stevens (Circle II Circle, Savatage, Trans-Siberian Orchestra) and producer/guitarist Aldo Lonobile (Secret Sphere, Edge Of Forever) delivering a fantastic slab of power/progressive metal.
A new single and music video, "Fortress" is out today. Watch the clip below, and pre-order/save II here.
Fans of Archon Angel's debut will surely find no sophomore slump awaits them on II. In fact, Stevens and Lonobile have locked in on all the key parts that worked so well on their debut and amplified and perfected them for this glorious follow-up.
The seeds of Archon Angel were planted when producer/guitarist Lonobile and vocalist Stevens were collaborating on songs for Timo Tolkki's Avalon's Return To Eden album, which Aldo produced and played guitar on and Zak did some guest lead vocals for. After some discussions about what musical direction they wanted to take, Aldo sent Zak some demos that were reminiscent of classic Savatage records like Edge Of Thorns and Gutter Ballet. The two felt they were onto something and followed their musical muse, ultimately culminating in what would become Archon Angel's debut album, Fallen.
Zak Stevens first came to prominence in the metal scene when he was hand-picked by Savatage's Jon Olivia to take over as lead vocalist for the band. Starting with 1993's Edge Of Thorns, he would record four studio albums with the band, including the aforementioned album plus Handful Of Rain, Dead Winter Dead, and The Wake Of Magellan. He has also performed on multiple Trans-Siberian Orchestra releases, including Christmas Eve and Other Stories, Beethoven's Last Night, and more, while also being a member of the band's touring production.
Around 2001, Zak started a band, Circle II Circle, which has recorded seven studio albums, with the most recent being 2015's Reign Of Darkness. Additionally, he has appeared on albums by Timo Tolkki's Avalon, Machines Of Grace, Jon Olivia's Pain, and more.
II tracklisting:
"Wake Of Emptiness"
"Avenging The Dragon"
"Fortress"
"Quicksand"
"Away From The Sun"
"Afterburn"
"I Will Return"
"One Last Reflection"
"Bulletproof"
"Shattered"
"Lake Of Fire"
"Fortress" video:
Lineup:
Vocals: Zak Stevens
Guitars: Aldo Lonobile
Bass: Nik Mazzucconi
Drums: Marco Lazzarini
Keyboards & Piano: Alessandro Del Vecchio
Synth & Orchestral Arrangements: Antonio Agate
