ARCHON ANGEL
“FALLEN”
Album Review by Syl Pdll

9/10

Archon Angel arises from the meeting between the Italian guitarist and producer Aldo Lonobile (Secret Sphere) and the American vocalist Zack Stevens (Circle II Circle, ex-Savatage). The composition process of this album turned around the musical style of Savatage on albums such as “Edge Of Thorns” and “Gutter Ballet” supported by other composers and musicians on the Italian scene such as Simone Mularoni (DGM and Sweet Oblivion) ​​and Alessandro Del Vecchio (Edge of Forever, Jorn, Hardline, among others).

This concept album addresses the story of Archon who is an angel who has been sent to protect earth people in turbulent and terrifying times. In addition to Zak Stevens and Aldo Lonobile, they include Yves Campion on bass and Marco Lazzarini on drums.

“Fallen” is the song that gives title to this album whose sound shows an interesting combination between metal with some melodic and progressive elements. The song’s introduction begins at the rhythm of the piano chords in which the other musical instruments are drastically added as a preamble to Zak Stevens’ vocal performance characterized by a high-pitched, emotionally charged timbre. This song immediately evokes us to the glorious time when Savatage appeared as one of the great exponents of metal worldwide.

“The Serpent” brings with it the influence of the metal scene in Italy by identifying some symphonic elements in its sound through the guitar and keyboard chords. Zak Stevens plays the song challengingly adding more drama to this conceptual story. Instead, “Rise” shows a musical essence closer to power due to the speed with which musical instruments are played, making the melody much more rhythmic. This also shows Stevens’ ability to adapt to different musical styles.

“Under The Spell” begins with the piano chords in conjunction with the voice of Zak Stevens that acquires a melodic key and as the song progresses the intensity and emotionality of his vocal performance increases. This song is geared more towards an AOR style characterized by a catchy chorus and the use of backing vocals.

The introduction of “Twilight” is characterized by using the keyboard, the aggressiveness of the guitar and some electronic elements, alluding to the modernity in which this conceptual album is located. This song takes up Savatage’s musical roots as well as the essence of his latest albums characterized by using some orchestral and lyrical elements charged with emotion.

“Faces Of Innocence” recovers the essence of hard rock with some melodic elements through the vocal performance of Zak Stevens who transitions from low to high voices without much difficulty. The bass lines can be seen in the song marking the rhythm of the instrumentation and Aldo Lonobile’s guitar solo is spectacular.

The next song is “Hit The Wall” whose chords take us back to the golden age of Savatage with an orientation towards hard rock coupled with a powerful and rhythmic vocal performance without that melodic charge that has been presented in previous songs. Zak Stevens is a vocalist with a wide vocal range that has been exploited throughout this album.

“Who’s In Yhe Mirror” is a song where the guitar and drums take center stage through rhythmic chords that evoke an image of rock and roll from the late 80’s and early 90’s, loading with melodic elements and the lyrics of the song are simple and concise, that from the first note will enter your head and you will want to sing it.

The ballad for this album is featured in “Brought To The Edge” where the orchestral elements coupled with the guitar and keyboard chords make it a masterpiece. It is undoubtedly one of the most emotional songs on this album that generates in the listener a feeling of sadness and melancholy, the presence of the saxophone in the last part of the song leaves you speechless.

This album ends with “Return Of The Storm” combining through the different chords of each of the musical instruments the most prolific stage of Savatage and the influence of Italian symphonic metal where the voice of Zak Stevens adds more emotion to this song musical. A great closing for this first joint work of the American vocalist and the Italian Aldo Lonobile.

Archon Angel is an album that has brought the nostalgia of Savatage through the prodigious voice of Zak Stevens and the influence of the Italian metal scene through Aldo Lonobile combining past and present in an interesting musical proposal. If you like the combination of rock with orchestra and some progressive elements or you miss the Oliva brothers’ masterpiece with a modern touch, this album will be to your liking.

TRACKLIST

Fallen
The Serpent
Rise
Under The Spell
Twilight
Faces Of Innocence
Hit The Wall
Who’s In The Mirror
Brought To The Edge
Return Of The Storm

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