ARCHON ANGEL (ZAK STEVENS) - Fallen (début 2020)

Nouveau groupe formé autour de Zak Stevens de Savatage et Aldo Lonobile de Secret Sphere, avec un frenchy: Yves Campion de Nightmare à la basse.



Frontiers Music Srl has announced the signing of ARCHON ANGEL to the label's rapidly expanding metal roster. The band's debut album, "Fallen", will be released in early 2020, with a music video for the title track and pre-orders for the album launching on December 4. The band will make its exclusive live debut on the 2020 edition of 70000 Tons Of Metal in January.

A new band project born from a meeting between producer/guitar player Aldo Lonobile (SECRET SPHERE) and former SAVATAGE and CIRCLE II CIRCLE vocalist Zak Stevens during the making of TIMO TOLKKI'S AVALON's "Return To Eden" album, of which Aldo produced and played guitar and Zak did some guest lead vocals. The two soon started talking to Frontiers about the concept of working on new music together, which was met with great enthusiasm from the label. Aldo submitted to Zak some song ideas which were reminiscent of the classic SAVATAGE sound of records such as "Edge Of Thorns" and "Gutter Ballet". The two felt the magic was there, so no time was wasted in getting together to craft an absolutely striking metal album.

Zak Stevens tells the story of how everything came together: "Aldo Lonobile of SECRET SPHERE was producing the 'Return To Eden' album and that's how we originally met in 2018. He contacted me by e-mail and together we chose the two songs I would be singing on. Right away, it was super easy working with Aldo and we thought very much alike as far as music and production are concerned. And now, here we are today as bandmates in ARCHON ANGEL and playing together on the debut album, 'Fallen'!"

"For ARCHON ANGEL, we pretty much started all the songs from scratch," continues Zak. "Aldo had quite a few songs demoed to get things started with and we just went from there. He's an amazing guitarist and I was more than impressed with everything he did. From there, everyone got involved. The band guys in Italy [Aldo - guitars, Marco Lazzarini - drums, and Antonio Agate - keys] and in France (my old friend Yves Campion from the band NIGHTMARE on bass) helped Aldo with the instrumentation. I worked on vocal melodies with Aldo, along with my wife Katherine Stevens, who is a is very creative writer in her own right. She helped Aldo and I with some amazing lyrical contributions and with the overall concept stuff for the album."

Adds Aldo Lonobile: "Zak had a huge impact on my musical background: he has a unique vocal tone and the milestone albums he recorded with SAVATAGE are among my all time favourite albums. When Frontiers gave me the chance to work with him during the production of the latest TIMO TOLKKI'S AVALON metal opera 'Return To Eden', I was very excited and everything has been super easy. I am very proud of the music we wrote together and we are a great team. Stay tuned for more news!"

Aldo was also helped in the songwriting department by some of the most outstanding writers and musicians from the Italian rock scene, including Simone Mularoni (of DGM and SWEET OBLIVION) and Alessandro Del Vecchio (Aldo's bandmate in EDGE OF FOREVER and of course JORN, HARDLINE, etc.).

The album itself deals with a central character, the "Archon", who is a modern-day angel figure. The idea goes back to the religious system of gnosticism. The only difference is that we are immersing the Archon's story into modern-day times. The Archon is a medium who brings messages to God (Demiurge) from the people of Earth. The only real concept to the albums is that they simply follow the story and life and times of the modern day "Archon" and his life as he is called upon to protect the people of earth through frightening, turbulent times.

ARCHON ANGEL is currently working on booking some live shows to present the band in the live environment, but its exclusive live premiere will happen at the 2020 edition of the 70000 Tons Of Metal cruise.

Lineup:

Vocals - Zak Stevens
Guitars - Aldo Lonobile
Bass - Yves Campion
Drums - Marco Lazzarini
Keyboards & Piano (Studio) - Antonio Agate

Je crois que Pietro a pris trop de substances illicites hier ^^
je déplacerai bien le post mais je n'ai pas ce pouvoir

Et j'ai fait ça deux fois ???

C'est bon, je me suis chargé de tout!

Il est fort ce Sven.

Voila le 1er extrait, clairement dans la lignée de Savatage :



Cette voix...

Archon Angel was born from a meeting between producer/guitarist Aldo Lonobile (Secret Sphere) and former Savatage and Circle II Circle vocalist Zak Stevens during the making of Timo Tolkki's Avalon's 'Return To Eden' album, of which Aldo produced and played guitar and Zak did some guest lead vocals. The two soon started talking to Frontiers about the concept of working on new music together, which was met with great enthusiasm from the label. Aldo submitted to Zak some song ideas which were reminiscent of the classic Savatage sound, the two felt the magic was there, and thus no time was wasted in getting together to craft an absolutely striking metal album. Aldo was also helped in the songwriting department by some of the most outstanding writers and musicians from the Italian Rock scene including Simone Mularoni (of DGM and Sweet Oblivion) and Alessandro Del Vecchio (Aldo’s bandmate in Edge of Forever and of course Jorn, Hardline, etc.).

The album itself deals with a central character, the "Archon", who is a modern day angel figure. The idea goes back to the religious system of Gnosticism. The only difference is that we are immersing the Archon's story into modern-day times. The Archon is a medium who brings messages to God (Demiurge) from the people of Earth. The only real concept to the albums is that they simply follow the story and life and times of the modern day "Archon" and his life as he is called upon to protect the people of earth through frightening, turbulent times.

On the first single, vocalist Zak Stevens says, "The title track accompanies the Archon on his journey in transitioning from a successful businessman, who leads a life of excess and egoism, to a superhero who will clean up the city and eventually, save the world from self destruction. In the song, he is reminiscing about his past and the family he left behind, while summoning the power that called him to save the world to "hear him."

About the filming of the video, Zak continues, "After an arduous search for the perfect city and videographer, we settled on Pittsburgh, PA for my scenes. The band was filmed in Genova, Italy, near the famous Porto Antico. In Pittsburgh, we shot atop Mt. Washington, overlooking downtown, much like the Archon would be doing as he pondered his future.  The weather didn't cooperate the first day as it was a rainy day. But one of the coolest moments occurred while filming the video....one of the locations was right across from Heinz Field during a Pittsburgh Steelers [football] game. At the apex of the song, the crowd erupted in cheering at the perfect time, and people who were watching us film were caught by surprise. It really contributed to my overall mindset during that portion of the song. I felt like they were cheering for the Archon and it mimicked a true live performance.  I can't wait to get out there and perform this song live with Archon Angel."

Archon Angel are currently working on booking some live shows to present the band in the live environment, but their exclusive live premiere will happen at the 2020 edition of the 70000 Tons Of Metal Cruise.

If Savatage are a favorite of yours, then Archon Angel's "Fallen" may well be your album of the year in 2020!

Lineup:
Vocals : Zak Stevens
Guitars : Aldo Lonobile
Bass: Yves Campion
Drums: Marco Lazzarini
Keyboards & Piano (Studio): Antonio Agate

Putain mais c'est vrai que ça sonne clairement comme du Savatage!
Et pas que du fait de la voix de Zak!

Je suis intrigué, du coup!

Pietro, calme-toi...




Putain, le frisson sur le riff initial!
Et sur la montée avant le solo!




Edith avait oublié de préciser qu'elle a écouté le morceau pas mal de fois et qu'elle l'adore, ça lui rappelle de très bons souvenirs en terme de sonorités...

Sven a écrit:Pietro, calme-toi...

J'ai vu ça...  Je cherche la setlist de leur show mais pour l'instant personne ne l'a mise en ligne.

Si la qualité est au rdv sur l'album on tient sans doute le meilleur ersatz possible à Savatage, plus encore que Circle II Circle qui était cool sur scène (je me souviens d'un concert où ils avaient joué l'intégralité de l'album Edge of Thorns de Savatage...) mais moins emballant sur album.

Pourtant le gratteux n'officie pas du tout dans ce style là habituellement, il me semble...

Je suis un peu impatient même si j'ai peur d'être déçu donc je n'en attends pas trop ^^

Le gratteux c'est celui de Secret Sphere, c'est du pur power metal non ?

Ils ont aussi joué Damien et Taunting Cobras:

Dans mon souvenir il me semblait que Secret Sphere c'était plutôt du speed, mais il me semble que tu as raison. En tout cas malgré tout, pas tout à fait le même rayon que Savatage.

Nouveau morceau: Rise



Par contre c'est moi ou Zak Stevens est totalement faux à 2'30?
Ça ma fait saigner des oreilles, perso, et ça m'a totalement sorti du morceau qui n'était d'ailleurs pas franchement étincelant...

Je venais pour poster ça, tu m'as devancé.  

Sven a écrit:Par contre c'est moi ou Zak Stevens est totalement faux à 2'30?

Euh c'est toi je pense, en tout cas moi ça ne me choque pas. Faudrait demander à Dup.
C'est sur le mot "why" ? C'est le genre de truc que Zak faisait dans Savatage, on reconnait vraiment son style et ses lignes de chant sur ce genre de passage où il descend en fin de phrase.

Nan c'est sur le "turn my fear into belief" que ça me fait très bizarre...

Mes oreilles ne saignent toujours pas, mais je suis loin d'être une référence.

L'album est sorti, et les premières écoutes sont très positives !

Je prends un très joli pied sur cet album!
Les influences Savatage sont très présentes, dans les riffs (le riff principal de Twilight par exemple, les orchestrations de The Serpent reprennent clairement le riff de Damien), dans le chant de Stevens bien entendu, voire même dans certains arrangements, chœurs ou titres de chansons!
Une bien belle surprise pour le fan de Savatage que je suis, qui pourrait plaire à bon nombre d'amateurs de power metal en général...

L'album tourne ce matin
C'est du power à l'ancienne, pas celui que j'ai l'habitude d'écouter
Donc au début j'étais vachement septique mais c'est clairement pas mal, The Serpent est assez cool
Bon je préfère le power pouet pouet à la Sabaton mais l'écoute est agréable, je vais prendre le temps de creuser l'album !

C'est surtout que c'est loin d'être du pur Power en fait, à l'ancienne ou pas. C'est plutôt du Heavy/Power Prog, comme Savatage en somme. Sans atteindre les sommets de ce dernier, même si le résultat est pas mal. Zak Stevens a formé ce groupe car Circle II Circle (que je n'ai jamais écouté) est en hiatus.

Je n'ai jamais vraiment aimé Zak Stevens dans Savatage, c'est en partie à cause de lui que je n'arrive pas trop à me plonger dans les albums post Gutter Ballet. Il chantait beaucoup trop en force je trouve. Par contre ici je trouve sa voix plus agréable, un des rares vocalistes qui se bonifie vraiment avec le temps.

Merci pour les précisions

Si j'ai parlé de "power metal en général" c'est que je pensais que ça pouvait plaire aux amateurs du genre en général, je ne pensais pas que ça repartirait sur une nouvelle dissertation sur les styles de le metal et leur classification

Ah mais c'est une bonne chose !
j'ai encore beaucoup de lacunes, et mine de rien Dark S en règle au fil du temps

@Eudus: si le style te plaît, n'hésite pas à demander conseil pour Savatage
Sinon, l'album tourne chez moi et dans ma tête, certains riffs, passages ou refrains sont profondément ancrés! Et ça m'a forcé à me remettre du Savatage (même si c'est très régulier), donc c'est pire cool!