RockSomething.com recently caught up with CIRCLE II CIRCLE / ex-SAVATAGE frontman Zak Stevens to discuss the latest CIIC album, Burden Of Truth. The following is a brief excerpt:

RockSomething: How do you feel Burden Of Truth compares to the first two CIIC albums?

Zak Stevens: "I think it’s another step in the right direction definitely; gaining musical strength from the overall concept and scenes within the story. We’re definitely realizing the huge boost that a strong third record can provide."

RockSomething: How much of the record will you play live?

Zak Stevens: "We’ll play most of the record on the first European tour, along with our favourites from Watching In Silence and Middle Of Nowhere. We’ll also be featuring a Savatage set with some familiar material from my era alongside it."

RockSomething: Jon Oliva’s just released an album using a lot of Criss' (Oliva) riffs on Maniacal Renderings; have you heard any of it? Are you pleased to hear about new material from Jon?

Zak Stevens: "I certainly am. It’s definitely good to hear Jon bringing back some of those lost tracks with Criss. It brings back great memories for me when I hear Criss’ original riffs."

RockSomething: When you look back on your career with Savatage what do you think about it?

Zak Stevens: "Overall, it was a huge learning experience for me in every area of music, from the studio, to the live performance, to producing records. I’m very lucky to have been an understudy to the huge talents of Jon, Paul O' Neill, and all the members of Savatage I played with throughout that era."

RockSomething: What are the differences between being in CIIC and being in Savatage?

Zak Stevens: "Obviously in CIIC I’m responsible for a lot more song writing and all the lyrics, etc. In Savatage, I wrote a little but my main focus was on learning and making that great music come alive in the vocal arena. Now in CIIC, I try to put all that knowledge to good use and we’re all trying to get better with every performance and every record."

To read the entire interview go to this location.