Zak Stevens

Zak Stevens was Savatage's singer between 1992 and 2000, a period covering the band's most ambitious phase in compositional terms. Born in the United States in 1966, he joined when Jon Oliva decided to give up lead vocals to concentrate on writing and keyboards. The difference between the two voices is the point: where Oliva sings with a torn timbre and aggressive attack, Stevens has a clean, pitched delivery with melodic breadth — and it was that change that made possible the rock-opera repertoire the band began to write. He is on Edge of Thorns (1993), Handful of Rain (1994), Dead Winter Dead (1995) and The Wake of Magellan (1997) — albums built as continuous narratives, with characters and dramatic arcs, which demanded a singer able to act a part rather than merely project. Edge of Thorns was also the last record made with Criss Oliva, who died a few months after its release. He left the band in 2000 and formed Circle II Circle, which he has led ever since. He returned to Savatage in the reunion begun in 2023.