However, after Savatage co-founder Jon Oliva stepped down from the fore of the band at the conclusion of their tour in support of Streets: A Rock Opera in 1992 to concentrate on other projects, namely his other band Doctor Butcher and a Broadway-bound musical entitled Romanov, Savatage required a replacement.

Oliva hand-picked his replacement, who was discovered and introduced to the band by Criss Oliva's best friend and guitar technician Savatage's lead guitarist, and their long-time producer Paul O'Neill heard demos of Stevens and wanted him to sing for the band.

In 2000, Stevens quit Savatage, citing that he wanted to spend more time with his young family.

In April 2014 "Ancient Rites of the Moon", the first album of the Stardust Reverie Project (Graham Bonnet, Lynn Meredith, Bill Hudson and Melissa Ferlaak), was released.

In November 2015, Zak appeared as the host on the second Stardust Reverie project album Proclamation of Shadows.