| Angra 'Angels Cry'
Century Media, 1994 Tyrant: Angra are a Brazilian power metal band who incorporate the salsa rhythms of their homeland into their melodic brand of metal. The first thing you need to know about Angra is that their vocalist Andre Matos has an unusually feminie high pitched vocal style that you will either love or hate, personally I like it . This is not to say that Matos is a one dimensional vocalist as he has a wide range of styles but he just likes to squeal. Anyway� Angels Cry is a modern semi progressive powermetal album with structured songs and good sing along chorus', with great riffs/soloing and the upper spectrum soaring vocals one would expect from any such band. Keyboards and trumpet synths run rampant alongside the soft guitar and vocal melodies lending Angles Cry a unique sound and some powerful tribal style drumming helps distinguish Angra from their contemporaries. Having said that though, take away all the exotic flair and Angra could easily be compared both musically and in some of their vocal lines to Keeper of the Seven Keys era Helloween to the point of worship, all though this isn't necessarily a bad thing. Overall a compelling, happy and original listen� even down to the disturbingly perfect cover of Kate Bushes Wuthering Heights� Favourite tracks: Time ; Carry On ; Stand Away Mark: 7.5/10 Angra 'Holy Land' Century Media, 1996 Tyrant: Angra's Holy Land expands further into the tribal echoes demonstrated on their debut resulting in a hollower more spacious album sound. The tribal rhythms come to the fore much more this time round and a wider variety of instruments utilised such as didgeridoo, viola, flute, pianos, and various Brazilian indigenous instruments to fully flesh out the new sound. There is an emptiness in Holy Land that always puts me in a strange mood, sounding initially happy and blissful, the actual tone of the album I find inexplicably depressing. I'm not sure whether this was intentional or whether it is just me but I find it quite intriguing. Andre's vocals deliver more power this time around especially in the brilliant album highlight 'Make Believe' which he soars to new heights, whilst at the same time displaying the best example of the complex tone of the album with its happy piano passages and suicidal lyrics. Holy Land's album structuring is a lot looser than Angel's Cry's with less focus on the verse, bridge, chorus style of song writing and with longer less catchy songs overall. Angra provide an interesting follow up to their debut that may turn a few fans away with its different, more cultural, less inviting approach, but essentially a good effort that offers something different from the usual powermetal fare. Favourite Tracks - Make Believe ; Deep Blue ; Carolina IV Mark - 7/10 Angra 'Fireworks' Century Media, 1998 Tyrant: Fireworks finally sees Angra hit their mark with a brilliant blend of their two earlier albums and a more refined sound the band can call their own even though a few traces of early Helloween can still be heard in Matos' vocal melodies. The salsa rhythms introduced in Angra's debut now flow so smoothly through their music ( even in the guitar rhythms ) that they seem like a natural part of the bands sound rather than some added exotic spice like before. Fireworks is a much more mature and professional sounding album with a higher degree of structuring and technical proficiency than previously, whilst remaining diverse enough to be interesting. Angra have chosen a more "metal" approach to this album as opposed to previous releases and the songs are a little harder and better as a result. Angra have concentrated on making Fireworks a much higher quality, stronger album than before and their are virtually no tracks that could be considered fillers. A strings orchestra is featured on few tracks in Fireworks which helps to round out the albums sound and accentuate some of the emotive passages on the more ponderous material like 'Lisbon', 'Gentle Change' and 'Rainy Nights'. Overall this is easily Angra's best work to date and highly recommended. Favourite tracks: Metal Icarus ; Petrified Eyes ; Mystery Machine Mark: 8.5/10 Angra 'Rebirth' Century Media, 2001 Tyrant: After Angra's rather confusing break up guitarists Kiko Lovreiro and Rafael Bittencourt decided to 'carry on' ( haha ) and reform Angra. Andre Matos was always going to be a hard act to follow but the replacement singer Edu Falaschi does an admiral job sounding similar but not as high pitched and attempting to sing in the same vein. The appropriately titled 'Rebirth' has Angra written all over it and as a reformation album was a lot better than I was expecting with softer ballads and powerful uptempo tune and everything in between. Moving a little more towards traditional power metal realms Rebirth contains some familiar passages from the back catalogue with the tribal influences of Holy Land and the classic Angra backing harmonies whilst retaining enough new ideas and variation to remain plausible. Unfortunately I feel the album hasn't incorporated the salsa style rhythms as well as its predecessor did and the 'regional sound' synthesisers can occasionally become a bit overbearing. Overall Rebirth is the next natural progression for Angra and considering the line up collapse it is handled rather professionally. Favourite tracks: Heroes of Sand ; Acid Rain ; Running Alone Mark: 8/10 Angra 'Hunters And Prey' Steamhammer, 2002 Tyrant: Angra's new mini cd features 4 new tracks ( five including the Portuguese and English versions of the title track ), 1 cover and 2 acoustic remixes. The new material offers 'Live And Learn' an upbeat synth heavy powermetal outing, 'Bleeding Heart' a slower unusually mainstream piano ballad with a catchy chorus and music penned by new front man Edu, 'Hunters And Prey' a longer gentle track infused with Brazilian rhythms reminiscent of Holy Land with a funky solo section at its core, and 'Eyes Of Christ' a mid paced unusually structured track with interesting synth passages and riffs. You also get acoustic remakes of 'Heroes Of Sand' and 'Rebirth ( Edit )' neither which top the originals but are pleasant listening regardless, as well as a cover of Phil Collin's 'Mama' a synth heavy track with beat box style percussion and annoying throat clearing vocal passages included. Overall most Angra fans will be wanting to pick this up but hardly essential for the casual listener. Favourite Tracks - Bleeding Heart ; Eyes Of Christ ; Live And Learn Mark - 7.5/10 Angra �Temple Of Shadows� 2004, Steamhammer Tyrant: Temple Of Shadows is Angra�s new concept album about a crusader questioning his faith as he joins the Christian�s on their bloody rampage through the holy land. Edu Falaschi�s vocal performance is excellent and carries what is the best performance of the Brazilian bands career. Although Temple Of Shadows is a concept album each individual and diverse song plays well by itself ranging from the folky ballad �Wishing Well�, choir driven epics �Spread Your Fire� and �Winds Of Destination� ( with guest vocals Hani Kursch ), the Brazilian tinged �Late Redemption� and �Sprouts Of Time�, or the aggressive 'Temple Of Hate' ( with guest vocals from the legendary Kai Hansen ). Angra is still pushing further into more traditional prog/powermetal territory and leaving their salsa infused riffing behind in favour of segmented folk sections like the flamenco acoustic intro to the unusual �Shadow Hunter� and the mid section of 'Sprouts Of Time' but this harly seems to be a detrimental effect after an album of this magnitude. Overall another fine album any fan of Angra or power/prog in general will not want to miss out on. Favourite Tracks � Winds Of Destination ; Waiting Silence ; Spread Your Fire Mark � 9/10 Angra 'Aurora Consurgens' SPV, 2006 Tyrant: This was an eagerly awaited release for me after the awesome Temple Of Shadows and initially I was somewhat disappointed. Aurora Consurgens drops the epic storyline and powerful powermetal stylings of its predecessor in favour of an album that is both more complex and dark. Edu's vocals are again a highlight although he offers a slightly more grim approach to the harder themes of the lyrics. The Brazillians have brought back the tribal elements from Holy Land and incorporated them with heavy driven/stagger riffs, speed riffs, saucy salsa passages, and catchy chorus'. The album still has a diverse range of style from the balladesque 'Breaking Ties', 'Passing By' and 'Abandoned Fate', the melancholy 'Ego Painted Grey' and 'Window To Nowhere', to the more standard Angra fare 'The Voice Commanding You' and 'Salvation: Suicide'. Where the album varies is that the rhythms take alot longer to get into and initially aren't as appealing as the band previous efforts, but given some time Aurora Consurgens reveals itself as a wonderful elaborate album full of hidden technical treasures. Overall another fine addition to the Angra catalogue and a different and diverse listen to those with enough patience. Favourite Tracks - Breaking Ties ; The Voice Commanding You ; Passing By Mark - 8/10 |
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