Angra appreciation thread

[bosk1]

I know nothing about this band other than having a new appreciation for Aquiles Priester as a drummer and person, thanks to the DT auditions.  So...

1.  What do they sound like?
2.  What are their lyrical topics?
3.  Where should a n00b start?

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

I personally love Angra. They're an amazing band. They are kind of divided in two eras, the Andre Matos era and the Edu Falaschi era. Both are great but are very different.

I'd say, that the Matos era (from their first album 'till Fireworks) is more power metal-ish. Holy Land is an amazing record for sure, but I don't think it's quite a good place to start. On the other hand, I got started with the Falaschi era and "Temple of Shadows" was the album that made me a fan.

1) Their sound has been leaning more and more towards progressive metal than their eariler albums. They have lots of brazilian-type influence in their music which gives it an incredibly unique flavor. Lots of percussions and variety of instruments.

2) They are really varied. Temple of Shadows is a concept album about a guy called the shadow hunter who if I recall correctly, takes part in the crusades. I personally love the lyrics to the album. Their other lyrics cover topics like "being born again", like it was "Rebirth"'s case (which is a great album, but not as great as Temple IMO). And narrates the band's return to the music scene after replacing Andre Matos with Edu Falaschi.

3) Temple of Shadows. I don't think I have mentioned it enough times.




Also, I think Aqua (their most recent album) is a great starting place.

[Aniland]

1) As generic of a description as this is, a mix of power metal and progressive metal with some Brazilian music influence (based on what album you hear)

2) The usual, though leaning more towards power metal... fantasy, adventure, the occasional feeling

3) HOLY LAND. It actually does not have Priester on it, but it's one of the Andre Matos records. His singing is absolutely phenomenal and you will no doubt find great love in their music. I recommend you look up a song called "Carolina IV" first and foremost.

[Nick]

Temple of Shadows is definitely the place to start.

[Scard]

Temple of the Shadows, then Aurora Consergens. I'm not a huge fan of any of the other stuff, honestly.

[emindead]

"Rebirth" is the best them.

[RuRoRul]

I always meant to listen to them after seeing them on Symphony X forums etc. but never got round to it. Just got Temple Of Shadows and Aurora Consergens recently after seeing the drummer was supposed to audition for DT. Hopefully will hear some good stuff and get into them.

[The Silent Cody]

WOOOOW, Angra appreciation thread 
Bosk, I meet Angra thanks to Aurora Consurgens album from 2006. It sounds great, Aguiles is just perfect, perfect parts for that kind of music. Angra style is progressive power metal in generally with some brazilian tasts, which sounds very interesting. Next to Priester he have Felipe Andreoli on bass, which is one of greatest influences, just behind Sheehan and JM ( bass finger players only interests me ) What I like about Angra, the band has some DT vibe... LIsten to some songs like Sound Of Nature, Ego Painted Grey (impressive tapping bass intro) or Time Passing By. They are just killers !!!

[Tiu Neo]

Aquiles played on Rebirth, Temple of Shadows and Aurora Consurgens. From those, Temple of Shadows is the best by far, IMO.

I also recommend Holy Land, Angels Cry and their lastest album, Aqua. Aqua's production is horrible, but the songs are really, really great.

[ariich]

They're power metal I guess, but with a fairly proggy edge. These days they have a really good sound going, and their current singer is excellent. First couple of albums are nice, but a little cheesier.

I concur with the consensus in here, start with Temple of Shadows, easily one of my favourite power metal (ish) albums.

[pain of occupation]

i had a trippy parallel in my exploration of spock's beard and angra last year, my two most listened to bands for the year (orbs was a close 3rd despite only one album to their credit, AND despite it only coming out later on in the year).

i mentioned months back in the spock's thread how i was a pretty big fan circa 1999-2001. but i only ever checked out one song on the first album following neal's departure, wasn't impressed, and was too ignorant and too busy getting into other bands that i never bothered to checking out anything post-neal era until last summer. don't get me wrong, i continued to enjoy  neal-era spock's over those 8 years, but i partly assumed they were nowhere near as good without him and didnt check out anything new over them years...then (possible as a result of the success i had in the first half of 2010 with angra) i decide to finally give "nick's beard" a fair chance...next thing you know i'm learning Feel Euphoria, Octane, s/t, and X inside-out over the course of a couple months, and all of a sudden i was kinda like, "neal who?"

well it went pretty much the exact same way earlier last year for me with angra. me and a buddy became big fans of Holy Land and Fireworks circa 1999/2000. and just like spock's, angra found themselves needing a new singer only shortly after i got into them. and just like i didnt give post-neal spock's a fair chance, i only gave Rebirth one chance (i dont even think i listened to the whole album), wasnt impressed, and never revisited it over the years nor any of the album's that came out since, yet all the while continuing to enjoy Holy Land and Fireworks from time to time.

i'm not sure what prompted it, but last year in january i checked out salvation suicide and thought, *wow, that's pretty fucking awesome*...before i knew it, edu-era angra was my new obsession. i acquired it all and spun everything from the past decade so much in about 3 or 4 months that i no longer felt like *look what i've been missing out on all these years* but instead felt like i HAD been spinning them all these years.

so needless to say, i was highly anticipating the release of Aqua. and though i tripped out on it from the first couple spins (yes, the production is a little off, and edu's vox sound different somehow...i read someone suggesting it sounds like edu had a cold during the tracking), i absolutely love the album.  it was my second favorite album of the year (a very close second, next to the mentioned Orbs album).

also, for anyone that finds they like felipe/aquiles-era angra, be sure to check out Freakeys. it's to angra what LTE is to dream theater, an instrumental album featuring angra's bassist, drummer, and touring keyboardist. i've heard it slammed on this forum as being nowhere near the quality of, say, LTE...sure, it might not have quite the variety of LTE, and i could even see how someone might call it 'generic prog' or something, but i rather like it. it might not have gotten as many spins last year as Temple, Consurgens, or Aqua, but it was definitely up there. really sick playing, and strong song writing according to pain of occupation.

[JasonScandopolous]

Just listed to Temple of Shadows as recommended.  The band sounds like a combination of Dragonforce (i.e. power metal), Iron Maiden (singer sounds VERY MUCH like bruce dickinson; non-singer reasons as well), and DT.  Maybe in 45/45/10 proportions.

[ariich]

Just listed to Temple of Shadows as recommended.  The band sounds like a combination of Dragonforce (i.e. power metal), Iron Maiden (singer sounds VERY MUCH like bruce dickerson; non-singer reasons as well), and DT.  Maybe in 45/45/10 proportions.

What the hell? They have pretty much nothing in common with Dragonforce, aside from the fact that some of the songs are pretty fast, but that's just all power metal surely?

The Bruce Dickinson comparison is fair though, especially on that album.

[JasonScandopolous]

Just listed to Temple of Shadows as recommended.  The band sounds like a combination of Dragonforce (i.e. power metal), Iron Maiden (singer sounds VERY MUCH like bruce dickerson; non-singer reasons as well), and DT.  Maybe in 45/45/10 proportions.

What the hell? They have pretty much nothing in common with Dragonforce, aside from the fact that some of the songs are pretty fast, but that's just all power metal surely?

The Bruce Dickinson comparison is fair though, especially on that album.

I dont really know any power metal other than one album of dragonforce, so yes that was equivalent to saying "they're power metal."

[ariich]

Ah ok, fair enough.

Dragonforce are NOT representative of power metal, to be honest. You should seek out some of the good stuff (like Angra).

[The Silent Cody]

Ah ok, fair enough.

Dragonforce are NOT representative of power metal, to be honest. You should seek out some of the good stuff (like Angra).

... or Helloween, Gamma Ray, Freedom Call, Zonata, Hammerfall, Stratovarius, Labyrinth.... I can do that allllll night

[ariich]

Hammerfall

lol

[Kyo]

Hammerfall

lol

[The Silent Cody]

Hammerfall

lol

Renagaaaade, Renegaaaade......     

[ariich]

I used to quite like HammerFall, but honestly they're just too cheesy for me now. I still enjoy a handful of their songs, but I have a feeling it's more because of nostalgia than anything else.

[jsem]

I never found Hammerfall too interesting. Pretty generic imo.

[ariich]

I never found Hammerfall too interesting. Pretty generic imo.

Generic is not the word I'd use, as I haven't heard any other band that sounds like them. People are too quick to describe things as "generic" when they just mean they don't like it.

[Nekov]

Going back to Angra. I think it is a good prog power band. I saw them live when they were touring Aurora Consurgence. Very interesting show.
I'd recommend to start from Angel's Cry and Fireworks. It seems everyoine here likes the latest better but I think the Matos era was great.

[bosk1]

Well, here's my take after listening to a couple of songs that I found on YouTube:  Generic power metal.

  Sorry, Rich.  I'll clarify.

Although there are power metal bands out there that aren't like this, what I think of as being stereotypical power metal is kind of:  Playing classical chord progressions and scales as fast as humanly possible, which includes the drums playing so quickly that it is almost a constant "buzz" of drums rather than discernable drums hits, and operatic falsetto male vocals.  In general, with a few exceptions, that styles doesn't appeal to me.  I don't really like what I've heard from bands lke Dragonforce or Firewind that are all about that style.  The musicianship is incredible, and the talent is undeniable, but it just doesn't appeal to me.

Angra seems to fall pretty squarely into that style, at least from what I've heard so far.  I like some of the comments I've heard that there is a very progressive side to them as well and that they infuse some Brazilian aspects into their style, so I'm going to give them another shot and try to find some more of their stuff to listen to.  But, so far, their music hasn't really done much for me, unfortunately.

[Nekov]

Well, here's my take after listening to a couple of songs that I found on YouTube:  Generic power metal.

  Sorry, Rich.  I'll clarify.

Although there are power metal bands out there that aren't like this, what I think of as being stereotypical power metal is kind of:  Playing classical chord progressions and scales as fast as humanly possible, which includes the drums playing so quickly that it is almost a constant "buzz" of drums rather than discernable drums hits, and operatic falsetto male vocals.  In general, with a few exceptions, that styles doesn't appeal to me.  I don't really like what I've heard from bands lke Dragonforce or Firewind that are all about that style.  The musicianship is incredible, and the talent is undeniable, but it just doesn't appeal to me.

Angra seems to fall pretty squarely into that style, at least from what I've heard so far.  I like some of the comments I've heard that there is a very progressive side to them as well and that they infuse some Brazilian aspects into their style, so I'm going to give them another shot and try to find some more of their stuff to listen to.  But, so far, their music hasn't really done much for me, unfortunately.

For more proggy and Brazilian influenced I recommend Never Understand.(Kai Hansen plays in this one  ) That is my favorite Angra Song. You can also try Carolina IV.

[ariich]

Well, here's my take after listening to a couple of songs that I found on YouTube:  Generic power metal.

  Sorry, Rich.  I'll clarify.

Although there are power metal bands out there that aren't like this, what I think of as being stereotypical power metal is kind of:  Playing classical chord progressions and scales as fast as humanly possible, which includes the drums playing so quickly that it is almost a constant "buzz" of drums rather than discernable drums hits, and operatic falsetto male vocals.  In general, with a few exceptions, that styles doesn't appeal to me.  I don't really like what I've heard from bands lke Dragonforce or Firewind that are all about that style.  The musicianship is incredible, and the talent is undeniable, but it just doesn't appeal to me.

Angra seems to fall pretty squarely into that style, at least from what I've heard so far.  I like some of the comments I've heard that there is a very progressive side to them as well and that they infuse some Brazilian aspects into their style, so I'm going to give them another shot and try to find some more of their stuff to listen to.  But, so far, their music hasn't really done much for me, unfortunately.

YOU'RE A TERRIBLE PERSON I HATE YOU

[bosk1]

YOU'RE A TERRIBLE PERSON I HATE YOU

That's okay.  Since our relationship is purely physical, it can still work even if we hate each other.  In fact, that could make it more exciting. 

[pain of occupation]

Well, here's my take after listening to a couple of songs that I found on YouTube:  Generic power metal.

  Sorry, Rich.  I'll clarify.

Although there are power metal bands out there that aren't like this, what I think of as being stereotypical power metal is kind of:  Playing classical chord progressions and scales as fast as humanly possible, which includes the drums playing so quickly that it is almost a constant "buzz" of drums rather than discernable drums hits, and operatic falsetto male vocals.  In general, with a few exceptions, that styles doesn't appeal to me.  I don't really like what I've heard from bands lke Dragonforce or Firewind that are all about that style.  The musicianship is incredible, and the talent is undeniable, but it just doesn't appeal to me.

Angra seems to fall pretty squarely into that style, at least from what I've heard so far.  I like some of the comments I've heard that there is a very progressive side to them as well and that they infuse some Brazilian aspects into their style, so I'm going to give them another shot and try to find some more of their stuff to listen to.  But, so far, their music hasn't really done much for me, unfortunately.

bosk1, if you get off on ballads as much as you do on ariich, i got a few suggestions for the less-power-metal side of the band: wishing well, sprouts of time, late redemption, breaking ties, lease of life, & ashes

EDIT: as for them sounding overly power, i'd say really only two songs on Aqua be power metal. maybe two and a half.

[The Silent Cody]

Well I will stick to mine, that is progressive power metal First Angra album that I've heard was Aurora Consurgens and two or maybe three songs are generic power metal from there IMO.

[wolfking]

Angra are anything but generic power metal.  Angels Cry and Holy Land are power metal perfection. 

[RodrigoAltaf]

Old topic, I know, but Angra just released a new album, and here's my review, for those who are interested:

https://www.sonicperspectives.com/album-reviews/angra-omni/

[cramx3]

Old topic, I know, but Angra just released a new album, and here's my review, for those who are interested:

https://www.sonicperspectives.com/album-reviews/angra-omni/

Nice.  I think it was Kattle who ways telling me to check out the latest Angra album in another thread when we were discussing this years ProgPower and I finally got Omni a couple weeks ago, but more importantly, finally started listening to it and I am enjoying it.  This is my first experience with the band and I wouldn't label this "generic power metal" at all.  Maybe if you listened to the opening song which might be the closest track to generic.  But I also really like that track  anyway, definitely can hear the Brazilian influence and it's definitely got some prog to it which is what I really like, that prog power combination.  I'll have to dig deeper to check out some other albums eventually, but I am enjoying this one for now.   

I really don't like The Bottom of My Soul though, for some reason that chorus just makes me annoyed.

[NoseofNicko]

Old topic, I know, but Angra just released a new album, and here's my review, for those who are interested:

https://www.sonicperspectives.com/album-reviews/angra-omni/

I really don't like The Bottom of My Soul though, for some reason that chorus just makes me annoyed.

Yeah it's my least favorite song on the album. Don't care for it, really like every other song.

[The Walrus]

1. War Horns
2. Insania
3. Always More
4. Travelers of Time
5. Black Widow's Web

My top 5 on the album. Still going strong as my AOTY

[Lethean]

Glad you're enjoying it cramx3.   Fantastic album and they're going to be awesome at ProgPower.  I do love The Bottom of My Soul though.