Angra
Angels Cry

THE REVIEW

In the mid-90s, Metal was already in an advanced stage of decline, and only progressive seemed to be one of the few genres still standing, thanks to the superhuman technique of bands like Dream Theater and Symphony X. During this time, 1994 to be precise, another band began to emerge, not from the United States, England, or various countries, but rather from Brazil! By now, you may have realized, or at least I hope, that I am talking about Angra, the band named after the mythological goddess of fire.
This band, as you might guess, combines technique, speed, melody, and many innovations, thanks to folk carioca influences... And it is all this that you will find in "Angels Cry," their surprising debut that encapsulates almost an hour of PURE MUSIC! (and not like that rubbish they talk about in the m2o advertisement) And it could not be otherwise given the line-up, composed of Kiko Loureiro and Rafael Bittencourt on guitars, Luis Mariutti on bass, Marco Antunes on drums (present here only in the recording) then replaced by Ricardo Confessori and, of course, the golden voice of Andre Matos.

Well, let's now begin to talk about the album itself, which starts with the intro "Unfinished Allegro" by Schubert, which brings us to the song that many consider Angra's true masterpiece, namely "Carry On," which starts right away with a riff at the limits of power-speed and supported by Matos’ incredible voice, so much so that every time I listen to his interpretation in this song, I get chills. Reaching the end of this masterpiece, a guitar arpeggio leads us to the splendid calm of "Time," and after listening to other very beautiful pieces such as the Title-Track, "Stand Away," and "Never Understand," it comes the turn of a cover, a remarkable cover, that is "Wuthering Heights" by Kate Bush, upon which everyone will seriously think that Matos was spared at birth... Impressive!
The last three tracks we find are the catchy "Streets Of Tomorrow," "Evil Warning," another strong piece of the album highly requested in live performances, and then proceed with the final "Lasting Child," which with its calmness could not have finished this album better.

Needless to say, this album is played wonderfully by the four Brazilians, who at their recording debut managed to produce an album of impressive maturity, something that few other bands have managed to do.
Hats off to Angra then, for having produced this great masterpiece of music, in my opinion only inferior to "Holy Land," but that is a matter of taste. At least one listen, even a distracted one, seems almost mandatory, and if you are a fan of Progressive, well, what are you waiting for? Go get it!