Angra
Aurora Consurgens

THE REVIEW

It seemed strange to me that no one had yet reviewed this latest album by our dear Brazilians, so as a good newcomer, I decided to write something.

'Aurora Consurgens' was released at the end of October 2006 -I believe- and was the subject of discussions because of the change Angra had undertaken starting from their second to last album with the arrival of the new vocalist Edu Falaschi. So out of curiosity, I went to the ever-reliable Sound Cave to buy the CD, and I must say with some suspicion of being disappointed.

Once I listened to it thoroughly, I could only confirm what had been said by reviews -both positive and not- read here and there on the internet. The band has undergone strong changes, there's no denying that. You can see it right away from the opening track "The Course Of Nature" and, mind you, Angra certainly haven't completely lost their impeccable style, despite having evolved. In this -excellent- opening track, the intro turns out to be very suggestive and attractive, and when the formidable Kiko-Rafael guitar duo attacks with sharp riffs, I am not disappointed at all. Next comes "The Voice Commanding You", incredibly engaging, well-orchestrated, and markedly aimed at speed; the keyboards add a touch to everything and Falaschi's voice adapts to this new exciting performance. Excellent. Let's move on to "Ego Painted Grey" where Angra unleash all their dramatic flair in the lyrics: another important change in expressing themselves. The track is very prog, varied, but above all dark, and never have I heard the band propose a sound so full of variations. But it remains a crucial point for the CD. The fourth track is "Breaking Ties"... slow ballad, sweet, quite delicate... Catchy chorus... I would almost say excellent but certainly not a masterpiece. The following two tracks, "Salvation: Suicide" and "Window To Nowhere" are the most disappointing -forgive the rhyme- and lack innovation, just simple power tracks of recycled material. Very interesting is "So Near So Far" with a strong oriental flavor, the chorus is extremely engaging; a quick take-off from the rough landing made by the previous tracks. Thank goodness!... The third-to-last track "Passing By" is another experimentation of electronic keyboards and various loads of effects. The penultimate track "Scream Your Heart Out" struggles to proceed, the sounds are too cumbersome, the enthusiasm degrades quite a bit... But Angra should stop proposing too many changes or they risk jeopardizing their career. Fortunately, the farewell track "Abandoned Fate" is simple and at the same time fantastic: the structure is genuine, a true outburst of acoustic guitar and the melody of Edu's voice -even if it can't compete with our Matos- stands out remarkably.

In short, Angra have managed to propose numerous and significant changes, sometimes deviating too much from their traditional patterns, and have reached an almost decent level but certainly not up to their previous works -and enough with these rhymes-. They didn't disappoint me, but from a band like theirs I expected something decidedly more impactful.
-The rating is 3.5 but I round up-