Angra
Holy Live

THE REVIEW

And here, ladies and gentlemen, a true live masterpiece.

We are in 1997 and after two great masterpieces such as "Angels Cry" and "Holy Land", one of the best prog/power metal bands, Angra, brings to life their only live recording with the album "Holy Live", a record composed of 6 songs, lasting a total of 35 minutes in which the musicians display all their class and preparation, which also live boasts excellent quality.

The evening in Paris opens with the classic intro "Crossing", which, preceded by the audience's cheers, directs us thanks to its majestic sounds to the first real track of the album: the powerful "Nothing To Say": the song opens with a hefty guitar riff, followed by Matos' voice who, after rousing a well-present audience, begins to delight the listener with his high and crystalline voice. The instrumental part is excellent, losing absolutely none of its effectiveness, instead presenting us with musicians capable of perfectly managing the situation, unveiling solos of great sonic clarity and impact. We continue with another Angra classic: "Z.I.T.O.", a speed track, enriched with progressive nuances with hints of Brazilian music (given by percussion and a commendable use of keyboards), leading us to one of the group's most beautiful songs "Carolina IV", 13 minutes of pure ecstasy: after a perfectly guided guitar solo by the Loureiro/Bittencourt duo, the song starts, which among Brazilian rhythms, tempo changes, bass solos, and powerful yet never noisy guitars, proves to be surely the strong point (along with the following song) of the record. Matos' performance in this context reaches an unprecedented emotional charge, touching very high vocal peaks, but with much naturalness and class.
And now... after the Brazilian tones of "Carolina IV", we move on to the most famous and important song by Angra, I'm talking about the indispensable "Carry On": after the very classic intro ("The Unfinished Allegro", a piece taken from Schubert's unfinished), a historic riff begins, inaugurating 5 minutes and 22 seconds of spectacle: also helped by an enviably great audience, the song flows very pleasantly, led by the various acrobatics of the whole group, with a note of merit to the bass, always well-present, both in composing a fantastic rhythmic base and in the brief yet fundamental solos. Unfortunately, the album closes, with a hint of bitterness and a legitimate question: why is such an important album for the band also so short?

Well, despite the album's length, I can safely state that (thanks to a thrilling performance by all the members and only the band's biggest hits) this album is one of the best live recordings ever made in Power/prog.