Angra

Angra is a Brazilian progressive power metal band founded in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. Currently led by guitarist Rafael Bittencourt, Angra is one of the most popular metal groups in Brazil and has achieved a strong impact in South America, Europe and Japan.

The group was founded in 1991 by singer and multi-instrumentalist André Matos and guitarists Rafael Bittencourt and André Linhares, after they met at the Santa Marcelina College in their native São Paulo. Matos had been a member of the band Viper between 1985 and 1990 and Bittencourt had played with Spitfire. Later on, the musicians Luis Mariutti (bass), Marco Antunes (drums) and Kiko Loureiro (guitar) joined the group, who replaced Linhares. Rafael Bittencourt has been the only member who has participated in the recording of all the band's albums, leading it from its beginnings and composing most of the material. Angra has sold approximately five million copies of his records worldwide.

History

Foundation

André Matos, original singer of Angra.

Angra's original formation dates back to 1991 and is made up of Andre Matos on vocals and keyboards, Kiko Loureiro on lead guitar (replacing André Linhares, who had a short stay with the group), Rafael Bittencourt on guitar rhythm, Luis Mariutti on bass and Marco Antunes on drums. Influenced by the classic power metal of groups like Helloween, Angra's style continues in the line of fast guitars with very high melodic components and high-pitched voices in the style of Michael Kiske or Bruce Dickinson. In 1992 they released their first demo, Reaching Horizons where, in addition to the aforementioned influences, ethnic melodies and some progressive metal were included.

Angels Cry

It is not, however, until 1993, with the publication of their first album Angels Cry, that they become known worldwide. the band's own style, which has Alex Holzwarth (Sieges Even, Rhapsody of Fire) on drums and Thomas Nack (ex-Gamma Ray) as session players, Ricardo Confessori being the official drummer; and their musical maturity as a power group with some reminiscences of speed metal. The disc, which contains a version of the song "Wuthering Heights" by Kate Bush, it was a success in Brazil and in Japan. At that time the band was managed by Antonio Pirani, also editor of the Rock Brigade magazine. Japan, an EP titled Evil Warning was released in 1994, which includes alternative versions of the songs "Evil Warning", "Angels Cry", "Carry On" and "Wuthering Heights". The following year the album began to be distributed in Germany by Dream Circle Records and in France by CNR Music.

Holy Land

In 1994 Angra was the opening act for AC/DC in Brazil and was part of the bill for the first Monsters of Rock festival held in Brazil. In 1995 the group performed in Europe and immediately afterwards entered the studio to record their second full length. Holy Land, an ambitious project that included orchestrations, choirs and typical Brazilian rhythms, was released in 1996 and produced by Sascha Paeth and Charlie Bauerfiend. The band set foot on Japanese lands for the first time due to the success achieved with the album. That same year the EP Freedom Call was released, with a cover of the Judas Priest song "Painkiller". The following year the live Holy Live was released, an EP recorded in France that includes some of their hits. The Holy Box was released in 1998 by Lucretia Records (Italy), with seven acoustic songs.

Fireworks

Rafael Bittencourt, guitarist and main composer.

In 1998 Angra released the single "Lisbon", followed by the album Fireworks, produced by the renowned Chris Tsangarides. This disc would produce some reputations in the group due to its evident change of style. However, a world tour was organized to support the record. The band gave a recital at the Monsters of Rock festival in Buenos Aires and returned to Europe to play some concerts with Stratovarius in 1999. The renowned singer of the British band Iron Maiden, Bruce Dickinson, shared the stage with the band during one of his concerts in Paris. During the tour, Angra was part of the massive Wacken Open Air festival in Germany.

Break with Matos, Mariutti, Confessori and re-foundation with Rebirth

In the middle of the year 2000, Andre Matos, Luis Mariutti and Ricardo Confessori left the group, due to alleged problems with the manager, who at the same time was the owner of the Angra brand.

Despite the uncertainty about the future of the band, in March 2001, the only two members who agreed to continue with the label and manager, Kiko Loureiro and Rafael Bittencourt, announced the arrival of singer Eduardo Falaschi, drummer Aquiles Priester and bassist Felipe Andreoli. After much expectation at the departure of members so identified with the sound of the group, the new formation demonstrated its quality in its next album, Rebirth, an album where power metal more classic returns to dominate the center of the compositions. The album sold more than one hundred thousand copies worldwide in less than two months and became a gold record in Brazil that same year.

In 2002 the EP Hunters and Prey was released, including some alternative versions and a version of the song "Mama" from Genesis. As usual, the band embarked on a world tour in support of the album, in this case visiting the United States for the first time.

Temple of Shadows (2004–2005)

In 2004, their next album is presented as a progressive metal work, the result of three years of continuous work where Rafael Bittencourt and Kiko Loureiro provide the fastest guitar solos ever heard on the history of the band Temple Of Shadows represents a change, a fusion between power metal and progressive heavy metal. The album features several collaborations with other famous and established artists on the metal music scene. Hansi Kursch (Blind Guardian) appears on the song "Winds Of Destination"; Kai Hansen (Gamma Ray) in "Temple Of Hate", Sabine Edelsbacher (Edenbridge) in "Spread Your Fire" and "No Pain For The Dead" and Brazilian singer Milton Nascimento collaborates on the song "Late Redemption".

The band toured Brazil and Europe, playing concerts in Spain, Italy and France in February 2005. For the first time since their creation, the band played a UK show at The Mean Fiddler in London, backed by DragonForce, and later teamed up with Finnish band Nightwish for some Japanese dates in March. The band toured Taiwan and then, for the first time, performed in Oceania, headlining shows in Australia. Angra resumed the Brazilian tour and then returned to Europe to play at various festivals, sharing the stage with big names in heavy metal such as Iron Maiden.

Aurora Consurgens and the return of Confessori (2006–2009)

Edu Falaschi, a singer who recorded four albums with Angra.

In July 2006 they began recording their album entitled Aurora Consurgens (based on a book from the 14th century) keeping the same members of the group. The album was released in October. As an innovation, the first single could be downloaded from the official page (including the covers). Unlike Temple of Shadows, it is not a conceptual album, although it is thematic, and it talks about some of the different mental states that a human can have. This album is characterized by a much more powerful and direct sound, closer to heavy metal than their previous albums.

In mid-2007, the band went on hiatus, again due to an unresolved situation with their manager, who was still the owner of the Angra brand. As a result, other problematic situations arose between the members, culminating in an indefinite hiatus until a solution was reached.

In 2008, the singer Edu Falaschi declared the following regarding the continuity of the band: "Angra has not finished; we are taking a break, a pause. The band is going through some tough management issues and all of us are doing our best to get back on the road". In 2009 the band's official website was taken down. Instead, the home page announced that the site was under construction and news would be coming soon. In March 2009, the site announced the return of drummer Ricardo Confessori after nine years, replacing Aquiles Priester, who left the formation to dedicate all his strength to the band Hangar. Angra returned to tours in 2009 along with his compatriots Sepultura.

Aqua and the departure of Falaschi and Confessori (2010–2014)

In early 2010, Angra began composing material for a new studio album. In February the band moved to Norcal studios in São Paulo to start recording the album. On July 10, the first single, "Arising Thunder", was released. Five days later the song "Lease of Life" was presented for the first time on Brazilian radios. The new album, titled Aqua, was finally released on August 11. It is a concept album inspired by William Shakespeare's novel The Tempest, presenting radical changes in the sound of the drums (now by Confessori) and extensive use of percussion and sounds. typical of Brazil.

After his presentation at the Rock in Rio 2011 festival, Edu Falaschi's health problems worsened, damaging his voice greatly. In the first half of 2012, Edu, through an official statement, announced his final departure from Angra due to his problems with his voice and because he was going to concentrate on his band Almah, in which he sings in a register more in line with your current voice.

After the departure of Edu Falaschi, the option of making a reality show on MTV for the election of the new vocalist was handled, which was discarded. In addition, Rafael Bittencourt acknowledged in an interview that Brazilian vocalists such as Alirio Netto (Age of Artemis, Khallice, Lince), Bruno Sutter (Detonator) and Thiago Bianchi (Shaman, Noturnall) offered to take the position and there were some conversations about it. Finally, Fabio Lione (Labyrinth, Rhapsody of Fire) became the third official vocalist of Angra.

In 2013 the band returned to the stage, initially participating in the 70,000 Tons of Metal cruise, which represented the debut of Italian Fabio Lione. Due to the great reception, expectation and demand generated by the fans and their desire to see Angra with Lione, a tour of South America was organized, which would commemorate the twenty years of the debut album, Angels Cry. The tour went through various cities in Brazil and countries such as Argentina, Chile, Mexico and Japan, the latter for the Loud Park festival, culminating in the recording of a DVD titled Angels Cry 20th Anniversary , which featured various guests such as Tarja Turunen (ex Nightwish), the Lima family and Uli Jon Roth (Scorpions), among others.

In 2014 drummer Ricardo Confessori announced his departure from the band again. He was later replaced by the young drummer Bruno Valverde.

Secret Garden, departure of Loureiro and Ømni (2014–present)

Fabio Lione with Angra in 2016.

In November 2014 the band announced the release of their eighth studio album, Secret Garden, released on December 17 in Japan and on January 16, 2015 in Brazil and Europe.

On April 2, 2015, the incorporation of Kiko Loureiro was officially announced as the new lead guitarist of the American thrash metal band Megadeth. Loureiro immediately entered the studio to record the album Dystopia , temporarily leaving Angra's formation due to schedule reasons and his new commitment to Dave Mustaine's band.

On September 19, 2015, Angra performed again at the Rock in Rio festival with Doro Pesch and Dee Snider as special guests. Right there, the replacement for Kiko Loureiro was announced, Marcelo Barbosa, a guitarist known for being a founding member of Almah, as well as being the owner of GTR, the largest music school in Brasilia and a columnist for various magazines. guitar specialists such as Guitar Class and Guitar Player.

On February 16, 2018, Angra's ninth studio album was released, titled Ømni and produced by the Swedish Jens Bogren. In March of the same year, the album's support tour began, with 26 confirmed dates in Europe and with the participation of the band Operation Mindcrime of the former Queensrÿche vocalist, Geoff Tate.

Style and influences

Angra's musical style is primarily associated with power metal, although some of their albums feature different styles, such as Fireworks and Aurora Consurgens, the latter considered the closest album to heavy metal in all of Angra's discography. The group has also been influenced by neoclassical metal, by Brazilian indigenous culture (even with the use of some indigenous instruments in their music) and by symphonic music in general.

Members

The guitarist Kiko Loureiro took part in Angra's classical training and joined the American Megadeth band in 2015.

Current

• Fabio Lione - voice (2013-present)
• Rafael Bittencourt - rhythmic guitar, choirs (1991-presente)
• Marcelo Barbosa - guitar leader (2015-presente)
• Felipe Andreoli - bass, choirs (2001-presente)
• Daniel dos Santos - keyboards (2009-present)
• Bruno Valverde - battery (2014-presente)

Previous

• André Matos - voice, piano (1991-2000)
• Kiko Loureiro - guitar leader, choirs (1992-2015)
• Eduardo Falaschi - acoustic voice-guitar (2000-2012)
• André Linhares - rhythmic guitar (1991)
• André Hernandes - rhythmic guitar (1992)
• Luís Mariutti - low (1991-2000)
• Leck Filho - keyboards (1993-1998)
• Fábio Laguna - keyboards (2001-2008)
• Marco Antunes - Battery (1991-1992)
• Alex Holzwarth - battery (1993-1994)
• Ricardo Confessori - battery (1993-2000) (2009-2014)
• Priester Achilles - Battery (2001-2008)

Timeline

Discography

Studio Albums

• Angels Cry (1993)
• Holy Land (1996)
• Fireworks (1998)
• Rebirth (2001)
• Temple Of Shadows (2004)
• Aurora Consurgens (2006)
• Aqua (2010)
• Secret Garden (2014)
• Ømni (2018)

Demos

• Reaching Horizons (1992)
• Eyes of Christ (1996)
• Acid Rain (2001)
• 5th Album Demos (2004)

EP

• Evil Warning (1994)
• Live Acoustic at FNAC (1995)
• Freedom Call (1996)
• Acoustic & More (1998)
• Hunters and Prey (2002)

Live Albums

• Holy Live (1997)
• Rebirth World Tour - Live in São Paulo (2002)
• Angels Cry: 20th Anniversary Tour (2013)

Simple

• "Make Believe" (1996)
• "Lisbon" (1998)
• "Rainy Nights" (1999)
• "Acid Rain" (2001)
• "Wishing Well" (2004)
• "The Course of Nature" (2006)
• "Arising Thunder" (2010)
• "Lease of Life" (2010)
• "Newborn Me" (2014)

Bootlegs

• Monsters Of Rock (1994)
• Holy Land in the East (1997)
• Acoustic in Buenos Aires (2001)
• Live Acoustic at Radio Rock Bar, Säo Paulo (2001)

Video Clips

• "Carry On" (1993)
• "Time" (1993)
• "Make Believe" (1996)
• "Lisbon" (1999)
• "Rebirth" (2001)
• "Pra Front Brasil" (2002)
• "Waiting Silence" (2004)
• "Wishing Well" (2004)
• "The Course of Nature" (2006)
• "Lease of Life" (2010)
• "Storm of Emotions" (2014)
• "Silent Call" (2016)
• "War Horns" (2018)
• "Insania" (2018)
• "Black Widow's Web" (2018)
• "Light of Transcendence" (2018)

VHS, DVD and BLU-RAY

• Rebirth World Tour - Live in Rio de Janeiro (VHS, 2002)
• Rebirth World Tour - Live in São Paulo (DVD & VHS, 2002)
• Angels Cry: 20th Anniversary Tour (DVD & BLU-RAY, 2013)