KARMA – Inside The Eyes

This Brazilian band was looking at a bright future when the bass player got the call from the incredible guitar duo Loureiro/Bittencourt. Yes, this is Felipe Andreoli’s former playground before joining Angra. Not that Inside The Eyes needs a sticker saying just that to sell, but it sure helps the general interest.

Anyway, a bass player out is no reason to shut down a band, unless his name is Gene Simmons or Joey DeMaio. After a little research (don’t try to enter athreiarecords.com, you only get porn – well, if you want…), I came across a site in Portuguese and I can’t find Felipe’s face there, so the band plays on, I think. And that’s not really a bad move, as Inside The Eyes is a good debut album. (I think it’s a debut – sorry, my Portuguese is a little rusty these days.) Singer Thiago Bianchi has a voice that stands out from all the other Brazilian singers that are trying hard (believe me, there are tons of mediocre bands with lousy singers in Brazil with a record deal), and the music is somewhere in progressive/power land, actually more crunchy than I expected; meaning that the attitude and conviction is not left in the backseat. Still, the finger work and progressive approach is also highly appreciated.

Fans of Angra and Shaman may take notice of the fact that a certain dude named Matos guests on a song titled “The Speech”. Again, the record doesn’t need a sticker saying that to be sold, as it has enough great content itself, but it sure helps…