ANGRA – Aurora Consurgens

When a band makes themselves a name, and changes singers, it is always difficult to reach the status again they had beforehand. Angra is a fine example of just that. Since Andre Matos, who is probably, after Max Cavalera, the best known Brazilian Metal singer, left Angra, they released no less than three excellent studio albums, but remained in the shadows of their own old selves. Especially due to a subtle change in style, they are not likely to crank out another comparably Ultra-Progressive (at least for the Power Metal genre) and playful Holy Land.

What one has to realize is that from the good Rebirth album onward, they became better and better! Their 2004 effort, Temple Of Shadows (for the MER review of that album, click here), was already a great Power Metal album, and Aurora Consurgens can easily top that one. At the same time, it leans slightly more into a Prog direction. New vocalist Edu Falaschi –- well, he has now sung as many albums as Andre Matos did — still will always referred to as the new singer. But, his performance can easily make you forget Matos, as his vocals are outstanding. His voice is less unnervingly high-pitched than his predecessor’s without being too far from the old Angra to lose the common thread that binds their discography together. He fits the band’s style perfectly, and manages to induce comparisons with genre idols like Michael Kiske (e.g., “The Course Of Nature”), Geoff Tate (e.g., “Breaking Ties”) and Tobias Sammet (e.g., “Salvation Suicide”), while on other tracks his performance is uniquely enough to be used as a role model for future descriptions of other bands. You indeed will read about other vocalists Sounding like Edu Falaschi soon.

But, not only are the vocals a highlight. Rafael Bittencourt and Kiko Loureiro exhibit creativity in riffing that makes all other Angra outputs, and most others of this genre for that matter, pale in comparison (e.g., “The Voice Commanding You,” “Ego Painted Grey”). The rhythm section does its part to impress as well, especially Aquiles Priester on drums is worth your attention during the Dream Theater-influenced “Ego Painted Grey” or “Salvation: Suicide.”

The incredible musical talents also have a hand for compositions, which they have showed on all their albums, but still gems like the Folk-influenced “So Near So Far” with its very melodic chorus and brilliant instrumental middle part, or “Passing By,” which needs a few spins before it unfolds his beauty, can all reach new heights on their internal quality scale without ignoring their roots and what the fans expect from an Angra release. There are Helloween-type choruses (“The Course Of Nature,” “Salvation: Suicide”) and speed attacks (“The Voice Commanding You,” “Salvation: Suicide,” “Window To Nowhere”) alongside Folkloristic instrumentation and emotional ballads. But, hardly any track -– with the exception of the closing ballad “Abandoned Fate” –- is a simple, straight song and keeps its tempo or mood from beginning to end. Angra plays around, changes speeda, and inserts interesting instrumental parts or unexpected vocal bridges, which give the listener a lot to discover. Even after some time, listeners will find new facets in tracks they thought they knew quite well.

Even with one song, “Breaking Ties,” being a bit mellow and predictable, Aurora Consurgens is just another excellent piece in the career of one of the world’s best Power Metal bands, and there is no excuse any more for underrating the five Brazilians … as there is none for not having this 2006 highlight in your collection.