Angra (band)

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Angra (which, in Brazilian mythology, means "Goddess of Fire") is the name for a power metal band from São Paulo, Brazil known for putting regional elements in their songs.

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Biography

Angra was formed in 1991 by ex-Spitfire duo guitarrist Rafael Bittencourt and drummer Marco Antunes, vocalist André Matos, who had recently left Viper, and former Firebox bassist Luís Mariutti and guitarrist Kiko Loureiro.

After almost an entire year of rehearsal they released the grandiose demo Reaching Horizons in 1992 which was received very positively by critics and achieved unexpected success both in Brazil and Europe. It was one of the first releases from Limb Music Products, which later would become one of Europe´s premier power metal specialty labels.

Before recording their first album Angels Cry, Marco Antunes left the band and was shortly replaced by Sieges Even´s drummer Alex Holzwarth for the recording sessions; he was later replaced by Ricardo Confessori. This change established Angra in its most enduring and prolific form, which lasted from 1993 to 2000. Angels Cry was recorded at Gamma Ray guitarist Kai Hansen´s studio in Hamburg, Germany, produced by Heavens Gate's Sascha Paeth and guitarists Kai Hansen and Dirk Schlächter (also from Gamma Ray) contributing solos.

Released in Brazil in 1993 and featuring classical influences and an adventurous cover of Kate Bush´s Wuthering Heights, the album was a great success in Angra´s homeland. It was also quite popular in Japan where it sold over 100,000 copies. That year Angra dominated the polls of the Brazilian magazine Rock Brigade obtaining awards for Best new band, Best album, Best singer, Best album cover and Best keyboard player. Due to the album's success in Japan an EP was issued on the Japanese market which included some remixed versions of songs from Angels Cry (Evil Warning, Angels Cry, Carry On and Wuthering Heights). In the following year the album was subsequently released in Europe through Dream Circle, and in France by C.N.R. It went on to be very successful both critically and commercially.

In 1994 Angra opened for AC/DC in Brazil and was invited to the inaugural Brazilian Monsters of Rock Festival, sharing stage with Kiss, Black Sabbath and Slayer. After the festival, the band embarked on what would be a very successful Brazilian tour, which eventually ended in Europe in 1995.

Holy Land - an ambitious project involving huge orchestration, choirs, and Brazilian rhythms - was released in 1996. Once again the production was handled my Sascha Paeth and Charlie Bauerfiend. Holy Land proved even more successful than Angels Cry, and the Japanese Victor release, including the bonus track Queen of the Night, went gold. Angra toured Japan for the first time following the huge success of Holy Land. That same year the EP Freedom Call was released including cover versions of Judas Priest´s Painkiller, which was followed by the release of the live album Holy Live, recorded in Paris in 1997.

In 1998 Angra released the EP Lisbon, followed by the album Fireworks; both were produced by Chris Tsangarides. Fireworks was a departure from Angra´s earlier experimental sound. It focused more on the traditional heavy metal sound, and lacked the classical influences that were apparent in Angels Cry and the Brazilian rhythms that were included in Holy Land. A lengthy world tour was set up in support for the album. Angra made an appearance at the Buenos Aires´s edition of the Monsters of Rock Festival. The Holy Box was released the same year by Lucretia Records including exclusive accoustic tracks. In 2000 Angra co-headlined shows in Europe with the Time Machine act and Stratovarius.

During mid 2000 Angra split, parting ways with vocalist Andre Matos and its entire rhythm section bassist Luis Mariutti and drummer Ricardo Confessori. After a great deal of speculation concercing the end of the band, remaning guitarists and founders Kiko Loureiro and Rafael Bittencourt started drafting musicians to preserve the band. Symbol´s vocalist Eduardo Falaschi, Paul Di'Anno´s drummer Aquiles Priester and bassist Felipe Andreoli were choosen after what the band called a "rigorous and criterious process involving both technical skills, previous experience and perfect mutual musical understanding".

Rebirth was released in 2001, produced by Dennis Ward. The album was both a critical and commercial success in Brazil and internationally, selling over 100,000 copies worldwide in less than 2 months. The album went gold in Brazil that same year. The EP Hunters and Pray was released in 2002 which included accoustic takes of Rebirth songs, some other new material, a cover of Mama by Genesis, and their first song with lyrics in Portuguese Caça e Caçador (Portuguese for Hunters and Pray). Angra was a featured guest on many mainstream TV shows in Brazil.

Angra would play live in Japan and appeared in The Rock Machine Festival in Spain, the famed Wacken Open Air event in Germany and The ProgPower Festival in Atlanta, Georgia, which was their first visit to the USA. Following the tour, various members of the group played as guests in many projects, including the Led Zeppelin tribute album The Metal Zeppelin - The Music Remains The Same.

Temple of Shadows recording sessions started in January 2004 at Mosh Studios in São Paulo. Dennis Ward once again was at the production role. The album guested famous vocalists Kai Hansen (Gamma Ray), Sabine Edelsbacher (Edenbridge), Hansi Kürsch (Blind Guardian) and the Brazilian legend Milton Nascimento. Temple of Shadow was a concept album based around a character known as The Shadow Hunter and his saga which is described as "a saga of a crusader knight that ends up disputing the expansionist ideals of the Catholic Church in the eleventh century". Progressive metal influencies permeate the album to an extent never seen before on an Angra release, making it sound closer to Dream Theater and Pain of Salvation. The record sold over 20,000 copies in the first week in Japan alone, selling close to 50,000 copies in Brazil and over 130,000 worldwide.

The band made a hugely successful tour in Brazil and an impressive European tour, headlining shows in Southern Europe throughout Spain, Italy, and France in February of 2005. For the first time since its creation, the band played at a UK show at The Mean Fiddler in London, supported by Dragonforce, and later joined Finnish band Nightwish for the Japanese dates in March. The band then went to Taiwan and after, for the first time, they played in the Oceania continent headlining shows in Australia.

Angra resumed the brazilian tour and then returned to Europe for the Lorca Roch Festival, Live in Italy and Bull Rock Festival, sharing stages with big heavy metal names like Iron Maiden and Dream Theater.

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Line-up

Angra first line-up was formed in 1991 with André Matos, Rafael Bittencourt, Kiko Loureiro, Luís Mariutti and Marco Antunes. They recorded their first EP Reaching Horizons and then Marco Antunes left the band in 1993 just prior to the recording of their first album Angels Cry. Alex Holzwarth was choosen as a replacement for the recording sessions and was later replaced by Ricardo Bittencourt. This was the longest lived Angra line-up. In 2000 Mattos, Mariutti and Confessori left the band, eventually grouping together to form the power metal band Shaaman. In 2001 Eduardo Falaschi, Felipe Andreoli and Aquiles Priester joined the band for the realease of Rebirth. The band also recruited keyboard players on different ocassions after André Matos departure but they never received "member" status.

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Current members

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Former members

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Discography

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Albums

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Live

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References

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External link

es:Angra fr:Angra (groupe de musique) it:Angra nl:Angra ja:アングラ (バンド) pt:Angra fi:Angra sv:Angra

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