Taken from Brazilian Tupynikins mythology, the name ANGRA means
"Goddess of Fire". An image of beauty but also of devastating
power, ANGRA is the perfect name to describe the 5-man band from Brazil
whose music burns with passionate aggression but is also elegantly crafted
and aesthetically pleasing. ANGRA is in essence a heavy metal band, but
their melodic, emotional songwriting combined with classical arrangements
and amazing musical prowess is conquering even the most demanding listeners
around the world.
Since the March 1996 release of Holy Land, the follow-up
to the wildly successful 1993 effort Angels Cry, the band has been continuing
its quest for world domination. Selling in even greater numbers than the
debut, Holy Land has already achieved gold status in Japan, with over 100,000
units sold. Dedicated fans and new listeners alike have been responding
enthusiastically to the musical direction ANGRA has taken with this album,
which blends indigenous South American melodies and rhythms into a classically-influenced
metal style. The overall theme of the album refers to South America, Brazil
in particular, with songs written about the history and cultures that have
shaped the continent through the present day. Relying not just on percussion
but weaving native sounds and melodies throughout the songs, as inspired
by traditional Brazilian musicians, the band has created a unique style
that is intense to listen to but also has personal meaning for the members
themselves. Written during a four-month stay at a farmhouse in Brazil's
countryside, Holy Land was recorded in Germany with Charlie Bauerfeind
and Sascha Paeth at the helm. The album was released simultaneously in
Asia, Europe, and South America, with a bonus track added to the Japanese
edition. (Holy Land is available via mail order or import in many other
countries as well). A limited edition, 3-song CD, featuring live acoustic
tracks, was included with the first 8,000 CD packages in France, another
country in which ANGRA enjoys enormous popularity.
For many of the band's ardent followers, a new full-length studio album
was not enough. To provide a treat for these hungry fans, ANGRA recently
released a mini-album entitled Freedom Call, which features new and remixed
songs along with a ripping cover of "Painkiller", originally
recorded for the second volume of Century Media's Judas Priest tribute
album. The title track of Freedom Call was written during the Holy Land
sessions, and is in keeping with that albumÕs theme. In addition,
the disc offers two brand new versions of "Queen of the Night"
and "Reaching Horizons", which appeared on the very first ANGRA
demo tape and are both still very much requested by listeners.
Although the band has already had an extremely busy
year, the end of '96 is seeing no rest for ANGRA. The guys hit the road
in late October for a 23-date whirlwind tour of Europe, where fervent fans
in Holland, Spain, Portugal, France, Germany and Italy got the chance to
indulge in the awesome power of this stunning live band. Two of the most
amazing concerts were those that rocked Paris and Milan, the latter being
the grand finale of the European tour with over 1,850 screaming fans on
hand to wish ANGRA well! But of course there was no concern that these
shows would be anything less than great. The group had previewed new material
to live audiences throughout Brazil from July through early October, including
sold-out shows at the Palace (attended by 5,000 people) and the Aramaca
Festival (9,000 people) and the response was tremendous. The best test
of all though was when ANGRA opened a stadium show for AC/DC before a crowd
of 35,000, and received an excellent reception! Of course the guys received
more of the same when they returned to South America in December, playing
three highly successful dates in Argentina, then trekking back home to
Brazil where they sold out the Palace once again. Although their schedule
has been grueling a total of 50 show dates so far the band members are
still extremely excited about performing for their loyal fans in Japan,
who have brought them such a great amount of success.
Aside from favorable reviews of these live shows by local press,
the music media worldwide gave massive amounts of attention to the Brazilians
throughout the year. Immediately following the release of Holy Land, the
album charted at #2 in Japan's renowned Burrn! magazine. ANGRA also graced
the cover of Burrn!'s April 1996 edition the same issue which contained
an incredible 15 page, full-color feature on them. In Germany, Rising Sun
Productions teamed up with Horror Infernal to distribute 5,000 CD singles
and ANGRA posters to readers. Heavy oder was?! magazine honored the album
with 11 out of 12 points, and Rock Hard gave it 8.5 points out of 10. Italy's
Metal Hammer named Holy Land "Album of the Month" and gave the
band a three page story, while Metal Hammer of Greece gave the record 9
points out of 10. Young Guitar featured Kiko on its cover along with an
interview, and Rock Brigade and Flash gave ANGRA cover stories as well.
The list goes on and on, and includes high marks and big features in such
respected magazines as Aardschock, Mindview, Metallian, Hard 'n' Heavy,
Madhouse, Soundcheck, Plan te Hard and even a French sports magazine, circulation
300,000, which covered the meeting of Andre and Kiko with the famous soccer
player Rai. And let the critics say what they want, but Reader's Polls
say it best Rock Brigade readers named ANGRA members in their choices for
Best Vocalist, Best Keyboardist and Best Bassist, while Metal Head Magazine's
Reader's Poll also crowned Andre as Best Vocalist.
Still ruling the airwaves, ANGRA enjoys ongoing popularity
on the Brazilian radio stations 89 FM (Giatenta e Noise program)*, Transamerica
and Brasil 2000, all of which have supported the band with song airplay
as well as interviews and fan promotions. 140 German radio stations participated
with the Horror Infernal/ Rising Sun Productions promo, and French listeners
have made ANGRA the second most requested band overall according to a report
comprising 64 radio stations. And these guys are no strangers to television
either. The faces of ANGRA have recently been shown on several Brazilian
TV shows, including "MTV no Ar", Metropolis - TV Cultura, Gis
Total, Power 30/Much Music, and of course the MTV Brazil heavy metal show
"Furia", as well as 4 appearances on TV Argentina.
What will 1997 hold for ANGRA? Certainly, continued success. But fans can
look forward to a possible home video release, more live shows and personal
meet-and-greet appearances.
Angra's History
The history of ANGRA dates back to 1991, when five young
musicians started jamming and became close friends. Each had his own thing
going, but together they shared a passion to be the best at what they do.
Andre Matos was already known to be an exceptional
vocalist and talented frontman from his work with VIPER. This band had
been quite successful in their own right, selling big in Japan and receiving
much critical acclaim the world over. VIPER began to change their musical
direction, however, away from the classically-influenced metal that Andre
loves and into a simpler style. Andre decided to leave the band, then spent
some time on his own studying classical music. All the while he was hoping
to find the right people to form a new band and continue his musical vision.
At last Andre met with Rafael Bittencourt, who had just left the
band SPITFIRE. Already an accomplished classical guitar player, Rafael
was very serious about music and had even spent a year studying guitar
in the United States. His strong will to succeed was inspiring to Andre,
and things were rolling. When drummer Marco Antunes (who had played in
SPITFIRE as well) came along to lend his talents, a strong unit began to
take shape.
It was clearly destiny when they all met Kiko Loureiro,
a creative guitarist whose skill lies in innovation, not in speed for speed's
sake or flashy histrionics. He writes in a style that creates moods not
often heard in power/progressive metal, melding perfectly with the ideas
the others wanted to explore.
The final piece of the puzzle fell into place when the four found bassist
Luis Mariutti, formerly of the band FIREBOX. His first-rate talent on the
bass became even more developed and polished when he began playing with
these guys soon to be known as ANGRA.
A few months after the lineup was completed, ANGRA
recorded their first demo, the highly regarded Reaching Horizons. It clearly
indicated that this band was destined for greatness, for the songs are
the work of musical craftsmen. Mixing heaviness and speed with melody,
harmony, and hooks, ANGRA's songs are highly accessible but technically
outstanding. Laying the foundation with the Reaching Horizons demo, the
band has gone on to build on their own ideas and challenge their own standards
of excellence. This together with a spirit of enthusiasm and love for the
art of music has made ANGRA one of the finest rock bands in the world today.
ANGRA recorded Angels Cry at Kai Hansen's studio in Hamburg, Germany in
the summer of 1993. The talent of the band together with the expert production
of Charlie Bauerfeind (known for his work with Sisters of Mercy, Glenmore,
Viper and others) and Sascha Paeth, guitarist for Heavens Gate, won the
debut album the highest of praises from innumerable media sources upon
its Asian and South American release. ANGRA's innovative yet accessible
music has brought the group to super-stardom in Japan, where Angels Cry
peaked at #3 in the international charts and sold a staggering 106,000
copies. In Brazil, the album became the best selling record on the Eldorado
Records/Sony Music label during its release period. Readers of major Japanese
and South American magazines voted ANGRA "Best New Band" in 1993,
with Brazil's Rock Brigade magazine naming ANGRA for Best LP, Best Singer,
Best Cover, Best Keyboard Player, and Best Music for "Carry On"
overall, the most awards for any band in the poll. The popular video clip
for the song "Time" ran for a very long time on Brazilian and
Japanese TV, and the video for "Carry On" was nominated for an
MTV Brazil Music Video Award.
The momentum continued through the summer of 1994,
when Angels Cry was released in Europe through Dream Circle Records/Polydor
and in France through C.N.R. Music/Arcade. Europe's biggest magazine, Rock
Hard, gave the album 9.5 points (out of a possible 10) and stated that
ANGRA have "...great vision...offering compositions in best Queensryche-meets-Savatage-meets-Dream
Theater style."
That same summer, lead vocalist Andre Matos assisted in re-mixing
three songs "Evil Warning", "Angels Cry" and "Carry
On", for inclusion on an EP entitled Evil Warning, released only in
Japan. A limited edition of 13,000 copies, the CD was packaged with a t-shirt
and became a popular item for collectors and true ANGRA fans.
In the meantime, ANGRA played a full tour schedule,
breaking in new drummer Ricardo Confessori, who had replaced the departed
Marco Antunes shortly after the Angels Cry recording sessions. Confessori's
pounding style gave the band renewed energy while his technical proficiency
perfectly suits the musical demands of ANGRA's songs. Also joining the
ranks for the live shows, keyboardist Leck assisted the band in achieving
on-stage the massive keyboard arrangements heard in Angels Cry. Playing
to consistently packed houses and getting tremendous crowd response, the
band hit some major venues and even performed in front of 50,000 people
at the Brazilian Monsters of Rock Festival along with Black Sabbath, Kiss
and Slayer. Following this event, MTV presented a program that split its
time between Kiss and ANGRA, and was packed with fantastic live footage
from the show.
In addition to many other TV appearances, radio interviews and a live acoustic
broadcast on 89 FM, ANGRA continued touring Brazil through the end of 1994.
Highlights included doing a show sponsored by radio station 97 FM which
drew a crowd of 10,000, as well as two sold-out performances in December
at the large Sao Paulo venue Aeronata. A two-night return to Aeronata in
March resulted in turning over 400 fans away on the second night. Journalists
and record company executives who attended the shows were beyond impressed,
and the reviews that followed the gigs in newspapers and magazines were
glowing. A grand finale concert was played in Brazil on May 13th, 1995;
the band then headed to Europe for a series of gigs that altogether comprised
11 dates in five countries, including two open air festivals. Needless
to say, the shows were incredible!
In between gigs and before starting work on the second
album, individual band members made accomplishments of their own. Guitarist
Kiko Loureiro and bassist Luis Mariutti were asked to create instructional
videos for the series Guitar Rock and Rock Bass. Andre Matos kept himself
extremely busy as a spokesman for the band. He even took a solo trek to
Europe in May '94 where he did over 50 interviews for magazines and radio
stations, promoting Angels Cry.
And so at last ANGRA entered the era of the Holy Land album, which
they are still very much involved in supporting. The first video clip from
Holy Land, "Make Believe" is now being broadcast, and rumor has
it that it is the most expensive and best produced video ever made in Brazil!
ANGRA's efforts on the road, in the studio and on the promotional front
have been well rewarded thus far, and we can only look forward to more
of the outstanding work of these amazing young musicians.
Back
to History Page!
