Anyone who sees Angra in such a stable moment as now may even forget how many hurricanes the band has endured throughout almost their entire career. To give you an idea, Cycles of Pain is the group’s first album to feature a repeat lineup since 2006’s Aurora Consurgens. In this sense, three albums were released, always with some changes sometimes more than one in the lineup, which today consists of Fabio Lione (vocals), Rafael Bittencourt (guitar), Marcelo Barbosa (guitar), Felipe Andreoli (bass) and Bruno passes Valverde (battery).
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More generally, stability is a positive thing. Even for the “corporate” side of a band. You know what to expect. However, with consistency comes predictability. Like I said, you know what to expect. And this means the loss of one of the most fascinating qualities of most of Angra’s discographies: the ability to surprise.
Anyone who heard “Angels Cry” (1993) back then probably wouldn’t have expected an album like “Holy Land” (1996) and anyone who heard this one would never have expected an album like “Fireworks” (1998). Angra subsequently lost three of its five members; One of them, its main character, the singer Andre Matos. He was reborn from the ashes when no one expected it, releasing Rebirth (2001). Three years later, Temple of Shadows (2004) reached unimaginable places. Even on the stumbling tracks “Aurora Consurgens” (2006) and “Aqua” (2010), the band insisted on not repeating themselves.
After another bitter setback with the departure of singer Edu Falaschi, a new surprise: the great albeit generally criticized “Secret Garden” (2014). “Ømni” (2018) showed a more confident and consistent group, although Marcelo Barbosa replaced founding member Kiko Loureiro, who was hired to play one of Megadeth’s guitars. In fact, the stable sound was exactly the surprise back then.
It’s not that anymore. “Cycles of Pain” fails in this sense. And there’s no problem with the current lineup, as four of the five involved did “Secret Garden”; nor to demand the instability of the band as fuel for a great work, since this was not always necessary for Angra. It’s just about trying to do something different. The entire trajectory was shaped by this.
Even the theme of this concept album, reflecting the cycles of human pain and inspired by the traumas resulting from the pandemic and the earlier death of guitarist Rafael Bittencourt and Andre Matos’ father, seemed predictable. But the biggest weakness which doesn’t make this album bad, just good in a discography with much stronger moments lies in the development of the songs.
At least in the creative department, Angra seems to have lost its edge. They present themselves as a good progressive metal band à la Dream Theater in the 21st century, which occasionally refers to power clichés and almost noncommittally adds something Brazilian, in addition to the extensive repetition of intro / verse / chorus / verse meter. / Chorus / Instrumental+Solo / Choir. It used to go beyond that.
The other elements that characterize a group album are here; some of them go even further. As always, it’s very well executed and the production, led by Dennis Ward, sounds crystal clear. Perhaps it’s their album where you hear the bass the most and best , taken over by Felipe Andreoli since 2001. It is probably the work with the most elaborate drum lines since the daring “Temple of Shadows” with Aquiles Priest; The owner of the sticks has been Bruno Valverde since 2014. However, these aspects are more technical than fundamentally creative.
“Ride into the Storm”Opening single and first track after the vignette “Cyclus Doloris”, in fits and starts even suggested a different path. Its great distinction is to move more naturally, if not as captivatingly, between weighty and more hummable melodies. The solo, complete with rhythmic changes, offers some of the aforementioned surprise. Already “Dead man on display”on Autopilot, fails to maintain this characteristic despite its strange flirtation with extreme instrumentals (including blast beats from Valverde) and an acoustic drop that is perhaps the song’s most interesting moment.
Less fast, “Tide of Changes” was divided into two parts; Who knows for what reason, because the first is just an introductory vignette in voice and bass. The second part, where the music is actually located, sounds engaging because it puts Felipe Andreoli in the foreground and relies on a catchy chorus. Vanessa Moreno’s participation was very little used a problem that repeated itself “Dry life”. Perhaps the most anticipated by fans, it is also one of the biggest disappointments. It starts promisingly, exploring Brazilian rhythms and Lenine singing in Portuguese, but this section only lasts a minute and sounds more like an “appendix” to the track, despite the precise orchestration in the middle and one of the best solos on the track album, turns into something that Dream Theater could have released on their more recent albums.
“Gods of the World”In addition to the superficial lyrics something rare in the band’s catalog it presents itself as the generic power metal that Rafael Bittencourt and his partners seemed to avoid in other recent works. Luckily that is Ballad that gives the album its name comes in the sequence and despite the uncatchy melody, at least one remains interested in listening to the entire material further, especially due to the less obvious direction and the good use of the fretless bass. However, “Refuge for the Faithless” repeats the “dry life” problem. Brazilian rhythms appear even more often than just in the intro, but the idea is lost and the track also becomes prog metal with little identity, like a collage of different ideas, with no connection.
The final part of “Cycles of Pain” is strangely the most interesting. “Here in the now”, in which Vanessa Moreno is hardly used, is a halfballad with less charged timbres and a very beautiful melody. In contrast to other moments, the influence of Brazilian music naturally takes center stage in the song. “Generation Warriors”again, makes an unexpected nod to the past by sounding like a powerhouse from Angra’s time with Edu Falaschi particularly in the vocal lines of the chorus.
Harmoniously refined, “Tears of Blood” ends the traditional tracklist with a guest who finally appears prominently on the album: Amanda Somerville. The operatic singing performed by the American and Fabio Lione offers a unique moment in Angra’s catalog. It was time to explore this side of the Italian singer in more detail. A good version of “Here in the Now” with Vanessa as lead singer is presented as a bonus track and at least satisfies the curiosity of what the Brazilian artist sounds like in a not entirely complementary role.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaXHlhi6Tc
The simple fact that Angra survived after so many problems is commendable in itself. From now on, however, it is worth exploring its stability in another way. The same training over a longer period of time, without major drama or conflict, allows you to explore ways “outside the box,” drawing on years of interaction.
There’s no denying that there are compelling moments in Cycles of Pain; Surprisingly, it’s the slower songs that make it interesting to listen to. When you set out to step out of your comfort zone, the album gains strength. It’s a shame that this only occurs more often in the final part, because the presence of tracks characterized by weaknesses at the core of the album can lead to many people not even bothering to listen to the material until the end. That was almost my case.
*“Cycles of Pain” will be released this Friday (3) on Atomic Fire Records and will be distributed in Brazil by Voice Music. Click here to presave.
Angra “Cycles of Pain”
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