?Classics? of power metal #9: ANGRA - Temple Of Shadows (2004), early impressions

Prior exposure to this band/record: Not much.  It's only after I decided to deliberately explore power metal that I heard any Angra songs.  Based on a few listens, I don't get "Angels Cry" (the song), whereas I kinda dig "Carolina IV."  I'm not sure exactly how I'd heard of Angra before that, but I know I knew the name, because it's hard not to.

 

 

To be clear, I have no context for the scene they came from; they're one of only two non-Sepultura Brazilian metal acts I can name off the top of my head.*  I don't even actually remember why I picked Temple Of Shadows as my representative Angra record; it seems to be a fan favorite and it probably ranked high in Metal Archives when I was browsing.  Most people doing "intro to power metal" lists seem to favor material from when the band was introducing itself to the world - either Angels Cry or Holy Land.  Well, whatever, this is the one I'm writing about.  I presume that at this point in 2004, Angra are a thoroughly established commodity, albeit maybe still trying to convince the last few straggling skeptics not won over by the cycle of records that began with 2001's Rebirth** that the Edu Flaschi-fronted version of Angra can be as vital as the incarnation of the band that other singer, and that other bassist, and that other drummer.

So, let's listen ...oh great, it's more symphonic PM with more orchestral ambition than teeth.  My very first thought was to curse the chronological order that led me to listen to Temple right after the Kamelot record.  That gave way to a kind of teeth-gritted stoicism that lasted until the chorus of "Spread Your Fire."  Wait, what's this?  The choral background vocals playing off the main melody line was my first clue that I was in for something a little more interesting.  Then the chorus transitioned with impressive smoothness back into the main riff.  Then the guitar solo threw in some syncopation before going off the rails in a tightly controlled manner.  So, my first impression after finishing a full song had now shifted to "okay, record, you've definitely got my attention."

There's a lot of compositional panache at work here.  I was wondering about the folk influences I'd heard about from Angra's earlier work, absent on the first few tracks, and then smiled pretty widely once "Waiting Silence" started.  That one stands out for both the way the keys punctuate the intro riff and the way its chorus is strikingly melodic for something that's so unabashedly metal.  "Wishing Well" keeps its instrumentation staccato throughout to make it a mix between gently folky, metal-adjacent, and triumphant; not a mere ballad either way.  I adore the way the riff from "The Temple Of Hate" starts as a standard power-thrash thing and then throws in a few extra notes at the end for extra propulsion and depth.  "Winds Of Destination" sounds so grandiose, with special mention to the tempo changes within phrases.  No track sounds like an interlude or a not-"real" part of the piece.  I feel like most bands would make the Middle Eastern flavored "Sprouts Of Time" an outlier rather than the song gradually revealing itself to be the anathemic centerpiece that the record has spent the previous nine tracks earning.  "Morning Star" gets crunchy enough during its middle section and then suddenly the outro is full of triumphant '80s synth as the protagonist ends up in a new place.  Even if the song as a whole isn't my thing, my attention never flags for long.  

Maybe if I have the words I'll try to dissect why "Late Redemption" somehow does not devolve into a chaotic mess; what I'll say now is that after a few listens, I think all its elements do somehow hold together.  I do think I have the words to say that Aquiles Preister's work on drums is deceptively special here.  I say "deceptively" because most songs have the typical power metal machine-gun fast drumming.  That's what most of the songs call for.  Then, the more one listens, the more one notices how many clever fills and interesting quirks make their way into the percussion... when the situation calls for it.  The separation is especially noticeable on this record: Temple basically has two kinds of drum parts - really fast, and sophisticated - but Aquiles can do both with equal aplomb.

Yet songs threatening to become favorites are often marred, at least for me, by the vocals.  I may have mentioned a few thousand times that I'm always all about the vocals.  Definitely the weak point here.  And I'm not just talking about the melody lines, which, well, I wish they were more memorable on first few listens, but hey, hooks need to be given time to sink in, especially on a record so proggy.  I've gotta say, though, I very quickly concluded that Edu was holding the band back.  Edu's mush-mouthed delivery of lyrics really blunts the effect of key phrases, making it challenging for me to focus on what he's singing about.  Meanwhile, I find his timbre slightly unpleasant, especially on the high notes.  His ability to work a phrase... well, that varies a bit more.  Just when I'm ready to write him off he throws in something nice like the ending of "Angels And Demons."  He's not terrible, but I'm far from a fan.  I think I find the singing as tolerable as I do because of the other voices involved.  Since multiple band members are credited with backing vocals, I don't know who does what, but Rafael, Felipe, and/or Kiko prop the singing parts of the songs up a lot, as Rafael seems to have a knack for using their voices right where they're needed.  Together the guys all add up to one average/acceptable vocalist during most of the choruses.  The guest singers popping up keep things from getting too boring too.

Can compositional skill overcome a limited singer?  I think so.  "The Temple Of Hate" is a specific example that it can.  As I said, I don't love Edu, and I've made no secret of the fact that I don't care for Kai Hansen as a singer,*** the track goes hard, an easy highlight of the record on early listens.  I feel like where I wished the Adramelch and Rhapsody records to which I listened would reign themselves in instead of throwing in every idea anyone in the band had ever had, and where I wished that the Kamelot record showed as much ambition in its song structure as it did in its choices of instruments, Angra understand the assignment.  They're always adding flourishes at the end of riffs to keep them interesting.  The songs' proggy ambitions don't keep them from holding together as songs.  

Let me put it another way.  When I hear something I don't totally understand, on early listens I can usually say "this is great," "there's something here, not sure if it's for me," "this definitely isn't really for me," or "this is a mess."  Temple right now is falling squarely into the "there's something here" category.  I need to sit with the record a while to say more than that.

Other random comments:

- There's a narrative too.  Another concept album.  A tad on the melodramatic side on first few listens.  Let me at least appreciate the mix of idealism about people with the mistrust about human institutions.  Nice to know that at least some power metal bands don't imagine that the Crusaders were the good guys...

- Being an ignorant barely-even-a-metalhead, I have of course never heard of Milton Nascimento, the guy who sings in Portuguese on "Late Redemption."  Based on the thirty seconds of research I've done, seems like he's basically a living legend of legacy Brazilian music who's kept the tip of a finger in the pop-rock world over the years.  Best as I can tell, this is a serious coup, like getting Buddy Guy to play on your dissodeath record.

- My streaming service classifies Angra as "hard rock" rather than "metal."  I think that goes to show... something or other.

Favorite track:  "Winds Of Destination"

Runner up:  "Temple Of Hate"

Least favorite track:  "Gate XIII"

Preliminary rating:  3.5/5

 

Next:  More on Temple Of Shadows, whenever I get around to it! 

 

 

*Shout out to Crypta!

**Rebirth and Hunters And Prey were well received, but not Holy Land-legendary, right?  I'm sure nobody will correct me if this is all horribly wrong.  My point is, I come in knowing very little about Angra.

***Nobody, or at least nobody writing this post, will throw the slightest shade at Kai as a guitarist.  I happen to feel that his voice is way too thin to try to go so gruff.