?Classics? of power metal #9: ANGRA - Temple Of Shadows (2004), upon further review

So here I am once more, in the playground of the broken deadlines..

I kinda like that it worked out that there'd be so long between posts #1 and #2, as though I needed days upon days to absorb the record or something.  To be clear, the entire gap since my last blog entry was not, in fact, spent digesting and thinking about Temple Of Shadows.  (Lots going on, didn't get to listen to any music of any kind for a whole two weeks at one point.)  However, there's a little truth to the idea that this one needed some extra time to percolate.  I have in my head the unwritten rule that if something is proggy enough, it's going to take me one or two more listens compared to a less proggy record to understand it at exactly the same level.  I instantly identified Temple Of Shadows as a possible grower.

Now, what exactly is and is not "progressive metal" is not a line in the sand that I'm particularly interested in drawing.  However, of the power metal records that I've reviewed, I'd classify two so far as also being prog-metal - the Adramelch record, and now this Angra record.*  When I use the phrase, I'm sort of talking about the vibe, certain elements.  Are the bridges distinct enough from the rest of the song to feel like separate movements?  Is the song prone to change keys and cadences multiple times, especially within a few bars?  Do we break from the format of verses and choruses enough so that the listening experience is like a journey?  One test I inadvertently discovered with Angra is, does a song make a ton more sense when actually listening to it, compared to when using it as background music?  Something prog-leaning will sound like a long haphazard mess when tuned out but become way more engaging with attention.  Maybe I'd sum it up like this: when I'm listening to a song, can I readily/accurately tell within thirty seconds where it's going to go?  If I'm surprised, it's what I'd consider progressive, or at least proggy.

I know I've alluded to this before, but I love the idea of progressive rock/metal because, well, interesting music is more interesting than standard music... in theory.  In practice, I find songs need the hooks to keep them anchored, and that a standard verse-chorus structure is an excellent way for a song to repeat key elements whilst telling its story.  Instrumental passages quickly bore me if I get the slightest whiff of wankery without a point, and songs that don't have a predictable structure are on an incredibly short leash the instant my attention wanders.  There's "prog" that changes as it takes the listener places whilst always staying musically sound, there's "prog" that meanders without ever actually becoming something worth listening to, and stunningly, the former kind is a lot harder to write than the latter.**

Like I kinda said, I don't want to dwell too much (too late, ha ha) on the whole prog question so much as just whether or not listening to Temple Of Shadows is interesting.  With a song like "The Shadow Hunter," I'm engaged almost the whole way through.  I love the opening acoustics and percussion, love even more the way it sounds once the keys kick in.  The minor chords in the verse sound great, and then that riff gets handed around between instruments, tweaked, syncopated, etc over the next seven minutes.  The whole thing is clearly unified.  I would not have seen the mantra-like part at 4:20 coming based on the intro; in restrospect it makes total sense, especially when the drums go back to their familiar pattern at 5:00 on hunting for shaaaadows."  Same "huh.  Oh, okay, makes sense" reaction to the outro section that begins at 6:21 whilst Aquiles keeps the drums on point until the main folky riff can circle back in.

To be sure, Temple remains a metal record doing metal things at the end of the day.  Angra are working from a very recognizable power metal core here.  After the rather gorgeous "Deus Le Volt!," what else other than EUPM would you call the riffs and rapid-fire drum lines of "Spread Your Fire" or "Angels And Demons?"  From that baseline, the band freely throws in stuff like "Spread Your Fire" using group vocals as the seeming chorus that's gradually revealed as the pre-chorus whilst the actual chorus uses an even more delightfully ear-wormy vocal counterpoint.  This would be the best track on a more standard EUPM record.  See, these famously gentle metallers can still rock.  After that, the record does sort of reveal itself as having been written by a bunch of softies, with a bunch of slower and softer numbers.  By the end it seems nearly every song starts with a gentle intro.  Angra being Angra, though, they don't usually stay there.  "Wishing Well," which is almost a straightforward rock ballad, throws in some unconventional group vocals on the chorus and changes up the tempo during the solo.  The back half goes even harder on generally keeping things interesting, keeping the listener guessing.  Besides the variety-show aspect of the various guest vocalists, you get "Winds Of Destination" trying to capture shifting winds with its own constant changes, including when it sounds to me like they throw in a few major chords right in the heart of the otherwise minor pre-chorus.  You get "Sprouts Of Time" existing in this wonderful folk/lounge/vaguely-Arabian mode that's somehow completely different than the folky parts of "Wishing Well" or "The Shadow Hunter."  You get the way "Morning Star" indulges in a big sweeping AOR finish only at the very end, after the various arguing perspectives have reached a conclusion.  Never do I get "wait, is this even the same song?" syndrome.  I wouldn't describe Temple Of Shadows as "tight" in composition, not exactly, but both individual tracks and album are remarkably cohesive for something that skews as freeform as it does.

What complaints and caveats do I have?  Well, a little more consistency would still be nice - not every single bit works and I'm a little hard to please.  "Angels And Demons" has one of my favorite hard riffs on the record and a strong chorus, but one of the least interesting solo/instrumental bridge parts, whilst "Waiting Silence" has a weaker chorus that lets down its very cool chord structure.  The ending reprise medley "Gate XIII" still sounds like a collection of parts to me, and not a very interesting one, rather than a cohesive piece of music.  I think a lot of it is just that sixty-six minutes is a lot of music, and it all needs to hold up to keep me totally engaged.  Angra are mostly there, just not quite all the way.

One thing that added a little more context to help me figure out where this band was coming from was spending a little time - just a few listens - with their 1993 debut, Angels Cry.  I found it interesting that I'd be much more inclined to call the tunes from Angels Cry "cheesy."  More, I dunno, '80s sounding.  Yep, on some level I just react better to the timestamps associated with the '90s and early '00s than to those of the '80s, and that may be a terminal condition.  Early impression is that despite its interesting diversions, Angels is more beholden to EUPM tropes than is the later record.  Angels leans *way* heavy on the arpeggios and the falsetto, giving the impression of a Helloween cosplay band still figuring out its own voice.  Plus, it seems to lose steam big time on its last three tracks or so.  On the other hand, the hooks on Angels are a little more forward, so it would probably take fewer listens to win me over.  The interplay between the quiet and loud parts of "Time" makes an impression.  "Never Understand" is a delightful little taste of U2 as a power metal band that might have been worth cultivating more on later work.  I actually kind of dig their batshit cover of "Wuthering Heights."***  So I don't know if Temple is actually a better record than Angels Cry, so much as one that's closer to what I personally like in my metal.  It's better for me.  An evolution of which I can wholeheartedly approve.

One unexpected benefit of listening to Angels is that I got more appreciation for Edu's place in the band.  I was, of course, critical of his singing in my first post.  Now I'd actually argue that - not to speak ill of the dead - for this particular artist, I like Edu's approach better than Andre Matos's; stick to the mid range, but with the power to go for the big notes when needed.  I still wish he enunciated better and generally put more of his stamp on things, but, I mean, he's fine.  I'm ready to call this a LaBrie situation**** in which a skilled enough band can make a not particularly impressive but serviceable vocal performance sound, well, acceptable.  

I think I'll leave it here.  I was going to mention that the two bands I've discovered through writing this series that most combine intriguing me whilst sounding like an effort to actually sit and listen to are Fates Warning and Angra.  Me and prog, right?  However, Temple Of Shadows did become much less of an effort, though, and it was definitely worth the time.  On the other hand, might take some more energy to gear up for a new batch of songs like it...

Oh yeah, last thing.  My advice to fictional women who are romantically interested in lead characters of power-metal concept albums:  Don't.  It won't end well for you.

Favorite track:  "The Shadow Hunter"

Runner up:  "Winds Of Destination"

Least favorite track:  "Gate XIII"

Rating:  4/5

Will I come back to Angra?

At some point.  Like I say above, sounds like work, man.  But at minimum, I do need to put at least more time with Angels Cry, plus Holy Land and Rebirth, on my big list to get to.  Eventually.

Things I learned about power metal:

- Prog-leaning power metal has to work harder for me since all of the different parts have to sonud good, but the stuff that clicks will always reward extra study

- There are multiple power metal legends of the '80s and early '90s that smoothly transitioned into the twenty-first century while sounding more vital and more like themselves than ever

Next:  Speaking of seeing the same words over and over, early impressions of Wuthering Heights's The Shadow Cabinet, whenever I get around to it!

 

*Avantasia dabble.  More on The Metal Opera Pt 2 than on the first one.

 

**These categories can be also loosely divided into "Rush" and "everyone else," respectively.

 

***Some track, record, band etc names just keep coming up over and over in this little pocket of the metal universe!

 

****Apologies to any James LaBrie die-hards.  I do not think that he's a particularly good singer.  He's a good fit for Dream Theater, and I guess that makes him good enough to not drag down the band.