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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Has Aged Considerably Well, November 6, 2005
Fortunately by the early to mid 90's I was already utilizing the online community to discover more progressive metal as I was already a huge Dream Theater fan. Someone on the Dream Theater mailing list recommended a few bands and those were Angra, Symphony X, Stratovarius, and X-Japan. Except for Stratovarius, I still listen to the other three bands. The firs disc I picked up was ANGELS CRY and I remember buying it in the winter and still listening everyday by the middle of the summer.
Critics who pass off Angra as 'just another' prog metal band are sorely mistaken. Angra was one of the first...how can you make a judgment like that with this disc's 1993 release? Except for Dream Theater, there was no other prog metal at the time, and Angra was always a little different...not nearly as progressive as Dream Theater but with more of a classical edge. They also contribute a Brazilian influence on their albums and in their shows that adds a certain sense of individuality and new life to the music.
On this particular disc, I feel like they have not reached their musical peak...a peak which would come on the follow-up 1995 release, HOLYLAND. The Kate Bush song, 'Wuthering Heights' was a mistake. I respect the fact that Matos can sound like Kate Bush, but at the same time it also kind of creeps me out. Aside from that debacle, though, the rest of ANGELS CRY is epic. On this disc we have the original lineup which would continue for 2 more LP's - Andre Matos (vocals), Kiko Loureiro (guitar), Rafael Bittencourt (guitar), Luis Mariutti (bass), and Ricardo Confessori (drums). The guitarists are masterful song writers and performers but the element that got me initially hooked is Matos. His range and power are unbelievable. He can be soft and subtle as we hear on 'Stand Away' or he can be powerful on tracks like 'Carry On' and 'Streets of Tomorrow'.
This album opens up as most of this band's releases do - with a short intro, (in this case 'Unfinished Allegro') followed by a well written instant-classic, ('Carry On'), which still remains a popular 'encore piece' at their concerts. 'Time' starts off with a subtle acoustic guitar and builds into a Queensryche-esque energetic power metal rhythm. It also contains some nice keyboard parts after the guitar solos. The title track, 'Angels Cry,' another classic, is one of the more progressive tracks on the album. In this piece, we hear an element that I love about this band, which is the harmonized background vocals sung under the lead from time to time. We first hear it on this song, when the lead sings "Oh see the sun in the sky" while behind it the line "from the dawn of destruction" is sung. This gives a surreal edge to the music that makes it sound almost extra-terrestrial in origin. 'Stand Away' and 'Never Understand' are the most progressive tracks, while 'Streets of Tomorrow' is the heaviest. 'Evil Warning' is another epic track, and if you listen carefully you can hear what appear to be banjos in the background playing a latin etude. Also progressive in nature, we hear the classical side but also the potential of the two near-perfect guitarists, Loureiro and Bittencourt, and their use of wah pedals as well as perfectly synchronized harmonies. This album finishes off with the beautiful power ballad, 'Lasting Child,' which puts Matos in the spotlight again. He does not dissapoint.
Angra took the progressive elements of Dream Theater, the power metal elements of bands like Helloween and Queensryche and mixed it with their own original 'Brazilian Sound' to come up with some of the greatest metal I believe has ever been released. I wish more bands like Angra were from the United States so I could actually see them live. I did have the fortune of seeing this band on the REBIRTH tour when they played one show in Brooklyn, NY, but I also wished I could have seen them with Matos on vocals.
I strongly recommend ANGELS CRY as well as all of this bands' music to any fans of progressive metal or power metal. They're not as technically masterful as say, Dream Theater, but they are original and well trained nonetheless. I also further implore the doubtful critics of this band to find other music that sounded like this in 1993.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A heavenly album!, July 31, 1999
By A Customer
I've been told that "Carry On" was elected THE BEST SONG EVER on a survey by Nippon Magazine. That's got to mean something!But that is no big surprise, cause there in Japan they love Angra! Do you know why? Listen to this great album and you will understand. And a magazine theorized that it is because music is taught at schools there, so kids grow knowing what is good music like (for this reason, Sepultura doesn't have many fans there...). [And you should also know that André Matos was the singer on Viper, another Brazilian band really loved by the Japanese people.] All the musicians are really talented, André Matos has the most wonderful voice I have ever heard, and there is a special guest - Kai Hansen! And pay attention to the lyrics, they're also great.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Masterpiece from South America`s Greatest, June 14, 2000
Ignore all of the other reviews. Angels Cry is truly a debut masterpiece, a must have for any heavy metal fan. All of the musicians are really talented, singer Andre Matos has one of the best voices in the biz and is also a great keyboardist. Also guitarrists Kiko Loureiro and Rafael Bittencourt are truly powerfull, this being demonstrated in Helloween`s offer to sign Kiko as lead guitar. But Angra is not about individual personalities, it`s about the songs. Carry On is perhaps Angra`s best song, and the rest of the album is worthy to stand up next to this amazing song. This album is also a must have because you need to reckognize songs for when you hear them live, where Angra displays their true potential.
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album Angels Cry 
