ARISING THUNDER

I have said many times before that the strength of a single is based on how much it entices one to check out the entire album that it pitches. Having barely listened to any of the work that the Brazillian power metal band Angra has released prior to this, there was no existing bias towards the group that would hype me for the upcoming album 'Aqua' or detract me against checking it out. For all intents and purposes, I was a free agent, until 'Arising Thunder' stoked me to the point of being excited for the release of this album.

To anyone that has not heard much power metal in their time, it is a very speedy and melodic form of metal music that many simply brush off for its abundance of fantasy-related lyrics and cheesiness. To anyone that is familiar with the metal genre, this music takes the good, technically challenging and intelligent parts of power metal and does away with alot of the silly things that turn alot of people off of this style of music.

First off, things are very technical here, especially with the guitar work. Neoclassically influenced, shred and melodic passages of lead guitar are exchanged, all over a blistering rhythm section. The vocals are very typical for the genre, but singer Edu Falaschi distinguishes himself over many of his peers with his powerful vibrato. While the vocals and more 'traditional' song sections are good, the vocal lines are not as memorable as one might hope. The real appeal here is in all of the great guitar work and brilliant instrumentation. If the rest of 'Aqua' is this good, I predict we will have a new landmark in the power metal genre by the end of 2010.