HOLY LAND

This really is a classy act, even down to the album's packaging (which is somewhere between Kansas' Point of Know Return and David Arkenstone's trilogy of Guardian disks. (Yes, Arkenstone is a "new age" artist, but I'm talkin' packaging). The sleeve/cover is a fold out map...old world 2d atlas, actually... on one side and lyrics and info on the other. Neat, compact, but difficult to slide in and out of the jewel case.

My feeling is this - take a dash of Kansas, a dash of Iron Maiden, a dash (or two) of Dream Theater, a dash of IQ, a dash of a symphony and a little South American flavor, mix, and you get Angra (that last bit not surprising given their Brazilian roots).

Holy Land is a concept album, rich with imagery and feeling. And very textured - to me, this is where the Kansas comparison is. I can recall listening to PoKR and hearing new details each time. This is that rich. i would recomend this cd to any prog fan.