ANGRA – Secret Garden [Japanese Edition] (2015)

*

Brazilian / Italian prog metal veterans ANGRA will release their new album “Secret Garden“, on January 16, 2015 via earMusic, but the CD is already available in Japan today, Dec. 17th.
Recorded and produced in Sweden by Jens Bogren (DragonForce), “Secret Garden” brings together everything that has established Angra as one of biggest bands in this style: contemporary sound combined with melodic compositions.

But “Secret Garden” – Angra’s 8th studio album – brings some kind of renovation to the band’s overall delivery. Perhaps due new drummer Bruno Valverde and especially the debut of great Italian shouter Fabio Lione (Rhapsody of Fire, Ayreon, Vision Divine), now Angra feels revitalized.
Indeed, this new album marks a much more melodic approach to the music, and while the trademark Sympho touches are still there, Angra 2015 go for the song format and a clear, ‘accesible’ sound.
Anyway, this is prog metal album, and a really good, entertaining one.

There’s truly bombastic, electrifying songs, driven by monster guitar riffs, blasting rhythm section and lots of harmony vocals.
One of the most remarkable aspects of “Secret Garden” is its purity: production & mix is first class, with all instruments coming out crystal clear. Seriously; if you love (like me) a polished sound to the extreme, “Secret Garden” is a diamond.

Angra perfectly balances power (the killer “Black Hearted Soul”, “Perfect Symmetry” or the early Dream Theater-like opener “Newborn Me”) with melody, in a style pretty nearby to Allen / Lande or commercial Ayreon on tracks such as “Final Light” (very close to melodic hard rock) of the mid-tempo ballad “Storm of Emotions”.
There’s amazing progressive time signatures on “Crushing Room” (featuring an exciting vocal duet with metal diva Doro Pesch), while “Silent Call” is a very slow acoustic filled piece with some AOR fragrance.

As you see, “Secret Garden” should be the most commercial Angra work to date.
They are still a prog metal band, but the trend of the moment for the genre is ‘accessibility’, and this new record delivers in spades. Seems the triumph of the Allen / Lande project in the market expanding new horizons for this musical style has been noted by many acts, and Angra is one of them.
So if you didn’t liked Angra in the past, you better give it a proper listen to “Secret Garden”, an album designed to appeal not only prog metal fans, but also melodic hard rockers, classic metal and modern AOR listeners.
Awesome record. Highly Recommended.

01 – Newborn Me
02 – Black Hearted Soul
03 – Final Light
04 – Storm of Emotions
05 – Violet Sky
06 – Secret Garden
07 – Upper Levels
08 – Crushing Room
09 – Perfect Symmetry
10 – Silent Call

Fabio Lione – Vocals
Rafael Bittencourt – Guitars, Backing Vocals
Kiko Loureiro – Guitars, Backing Vocals
Felipe Andreoli – Bass, Backing Vocals
Bruno Valverde – Drums
with:
Simone Simons (Epica) – Vocals (Track 6)
Doro Pesch – Vocals (Track 8)

BUY IT !
www.cdjapan.co.jp/product/VICP-65276
PRE-ORDER Europe:
www.amazon.co.uk/Secret-Garden-Angra/dp/B00PH9IJM0
.
.