Angra is Back!!!!!!!!!!!!

Awesome! Don't know how I missed that blog post... I don't listen to Angra nearly as much as I should, but I've been wondering where they've been for a while. From the date of that post, it seems like it's time for an update any day now...
 
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Well it'll be nice to hear some new stuff but I can't say I really intentionally go back and listen to Angra that often. I just catch good stuff on my players shuffle. They still rock but somehow nothing ever stuck.

Anyway, will keep an eye out for this definitely.
 
Angra posted the following on their myspace blog:

"Hey folks!

We are very excited to bring you these news! We are almost done writing the songs for the new album, and we couldn't be happier! There is a general feeling that this is gonna be a really great album. Every time I listen to ourselves playing the songs, I can't help smiling. We are totally into every little detail and small part to make this one of the best Angra albums ever.

The rehearsals are taking place at Ricardo's country house, near São Paulo. We don't have TV or internet, and phone signal is very poor, so we can't help but concentrate fully on the composition process, and this is intentional. We have a whole new set of challenges in the new arragements, since every part of them is being taken to the next level, both technically and musically.

We will enter the studio in mid February, and we'll keep you posted on the latest news.

Cheers!
Felipe"
 
Angra has finally announced the official title of its seventh full length. Aqua will be the first material released in the last four years and after the return of the drummer Ricardo Confessori (Shaman) to the band. Below is the official press release:

Aqua is a Latin word and means "water" in English. It represents the unique style that presented Angra to the world. Its incredible ability in mixing various music genres, transcending from Classical to Metal, Folklore to Modern, Pop to Experimental, has an unquestionable relevance nowadays and it is described in each detail of the new work.

The whole composition of the album was directly inspired by "The Tempest" - the last play written by William Shakespeare and shown here through an epic vision compared to its dark side.

"We really dedicated ourselves to the last work of Shakespeare to create Aqua. Besides all the qualities of the text, we founded out that the element "water" is one of the main characters of the history. It transforms itself during the cycles and changes the things around. It represents the rage of high tides and tempests, and then the forgiveness and wisdom in calm. Everything happens after a violent storm that occurs in the sea, in an island hill. While the wild waters come from up and down, a ship and the entire crew are fighting for surviving. As from this point, we developed one very interesting narrative that will get the attention of the listeners", said the guitarist Rafael Bittencourt.

Aqua was produced by a new team that confirms the actual renovation purpose of the band. The album was entirely arranged by the musicians, co-produced and mixed by Brendan Duffey and Adriano Daga, from Norcal Studios, and mastered by Maor Appelbaum at Maor Appelbaum Mastering Studios, in California (EUA).

The art concept was created by the renowned Brazilian artist Gustavo Sazes supervised by Rafael Bittencourt and Kiko Loureiro.

Aqua will be released in Japan on July 31st by JVC/Victor and will be distributed in Europe by SPV/Steamhammer afterwards. In Brazil it will be self-financed and released on August 17th. "We need to have a support for the international market and the SPV and JVC have always been done an excellent work related to the promotion of our last records. But in Brazil we will make it different this time. It will be self-financed so that we can control everything referred to the CD", said vocalist Edu Falaschi.

After Aqua is officially released, Angra will start a new world tour.


Aqua [cover art] tracklist:

01. Viderunt Te Aquæ
02. Arising Thunder
03. Awake From Darkness
04. Lease Of Life
05. The Rage Of The Waters
06. Spirit Of The Air
07. Hollow
08. A Monster In Her Eyes
09. Weakness Of A Man
10. Ashes
 
A Shakespearian influenced album named after water...well in a million years I wouldn't have guessed that! Exciting news for sure Angra never fail to melt faces :headbang: Like the album art even if it does remind me of Neptune crying emo eye-liner tears!
 
i have to confess that i have never been a big fan- been to a show in Brazil but wasn't very impressed - i think their vocals are feeble, but I like the guitars!
 
Yikes. Not too impressed with the vocal melody, the singing, or the lyrics. What a weak chorus. The instrumentation isn't bad, but... I expected a lot better from Angra.
 
Wow. I really like this album. I'm recommending this as a must-listen, as Angra always is for prog power lovers :D Again I'm picking up a lot of Dionysus flavours personally (that band was ahead of its time it seems!) but it has some fantastic composition, musical as well as instrumental variety, very catchy and technically impressive but with some beautifully low tempo melodious tracks. The vocals are perhaps comparitively weaker, less far-ranging but seem to match the tone of the album nicely nonetheless. In any case I hope people are enjoying this as much as I. What a year for albums 2010 is shaping up to be!
 
Couldn't agree more Dom; I'm even thinking of reviewing it on a site. It took me until a few weeks ago to actually get hold of the album because Amazon didn't get any stock, 2 months they sent me emails saying they didn't have it. I ordered it through a seller at a better price. Turned out to be the Japanese version too so sweet deal :Smokin:
I was impressed with the direction they've taken considering this is a comeback album of sorts... it's not your typical Angra record, and i think that's what makes it more special. Arising Thunder was perhaps deceptive to fans as to what the album would be like, and many may have written it off because of it. but there is a lot of focus on composition and you can really tell they put a lot into it.
I'm glad someone else is enjoying it as much as me... i got the impression most fans thought it was a real let down.