Angra

Born in the early 1990s on São Paulo’s metal scene, the Brazilian band Angra immediately stood out with a blend of melodic power metal, progressive elements, and references to Brazilian music. Founded in 1991 around guitarist Rafael Bittencourt, Angra released the album Angels Cry in 1993, marked by fast guitars, high‑pitched vocals, and classically influenced arrangements, before broadening its scope with Holy Land in 1996, which more clearly incorporated Afro‑Brazilian‑inspired percussion and harmonies, then Fireworks in 1998, with a heavier orientation. After a major lineup change at the turn of the 2000s, Angra opened a new chapter with Rebirth in 2001 and Temple of Shadows in 2004, where the progressive side grew stronger through narrative concepts and longer compositions, followed by Aurora Consurgens in 2006 and Aqua in 2010. The arrival of vocalist Fabio Lione led to Secret Garden in 2014, then ØMNI in 2018 and Cycles of Pain in 2023, cementing Angra’s standing on the power and prog‑metal scenes in Europe, Japan, and South America, with a style that alternates melodic choruses, choirs, understated orchestrations, and acoustic passages inspired by Brazilian tradition.