Rafael Bittencourt
| Angra | |
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Angra in 2010.
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| Background information | |
| Origin | São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil |
| Genres | Power metal, progressive metal, folk metal, neo-classical metal, heavy metal |
| Years active | 1991–present (hiatuses from 1999–2001 and 2007–2009) |
| Labels | Victor Entertainment, Edel earMUSIC, SPV GmbH, Universal Music Group |
| Associated acts | Viper, Shaman, Andre Matos, Almah, Rhapsody of Fire, Megadeth |
| Website | www |
| Members |
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| Past members |
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Angra is a Brazilian metal band formed in 1991 that has gone through a number of line-up changes since its foundation. They have released eight regular studio albums, five EPs and three live CD/DVD's to date. Led by Rafael Bittencourt, the band has gained a degree of popularity in Japan and Europe.
Angra was formed in November 1991 by Santa Marcelina Music College students vocalist Andre Matos and guitarists Rafael Bittencourt and André Linhares. They were joined by Bittencourt's former band mate Marcos Antunes (drums) and bassist Luís Mariutti (ex-Firebox).
This line-up composed a number of the earliest songs, with Rafael Bittencourt and Andre Matos emerging as the main songwriters. Two of the first songs written were "Time" and "Angels Cry", which both featured on the band's first album. The song "Queen of the Night", composed by Matos and Bittencourt, was originally titled "Rainha" ("Queen") and had been one of the songs from Bittencourt and Antunes previous band. The song "Carry On" was composed by Andre Matos and brought to the band. In the beginning of 1992, André Linhares was replaced by André Hernandes. His stay was equally brief and Kiko Loureiro joined the band in late 1992. It was during Hernandes' time in the band that the song "Evil Warning" was written. Finally they added "Reaching Horizons" by Bittencourt. These six songs resulted in a demo-tape Reaching Horizons that was released in 1993 through Limb Music in Germany.
During the recording sessions for their first album Angels Cry, Marcos Antunes left the band. A number of session drummers, including Alex Holzwarth were used to finish the album. Ricardo Confessori was later installed as a permanent replacement. This line-up change established a stable line-up lasted from 1993 to 2000. Angels Cry was recorded at Gamma Ray guitarist Kai Hansen's studio in Hamburg, Germany. Besides Hansen, the album included guest performances by Heavens Gate guitarist Sascha Paeth and Dirk Schlächter.
The album was released in Brazil in 1993 through Eldorado Records and contained a number of classical influences as well as a cover of Kate Bush's "Wuthering Heights". The album had some success both in Brazil as well as Japan. The band were managed by Antonio Pirani, also editor of Rock Brigade magazine. Due to the album's success in Japan, the Evil Warning EP was released in 1994 through Victor, which included remixed versions of songs "Evil Warning", "Angels Cry", "Carry On" and "Wuthering Heights". In the following year the album was made available in Germany through Dream Circle, and in France by CNR Music.
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Wikipedia