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Temple of Shadows | 
 enlarge | Artist: Angra
Label: Steamhammer/SPV
Category: Music
Buy New: $52.99
New (6) Used (3) from $22.99
Rating:  19 reviews
Sales Rank: 1047153
Format: Import
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5
EAN: 4988002459896
ASIN: B0002CHPKO
Release Date: January 11, 2005
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually ships in 10 to 14 days
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| Tracks:
| • | Deus le Volt! - Angra, Loureiro | | • | Spread Your Fire - Angra, Falaschi | | • | Angels and Demons - Angra, Falaschi | | • | Waiting Silence - Angra, Bittencourt | | • | Wishing Well - Angra, Falaschi | | • | The Temple of Hate - Angra, Loureiro | | • | The Shadow Hunter - Angra, Bittencourt | | • | No Pain for the Dead - Angra, Loureiro | | • | Winds of Destination - Angra, Bittencourt | | • | Sprouts of Time - Angra, Loureiro | | • | Morning Star - Angra, Bittencourt | | • | Late Redemption - Angra, Loureiro | | • | Gate XIII - Angra, Loureiro |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Album Description
After almost a year of songwriting, arranging, pre-production, recording, mixing and mastering, Angra's fifth full length studio album is finally ready. Temple Of Shadows is definitely the band's most mature, creative and daring effort to date. It's a refreshing record, even though the group has not given up embracing the melodic metal that has always been its trademark. Temple Of Shadows is a concept album. Its story was created by guitarist Rafael Bittencourt and tells the saga of The Shadow Hunter, an 11th century crusader soldier who questions the Catholic Church ideals. The series of events since his first questioning to the way it affects his whole life is narrated along 13 tracks that show the band in its prime form. Several heavy metal genres and sub-genres are portrayed in the album, masterly crafted by the talents of Edu Falaschi (vocals), Kiko Loureiro (guitars), Rafael Bittencourt (guitars), Felipe Andreoli (bass) and Aquiles Priester (drums).
Album Description
Japanese pressing of the progressive metal act's 2004 release, scheduled to include bonus material. Details TBA. JVC.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 14 more reviews...
Epic April 28, 2007
After being absolutely blown away by Angra's 2001 album Rebirth, I had very high expectations for the band's follow-up album Temple of Shadows. Part of that is due to the incredibly high quality of Rebirth, and part is due to the fact that the band made us wait 3 years for this album. Either way, once I finally heard Temple of Shadows I was both over and underwhelmed.
I was overwhelmed in that Temple of Shadows is an extremely ambitious, musically ambitious concept album. You can tell that Angra put a tremendous amount of time and energy into this album. The songwriting, musicianship, orchestration, and production quality are all on par with Blind Guardian's A Night at the Opera album, and like that album, it takes several spins to really get into ToS. The persistence pays off though, as you'll soon start to really appreciate all that Angra accomplished with this album.
Temple of Shadows is a bit underwhelming in that it doesn't have the immediate impact that Rebirth had. I know it's not terribly fair, but I was expecting another album like Rebirth, and this is a totally different kind of album. None of these songs jump out at you right away, and you probably won't find yourself humming one of these tracks hours later. Again, once you've heard the album a few times you'll start to appreciate it more.
Angra isn't the kind of band to do the same thing twice, so Temple of Shadows is as different from Rebirth as Holy Land was to Angels Cry. In fact, ToS comes across as a (much) heavier version of Holy Land. Both are ambitious concept albums that showcase a group of musicians who constantly evolve and challenge themselves. That's probably where the similarities end, as ToS is a much heavier, much more aggressive effort than Holy Land, and the Brazilian elements that made Holy Land so compelling are not as evident on ToS.
In the end, Temple of Shadows is a very satisfying Angra album, even if it wasn't exactly what I had expected. It goes without saying that this is a must-have for Angra fans, but most prog/power metal fans will want to check it out as well, if for no other reason than that Hansi Kurisch (Blind Guardian) and Kai Hansen (Gamma Ray) make guest appearances.
Fine music, befuddled storyline March 26, 2007
Angra represents the cross cultural pollination of the metal genre, and they do it with style and virtuoso performance for the most part. Yeah, some of the cuts, like Sprouts of Time sound like being transported back to a 1980's concert at the Copa, but the metal work which some reviewers call a "rip off" of Euro metal, is good metal with a little Brazilian flavor. What's wrong guys, can't you dig a little palm oil on your bratwurst? Besides, metal has elements that make it what it is--double bass, shredding leads, power chords, dampened notes--and the ever present full range vocalist. Alot of these bands write a fantasy story to blow changes and shred to, and they record it. Sounds like fun to me.
That brings us to the storyline, which simply said is garbled. Yeah, yeah, we know the Catholic Church was responsible for the oppression of the masses, the virtual enslavement and supression of the Jews, and tended to want everyone to do it their way. But the Crusaders, for all their excesses, did hold the Muslims back from Europe enough times as to allow the Enlightenment to go on unmolested in Europe while Islam sat in a culteral backwater for 1000 years. Had they and Charles Martel not held them back, we would not be talking about Euro-Brazilian Metal on computers, we'd be on our knees on a prayer rug if we survived the usual childhood diseases and our daddy didn't displease the Sultan.
 Tell me they're joking. Please November 7, 2006
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
Angra are a great band. Always have been and hopefully always will be. But this album is seriously wrong. Firstly it's a concept album about some dude in the Crusades called The Shadow Hunter. Yeah whatever guys. Secondly their synopsis of the story has that many grammatical errors you can't help be put off by it. Yes that's a pedantic point to make but all it takes is to get one native English speaker at the record company to proof read the thing before sending it off to the printers. Thirdly so many songs on this album are naff. They just don't work no matter how seriously they attack the task at hand and despite the obvious musical talent at the bands disposal.
Where this record does score it's points is in the aforementioned musical skills department. It's also tru that a few of the songs here do rip it up. Spread Your Fire is psychologically nastier than it first appears and Angels and Demons clips along nicely, as does Waiting Silence which rides a lovely Edu Falaschi vocal hook. And Temple of Hate really comes alive on stage.
But so much of the album is tainted by the dubious storyline this concept album rides. At least it's once again well produced - this time by Dennis Ward - and there are again a number of guest musicians including Kai Hansen and Hansi Kursch.
I'm giving this three stars - just. It is lovingly crafted, well played/produced Euro-metal. But because I'm a fan I somehow wanted more. My tip? Buy this with the live DVD if you can as it adds hugely to the value of the package (and will save you buying the DVD separately!).
 Heaven forbid... February 7, 2006
4 out of 6 found this review helpful
...a band try to be original. Never really meets with approval, people like their usual old. Im giving Temple of Shadows five stars because I think reviews by some tasteless people have been far too unfair. I think this new style sits angra great. It needs some polishing, of course, but I think its a great start and this cd is fantastically different. There may have been one or two songs (no more) that I havent enjoyed, but for the rest its definitely worth it. But this isnt the only great album by this group, every single one i've bought I've enjoyed, and that is very rare for me. About the "brazillian" influences in some of their songs: dude, if you don't like them, you can go dig yourself a grave that says "here lies an uncultivated person"
 Oh,Another Crapy Power Metal Album August 31, 2005
0 out of 14 found this review helpful
This is another crapy album I got suckered into buying.There is one good song on this album,The Temple Of Hate.Hansi Kursch is on this album I believe it's number 9 (but I'm not sure)I got rid of this awful album right away.The song Wishing Well is pure gay,I couldn't believe how bad that song is.This band has like Brazilian beats on this album(sucks),this band is from Brazil.DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY ON THIS CRAPY,CRAPY ALBUM.
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