Angra – Fireworks

Angra's 1998 album Fireworks, the band's third and final album with the original lineup, doesn't have a great reputation. It's not as instantly memorable as their debut Angels Cry, or as progressive as Holy Land, so I think most people wrote it off without giving it a fair chance. This is unfortunate, because Fireworks is an album with the potential to really grow on you.

Part of the problem is that Fireworks had to follow what was easily Angra's finest album at that point - 1996's Holy Land. Fireworks is a fairly straightforward melodic power metal album with a few progressive touches. If it had come directly after Angels Cry, it probably would have gotten a better reception. Holy Land was such a mature and progressive album that it set the bar a bit too high for the band to go back to their traditional power metal sound.

When judged on its own merits, I think Fireworks holds up pretty well. The band builds on the melodic power metal foundations of Angels Cry and adds some of the maturity of Holy Land. Their songwriting skills continued to improve, as did their musical performances. The guitar work in particular is extremely impressive. And love him or hate him, high-octave master Andre Matos gives a very memorable vocal performance. It would have been nice to hear more of the Brazilian musical elements that helped make Holy Land so memorable, but that is a minor complaint. The best part is that the album really grows on you. I honestly like Fireworks more every time I hear it. It may never touch Holy Land, but I think it's arguably a better album than Angels Cry.

Of course we all know now that there was a rift in the Angra camp not long after this album's release, causing a split that would give us two great bands - Angra and Shaman. Despite taking different approaches, the next album from each band (Ritual from Shaman and the appropriately titled Rebirth from Angra) contained many of the musical elements present on Fireworks.

Fireworks may never be anyone's favorite Angra album, but it's a better album than you might think. If you're an Angra fan and haven't heard it, I encourage you to check it out. If you're a longtime fan who dismissed Fireworks early, I suggest dusting off your copy and giving it another spin. You might just be surprised how much you like it.