Band:	Angra
Album:	Aurora Consurgens
Style:	Progressive power metal
Release date:	October 2006

01. The Course Of Nature
02. The Voice Commanding You
03. Ego Painted Grey
04. Breaking Ties
05. Salvation: Suicide
06. Window To Nowhere
07. So Near So Far
08. Passing By
09. Scream Your Heart Out
10. Abandoned Fate
11. Out Of This World [Japanese bonus]

When I first heard this album, and still now when I'm writing this review 18 months later I am very confused - my brain has never felt so split about any album before! All this time I haven't been able to decide wether this album is totally awesome or a complete letdown. And the reason is spelled 'Temple Of Shadows'. That album still is one of my all time favourite albums in any category simply because it's such a totally complete masterpiece. 'Aurora Consurgens' is not. So first I will try to explain why this not a worthy follow up to it's ancestor.

Every masterpiece needs a good concept, and 'Temple Of Shadows' has got a tale about a Temple Knight who questions his beliefs. Very cliché but it works really good - compared to 'Aurora Consurgens' ultra cliché concept about split personalities/depression? that is utterly uninteresting. Second, every masterpiece needs to be even and without letdowns, which I can't say about this album. 'Breaking Ties' is actually the worst song I've heard by Angra and there are a couple of others that I don't find that great. So the main problem compared to 'Temple Of Shadows' is the songwriting which isn't flawless as usual. Still there are enough good songs on the album to keep my interest, as with any Angra album.

Okay, time to stop with the harassment and explain my high rating. 'Aurora Consurgens' is not a bad album at all. First of all it is very original, because it's still Angra - one of the most original bands in the power metal scene today. It has got fast parts, parts inspired by folk music from different corners of the world, awesome choirs, a pretty unique singer and a distinguished overall sound. And then the musicians - probably the absolute elite in the power metal world. Every guitar solo is like these ultra speed solos that you can watch guitar gods play on youtube, and still Kiko and Rafael are unknown to most of the musical world. Aquiles Preister is one of my favourite metal drummers for sure and Angra is one of the very few power metal bands where you can not only hear the bass but where the instrument plays a bigger role.

To sum up - if I want to be fair I have to see albums like this just as an individual piece of music because alone it stands very strong in the power metal world. Besides 'Temple Of Shadows' it is very small, but could any band have managed to create a worthy follow up to that album? Maybe Angra chose the wrong direction with more straight-forward songs but they still managed to write a bunch of kick-ass ones like 'Voice Commanding You' and 'So Near So Far' and I'm still more blown away by their performance than by any other power metal band.