Andre Matos
"Mentalize"
(SPV)

If you remember the awesome Angra from Brazil and still yearn to hear them then look no farther than Andre Matos's new solo album 'Mentalize' cos its essentially in that same style. For those of you who've not heard of Andre, well he's none other than Angra's muscle soprano vocalist! Joining his first band - Viper - at just 13 years old (a feat in itself!), he then went on to study music in Germany before returning to form Angra in 1991. Given Viper's Maiden influence and what he picked up in Germany, Angra's style of power metal owes much to both being akin to German bands like Gamma Ray or Freedom Call, as well as a healthy dose of Latin flamenco and native Brazillian rhythms. Andre subsequently went on to form the equally successful Shamen with Angra's rhythm section before going solo and releasing his debut "Time To Be Free", where needless to say it went down massively in South America. In any case its great to hear his unmistakeable voice once more - and again ably backed by a talent pool of next generation musicians (including 18 year old Eloy Casagrande who won the US Modern Drummer competition!) who play a less musically diverse style than Angra but instead return to the classic melodic power metal style of speed-meets-mega melodies to create beautifully uplifting passionate tracks like 'When The Sun Cried Out', 'The Myriad' and the aptly titled 'I Will Return' - cos he certainly has with an absolute vengence and it's driven me tears of joy for more!!!

-Shan Siva