Search - Angra :: Freedom Call

Essential EP

Justin Gaines | Northern Virginia | 07/19/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Angra's 1996 EP Freedom Call features a good mix of old and new material, and is an album all serious Angra fans should own. Since the EP was recorded during the same time frame that the band recorded the Holy Land album, the new songs on Freedom Call have some of the same overall feel as the Holy Land material. This suits me just fine, as Holy Land is by far my favorite of the Matos-era Angra albums.



The title track, Queen of the Night, and Reaching Horizons are all new tracks. Queen of the Night has an Angels Cry kind of sound, but the other two are very reminiscent of Holy Land, and are the EP's best songs.

Next you get an orchestral version of Stand Away, one of the songs on Angels Cry. This one is interesting, but doesn't really add much.

The remix of Painkiller isn't much different than the one found on the Century Media Judas Priest tribute album, but is a nice addition for those of us who didn't pick that one up. It's a great cover song, and you know that if anyone can hit those notes, Andre Matos can!

An edited version of Deep Blue (also from Angels Cry) is included, but again doesn't add much.

Closing out the disc are three live acoustic tracks. These tracks are a nice bonus, especially for those of us who never got a chance to see the original Angra lineup live, let alone in an acoustic setting.



While some of the songs are better than others, the first three and last three tracks make Freedom Call an EP worth owning."