arcane-beautiful Since I was a little bit disappointed with Rebirth, I turned to this album, and to be honest I was very surprised. I really didn't expect it to be this good, I mean, it's just a perfect album really.

Conceptually based on a pre medieval knight named "The Shadow Knight", who in his dismissal at modern Christianity, decided to find true meaning in God, but instead discovered his own religion (kind of like an early Martin Luther). I did wonder about the actual personal faiths of the band (because they're from Brazil, I expected a strong Christian faith), but reading deeper into it they seemed to have a more either Universalistic faith or they have no faith, and are just Atheists.

This album excels beyond Rebirth, with stronger and more listenable material, and interesting concept, and some amazing guest performers. Technically, these guys have excelled as well.

1. Deus Le Voit! - It's an intro; they all start of like this I think. 8/10

2. Spread Your Fire - Great kick ass song, really grabs you by the balls. Kick ass chorus. The choral arrangements remind me of Therion. 10/10

3. Angels & Demons - One of the greatest intros to a prog metal song I have ever heard. Just epic, with an amazing chorus. Best song on the album. 10/10

4. Waiting Silence - Some odd timing bits and impressive instrumental work. Great chorus as well. 9/10

5. Wishing Well - Very cheesy, but so good. Amazing chorus and a killer vocal performance. 10/10

6. Temple Of Hate - Kai Hansen's vocals in this song rule. Quite dark and very kick ass. Ja w dropping instrumental work. 9/10

7. The Shadow Hunter - Great flamenco intro. Pretty epic. The vocal harmonies in the middle section are very beautiful and really surprised me. Killer chorus. 10/10

8. No Pain For The Dead - Intro reminds me of Road Trippin' by Red Hot Chilli Peppers. Nice and laidback. Yay, Sabrine from Edenbridge is in this song, I love Edenbridge, and anything with her in it, grabs my attention. Great arrangement. 10/10

9. Winds Of Destination - Again quite dark and heavy. Hansi from Blind Guardian does an amazing vocal performance in this song. Very proggy with some odd changes in tone. The solo piano and vocal section reminds me of The Flower Kings. The guitar work is pretty impressive. 9/10

10. Sprouts Of Time - Has quite a jazzy edge. The instrumental section is just amazing. Epic chorus for an epic song. 10/10

11. Morning Star - A nice mix of heavy and light textures. Pretty nice chorus. 8/10

12. Late Redemption - The death of the Shadow Knight. I love the fact that some lyrics are sung in Portuguese, which is a very rare language to hear sung (well, if you are Irish haha). Beautiful arrangement. Great vocals. 10/10

13. Gate XIII - Credits basically. The return of some of the albums main themes wonderfully portrayed. 9/10

CONCLUSION: When it comes to Progressive or Power Metal, this is one of those albums that really stand out. Just an epic album from start to finish, with a wide range of influences and maturity of song writing. Buy this now

Stephen "Temple of Shadows" is the second studio album with singer Eduardo Falaschi after Angra's major line up reformation in 2001 and introduces a concept story told by guitarist Rafael Bittencourt about a crusader in the 11th century spreading a new belief against the traditional Catholic Church. This album was certified gold in Japan and in their hometown, Brazil, and for a non-mainstream album, that’s a pretty big achievement. Their musical style is still symphonic power metal with some progressive element but this time, they enriched the music with many ethnical instruments. For those who love concept albums such as Dream Theater's "Scenes From A Memory" or Queensryche's "Operation Mindcrime" will find this instantly entertaining, but for me, aside from an interesting story, the music is what's crucial.

I won't break this album down track by track, but let me start with the strong offering on the album. "Spread Your Fire", a pompous symphonic power metal with the glorious chant at the Chorus is awesome. Angra is smart enough to put this up at the beginning of the album to pump up the mood. This track was defeated by the sixth track, "Temple of Hate", with a stunning shred intro and tightly constructed with a superb Verse and Chorus. Bittencourt's guitarworks is the highlight of the song and this is the greatest song of the whole record. The acoustical folk power ballad of "Wishing Well" is also tremendous and the amazing combo of jazz and ethnic at "Sprouts of Time" is undeniably great. Some decent prog/power style of "Angels And Demons" and "Waiting Silence" still worth to listen but several tracks such as "Morning Star" and "Late Redemption" are totally passable. "Shadow Hunter" did have a unique gloomy Flamenco intro and promising start, but somehow the whole composition turned out weak and became my least pick of the album.

In my opinion, "Temple of Shadows" lacks of songwriting consistency where almost half of the album is weaker than the others, but perhaps only 2-3 songs are pure fillers, while the other still have some glowing moment. The technical deliveries of the musicians are flawless but the uneven songs are the low key. With some spectacular delivery on the wonderful songs, "Temple of Shadows" was saved from being condemned a mediocre attempt. For fans of power and progressive metal, this album is a good buy, and for hardcore fans of Angra, this could be a better effort compared to couple of Matos-era albums.