Angra vocalist Edu Falschi and bassist Felipe Andreoli have made the most of their main band’s hiatus and formed Almah. Not straying from their Power Metal roots, in fact heading a little deeper into the Prog Metal sound, Almah puts forth some impressive musicianship and honest Power Metal spirit.

“Birds Of Prey” kicks things off in high energy fashion with cool guitar harmonies and a typical hair-whipping tempo and triumphant chorus hook. The band adds a slight symphonic edge with “Beyond Tomorrow”; a track with a strong mid-tempo delivery on the verse with a rousing double-kick chorus. “All I Am” sees the band delving into power ballad territory (don’t roll your eyes) with a very cool dual guitar theme melody on the intro…good vocal delivery by Falschi here. A few moments can get a little tedious, most notably in “Magic Flame” where the music and vocals get a little too by-the-numbers. “Invisible Cage” is an interesting number with a major-chord acoustic intro and melodic groove…a definite break from the norm…while the title track has a strong intro melody and nearly Thrash Metal verse.

Fragile Equality is a strong record overall…a couple of left turns and a scarce few dragging moments…but well worth a Power/Prog Metal fan’s time. Don’t make the mistake of assuming this is a stop-gap between Angra albums. There are enough good ideas to all but promise longevity and progression…good stuff.

[Visit the band's website]

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