REVIEWS
Title: Angra - Live In Sao Paulo (DVD)	Released:
Reviewed By: Walter West (Walter West)	Rating: (4/5)

1. In Excelsis
2. Nova Era
3. Acid Rain
4. Angel's Cray
5. Heroes in the Sand
6. Metal Icarus
7. Millennium Sun
8. Make Believe
9. Drum Solo
10. Unholy Wars
11. Rebirth
12. Time
13. Running Alone
14. Crossing
15. Nothing to Say
16. Unfinished Allegro
17. Carry On
18. Number of the Beast

Also includes:
Rebirth Video Clip
Hunters and Prey Live in Japan
Pra Fente Brasil
Batacuda Live in Japan

Backstage footage from Brasil, Japan, Taiwan, and Europe.
Behind the Scenes Studio footage.
5.1 sound.

This is the DVD release that accompanies Angra's double live CD by the same name. While the Video is excellent the DVD suffers from the same problem as the CD. The audio sounds like a higher-grade bootleg and not a pro-quality concert. The instruments seem to be taken soundboard but the vocals do not sound this way. What we are left with is a good bootleg or a poor professional live sound. The 5.1 track really doesn't mean much since the show was not shot with this in mind. But at least this is made up for in the tons of extras thrown on the DVD.

Lets start off with the concert. Angra put on an excellent show. And the new line-up is just as good as the old. The stage performance and video footage is all excellent. There are many long close-ups of the incredible solos. The set list is also a nice variety of material although it features heavily from the latest studio release. Edu handles some of the most difficult old songs with great ease. This is a pleasant show to watch, but as I said before the audio quality is lacking.

The bonuses are basically handheld camera footage taken while on the road or in the studio. All of it is nice, but with the exception of the studio footage there is really no audio. The concert material is just a montage of shots from being on the road. It could have been better with some dialogue. The studio footage is really interesting though. You get to hear Edu sing solo when recording, which is very impressive. There are also a couple short jams that they play to give some added value. The main complaint with the bonus footage is that it is just too short and unorganized.

The bonus video clips are actually a nice treat. I can safely assume Angra won't be gracing MTV anytime soon, so it is nice to see the videos. The live footage from the Hunters and Prey has better audio quality than the actual concert. Pra Fente Brasil is a really cool video sung entirely in Portuguese. I am not aware of this track being on any of the studio albums either. Batacuda is the fantastic Brasilian percussion instrumental that Angra often performs at headlining shows.

The stage performance of the band warrants the high rating even with the poor audio quality. Angra is easily one of best live bands around. Just to be able to watch the awe inspiring guitar work is enough for most people. But all of the musicians are simply great at what they do. Edu is a born showman. Although for reasons I don't understand he didn't make the cut to join Maiden back when Bruce left, he has proved he could have been the man for the job. Bottom line is if you want to see Angra live the DVD is worth checking out regardless of the weak audio quality.

Band Website: http://www.angra.net/