Shaman - Reason (2005)

Here's a task for you: please name 5 GOOD metal singers from Brazil. Ah, you can't! Well, then name 5 any metal singers from Brazil! I see you're quite puzzled (at least I would be). Brazil is so far from Europe and is a mystery to me.

Among the few Brazilian metal singers Andre Matos is the best - there's absolutely no doubt in this fact. This is my first encounter with him (yep, I didn't hear anything from Angra's golden age) and it shows that you don't need a lot to be the best vocalist in Brazil. The singing on Reason left me uninspired - it's pretty nice, it is even good, but its too ordinary to stand out - or do I just dislike such a tone of voice? Matos sounds a bit like Tobias Sammet, but he easily outsings his squeaking German counterpart, maybe because he's a bit more diverse and versatile.

Musically this release stands out even less. I expected some proggier stuff (wasn't Angra a prog-power outfit?) but what we get is pretty cliched riffs and very boring drumming. The orchestrations that appear from time to time are good and add depth to the songs - check out Reason or More - as well as the keys. In the end, the album lacks both progressive musicianship and memorability. The catchiest and the heaviest song is the opener; there's nothing better than Turn Away on this release, though I liked songs 2 and 3 a bit too.

This doesn't look like a grower to me, though I would like to improve my opinion about Andre. I heard people praise him to the skies and hope his lifework is somewhere else, but not in Shaman.

Review by Dismayer

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