SHAMAN's ANDRE MATOS: New Album Will Be Heavier And More Progressive Than ANGRA

Current SHAMAN and former ANGRA frontman Andre Matos recently gave an interview to SHAMAN's official web site in which he discussed the group's recently-completed debut album, entitled Ritual, which is due out in the summer. Here are a few select quotes from that interview:

On the lyrical and musical concept behind Ritual:
"It's a conceptual album, based on atmospheres and environments and moods. Not loosing sight of the heavy sound, that is one of the new characteristics of SHAMAN. I think that, above all, you can expect a very original album - this is what we expect to do. Always moving on and conquering new horizons."

On the album's musical direction:
"The fact that we have one guitar player, it has changed our style of composing and playing a lot. As I said before, the sound will be heavier, but at the same time more progressive. In this album we used and abused of the guitar - and we did it in an intelligent way so we could repeat everything live. I believe that the biggest innovation of our debut album will be a more mature sound: we all grew up a lot as musicians, and also as people."

On differences between recording with SHAMAN versus recording with ANGRA:
"The biggest difference, besides the experience, is the atmosphere around the recordings. What I could notice is that we are working together like a team - and that goes from the musicians up to the engineers and producers etc ... I'm sure that atmosphere will reflect throughout the final results of the album - and when you all have it in your hands, you will also be able to notice something very special!!!"