That same year the EP Freedom Call was released including cover versions of Judas Priest´s "Painkiller", which was followed by the release of the live album Holy Live, recorded in Paris in 1996. Angra toured Japan for the first time following the huge success of Holy Land. Holy Land proved even more successful than Angels Cry, and the Japanese Victor release, including the bonus track Queen of the Night, went gold. Once again the production was handled by Sascha Paeth and Charlie Bauerfiend. Holy Land - an ambitious project involving huge orchestration, choirs, and Brazilian rhythms - was released in 1996.
After the festival, the band embarked on what would be a very successful Brazilian tour, which eventually ended in Europe in 1995. In 1994 Angra opened for AC/DC in Brazil and was invited to the inaugural Brazilian Monsters of Rock Festival, sharing stage with KISS, Black Sabbath and Slayer. It went on to be very successful both critically and commercially. In the following year the album was subsequently released in Europe through Dream Circle, and in France by C.N.R. Due to the album's success in Japan an EP was issued on the Japanese market which included remixed versions of songs from Angels Cry (Evil Warning, Angels Cry, Carry On and Wuthering Heights). That year Angra dominated the polls of the Brazilian magazine Rock Brigade obtaining awards for Best New Band, Best Album, Best Singer, Best Album Cover and Best Keyboard Player. The album was a great success in Angra's native Brazil as well as Japan where it sold over 100,000 copies. The album was released in Brazil in 1993 and featured many classical influences as well as an adventurous cover of Kate Bush's "Wuthering Heights". The album included performances by Heaven's Gate guitarist Sascha Paeth as well as Gamma Ray guitarists Kai Hansen and Dirk Schlächter. Angels Cry was recorded at Gamma Ray guitarist Kai Hansen's studio in Hamburg, Germany. This change established Angra in its most enduring and prolific form, which lasted from 1993 to 2000. Sieges Even's drummer Alex Holzwarth was called to finish the album Ricardo Confessori was later invited to be the new drummer. During the recording sessions for their first album Angels Cry, Marcos Antunes left the band. It was one of the first releases from Limb Music Products, which later would become one of Europe's premier power metal specialty labels. After almost an entire year of rehearsal they released the demo Reaching Horizons in 1992 which was received very positively by critics and achieved unexpected success both in Brazil and Europe.
Shortly after guitarist André Hernandes left the band, Kiko Loureiro, who has played with both Antunes and Bittencourt in other bands, joined Angra. The last work of this line up was on the tribute to Kate Bush "Wuthering Heights". A Bittencourt's old song called "Reaching Horizons" was then incorporated to the band. It was during Hernandes' time in the band that "Evil Warning" took shape. A lot of his licks were kept by his replacement, Kiko Loureiro.
In the short time that Hernandes stayed in the band, he changed the existing songs arrangements, giving them body and substance. In the beginning of 1992, André Linhares left and guitarist André Hernandes replaced him. The very first song to take form was "Time", which later became part of their first album "Angels Cry", composed by Matos and Bittencourt came short after "Queen of the Night" was originally "Rainha" and was written by Bittencourt while he played with Marcos Antunes in another band, the song was then revived to integrate Angra's repertoire and "Carry On" was brought ready to band, composed by Andre Matos. With this line-up, several of the first band hits were composed, mainly by Rafael Bittencourt and Andre Matos. Angra was formed in 1991 by Santa Marcelina Music College students vocalist Andre Matos, duo guitarist Rafael Bittencourt and André Linhares, and were joined by former Rafael Bittencourt band mate drummer Marcos Antunes, as well as former Firebox bassist and former both Rafael Bittencourt and André Linhares high-school mate Luís Mariutti.
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