''Ritual'' is the debut album by the Brazilian heavy metal band

Shaman Shamanism is a spiritual practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with the spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritual energies into ...

. It was first released in 2002, and it is a

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

about many cultures, mainly

indigenous cultures There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

and

shamanism Shamanism is a spiritual practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with the spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritual energies into ...

. The album has sold over 500,000 copies worldwide since its release and appears on the list Top 100

Power Metal Power metal is a subgenre of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional heavy metal with speed metal, often within a symphonic context. Generally, power metal is characterized by a faster, lighter, and more uplifting sound, in co ...

Albums of All Time by metalstorm.com.

Track listing

# "Ancient Winds" ( André Matos) – 3:16 # "Here I Am" (Matos) – 5:56 # "Distant Thunder" ( Hugo Mariutti) – 6:22 # "For Tomorrow" ( Ricardo Confessori) – 6:47 # "Time Will Come" (H. Mariutti) – 5:32 # "Over Your Head" (Luis Mariutti) – 6:37 # "Fairy Tale" (Matos) – 6:56 # "Blind Spell" (Confessori) – 4:34 # "Ritual" (Matos) – 6:37 # "Pride" (Matos) – 4:11

Personnel

Shaman * André Matos – vocals, piano * Hugo Mariutti – guitar * Luís Mariutti – bass * Ricardo Confessori – drums Additional personnel *

Tobias Sammet Tobias Sammet (born 21 November 1977) is a German musician, songwriter, and music producer. He is the singer and primary songwriter of the power metal band Edguy, and the founder of the metal opera project Avantasia. Career Sammet founded Edgu ...

(

Edguy Edguy is a German power metal band formed in 1992 in Fulda by students Tobias Sammet, Jens Ludwig, Dominik Storch, and Dirk Sauer. Initially named after their math teacher, the band faced early rejections from record labels but persevered, relea ...

) – vocals on "Pride" *

Sascha Paeth Sascha Paeth (born 9 September 1970) is a German guitarist, bassist, record producer and mixer known for working with heavy metal bands such as Avantasia, Edguy, Angra, Shaman, Rhapsody of Fire, Kamelot, After Forever and Epica. He owns the ...

– guitars on "Pride" * Marcus Viana – violin on "Over Your Head" *

Derek Sherinian Derek Sherinian (born August 25, 1966) is an American keyboardist who has toured and recorded for Alice Cooper, Billy Idol, and Joe Bonamassa, among others. He was also a member of Dream Theater from 1994 to 1999, is the founder of Planet X (ban ...

– keyboard solo on "Over Your Head" * Ademar Farinha – wind instruments in the introduction of "For Tomorrow" * Ancient Winds was made by Miro.

References

2002 debut albums Shaman (Brazilian band) albums 2000s concept albums {{Brazil-album-stub