The story so far...
Reduction of numbers and musical growth is a formula which could be currently applied to the Portuguese Melodic Metal formation ORATORY because since the departure of frontman Marco Alves, female background singer Ana Lara has taken over the entire lead vocals.
"Beyond Earth" is a classical concept album, which was inspired by the book "Os Lusiadas" by the Portuguese author Luís Vaz de Camóes. De Camóes wrote this exciting piece of literature in the 16th century and tells the story of the explorer Vasco da Gama´s travels to India in 1498. The interesting book is complemented by several additional episodes from the country's history during which especially brave soldiers looked upon the sea as a challenge to be beaten in order to discover new continents. ORATORY combine the discoveries described in «Os Lusiadas» with those mysteries of the earth which will be explored Beyond Earth, meaning in the realm of metaphysics.
ORATORY was formed in 1994 by guitarist Miguel Gomes and vocalist Marco Alves. After producing two demos (Enchantation and Sarcastic Soul) and providing a song for the High Radiation II compilation album, ORATORY made some line-up changes. The new band members quickly helped develop the band's sound into a homogenous mixture of Power Metal with classical influences. Their own descriptive name of this style "Neo Classic Melodic Power Metal" certainly hits the nail on the head. ORATORY played at numerous important festivals (e.g. with Tarantula, Ancient Rites, etc.) in Portugal and opened one show for Stratovarius. During these performances the band caught the eye of several record companies and signed a contract with the Portuguese record label ´Recital` in 1999. Their 4-track EP "Last Prophecy" appeared on the shelves of record shops in August 1999 and garnered tremendous reviews all over Europe, especially in Germany, Sweden, Spain, Greece, France and Portugal, as well as in America. Spring 2000 saw ORATORY, together with producer Luís Barros (Tarantula, Genocide, Heavenwood etc) in the 2Rec´n´Roll Studio" in Portugal, where they recorded the songs for their debut album, "Illusion Dimensions". The album was also received with delight by fans and press alike. The readers of the Portuguese magazines, "Loud!" and "Riff" voted ORATORY Best Newcomer of the Year. This was followed by shows playing with Tarantula, Edguy and Metalium. In February 2001 singer Alves decided to leave the band for personal reasons. Without hesitation Ana Lara, who until now had been working with the group as a background singer, took over the lead vocals. In March ORATORY produced a cover version of Tarantula´s song ´Lusitania` for a Tribute album and then spent time writing new material for their second full-length album.
In January 2002 the band travelled to Frankfurt/Germany, in order to work on the new album with Uwe Lulis. Eleven songs, all melodically painted metal tunes, can now be enjoyed on "Beyond Earth".
