After a crazy metalcore night covering the The Black Dahlia Murder on the evening before, I was there again, at the end of the afternoon, heading for the subway station once more to get to Carioca Club, hosting place for the Prog Metal Fest, which headliner was the Swedish band Evergrey, having as warm up bands my landmates from Empürios, the solo project of Rafael Bittencourt (Angra), Bittencourt Project, and the virtuous hard rock band Tempestt.
I have to confess that I underestimated the strict “paulista” schedule, which is actually very good since it´s not cool to deal with the mess and desorganization of events that usually start with a 3-hour-delay. Because of this bad habit I lost a part of the opening act, led by my friends form the bandEmpürios...
EMPÜRIOS
Their concert was very short, less than half an hour since they were invited to play only two weeks before the event. In spite of it, the reception of the audience was something really noticeable showing from 300 to 400 people cheering the band up.
The interesting part is that no covers were played so there is no possible excuse saying that people got interested “just for a moment”. Neither the typical sexism very common in the metal world, because of the Decnop sisters Fernanda – vocals and Renata – guitar, I can use here to talk about them cause half of the audience was made of women.
We can get to the conclusion, then, that the band won by their own effort, with competent musicians and great songs.
The line-up is completed by Daniel Dobbin (drums) – surely one of my own influences in the instrument among people I´ve known for over a decade, Luíz Freitag (bass), Marcos Ceia (keyboards) and Iuri Alonso playing a 7-string-guitar as well as Renata (is there any doubt that the 6-string is becoming just a toy?). Veni, vidi, vici, this was the result the band from Rio de Janeiro accomplished.
They deserve a lot more respect and attention from their homeland scene.
BITTENCOURT PROJECT
Right after Empürios, who got on stage was the worldwide known and recognized Brazilian guitarist Rafael Bittencourt, together with Marcel Cardoso on the drums, Felipe “James Brown” Andreolli on the bass (in Säo Paulo metal scene, nobody works more than this guy) and Amon Lima on the violin. A suigeneris line-up for the metal standards.
The concert didn´t last much more than half an hour and Bittencourt Project played some songs from their only released album, “Brainworms 1”, and at the end, one Angra “cover”, “The Voice Commanding You”, from the album “Aurora Consurgens”. I want to mention here that it was a great and pleasant surprise to see Rafael singing, very well, showing vocals full of personality and far away from the “metal cliche” concept which, honestly, is really corny nowadays. If I wanted to join the “singers universe” I would surely have Rafael as an influence from Brazil, you can take as example the beautiful “Dedicate my Soul”. Without mentioning the excellent guitarist he surely is and above all, great composer. I´m anxious waiting for a “Brainworms 1” successor.
After Bittencourt Project, giving a “co-headline” impression in the evening, it was the band Tempestt who got on stage.
The line-up was formed by Leo Mancini, also guitarist of the band Shaman, the EXCELLENT BJ on vocals, Paulo Soza on the bass and Gabriel Triani on the drums. Their music shows a predominant hard rock in a Dr. Sin way, a lot of prog rock, prog metal and virtuous stuff as the style requires, and so on.
I said they gave us a “co-headline” impression because while Empürios and Bittencourt Project played for a little over half an hour, Tempestt played for over an hour. I don´t mean it was a negative thing, no way, the band is very good, BJ is an amazing singer, above the average, and the impressive guitar tone of Mancini was like a guitar dream, in spite of the noisy feedback on the sound, and yes, Tempestt songs are good.
I would just say that it wasn´t an ideal day to play such a big set list, especially because the “strong” name there was surely Rafael Bitttencourt, playing together with the other Angra member Felipe Andreoli, and they played a short set list.
Tempestt also played many covers, something I believe to be unnecessary for a band with a great name which is becoming so respected in the scene (it´s important to mention, though, that their version for The Police “Synchronicity II” is great). But leaving it behind, they deserve the “hype” they´ve been getting from the media and the audience.
EVERGREY
Around 21:30, the lords of the night came to be in charge as the event´s headline. Who saw Evergrey exactly 4 years ago warming up for Pain of Salvation, got the band at the beginning in which concerns to international fame in the power-prog scene. Today, with two EXCELLENT CDs in terms of music making, maturity and production, they have their own light in this progressive metal constellation. The four Sweds: Tom S. Englund, Jonas Ekdahl, Henrik Danhage, Rikard Zander and, now, a nobble Finn on the bass called Jari Kainulainen, who came nothing more and nothing less than from another very famous band which is always stomping the passport here in Brazil, Stratovarius, seemed to be at an opened rehearsal, cheering up with a few long term friends watching it, because this is how everybody was feeling and no, this is not a negative point since this opened rehearsal was perfect.
The band doesn´t make mistakes, they are precise.
A couple of paragraphs before I said our bro Rafael Bittencourt would be a reference of good voice without the typical cliches of metal, and I would inspire myself on him if I were a singer, well, let´s say that Tom S. Englund, would be my first international option to have as a mirror, as an influence. He is the big boss, ALL band´s differential. Evergrey wouldn´t be half of what it is and would never make us feel half of the emotion we do if they had a “castrati” front man”.
Immediately, the 5 Scandinavian citizens kicked asses showing no mercy with “Watching the Skies” and the hit “More than Ever”. Next, a break to talk to the audience, Tom, eternally in a good mood, makes a joke with someone in the audience asking: “were you even born 5 years ago?” (he should have said 4, actually) and kicking some more with “She Speaks to the Dead”.
The audience there reacted, of course, and replied with the well known war screams from the soccer games which make the Brazilian audience so famous among all artists (“ole, ole ole ole, Evergrey, Evergrey”), giving space for the keyboard player Rikard Zander make some fun: “Hey, this is not a soccer match!”, opening space to another song, not less famous: “As I Lie Here Bleeding”, with the audience interacting during the classic chorus “faaaalliiiing”. Believe me, it could give the creeps even to a corpse in the morgue´s freezer.
Do you feel like crying a bit more? So take “Nosferatu” and one more joke coming from Mr. Englund, saying that if we don´t like this one we can turn our backs until it´s over, but we have to turn back later. Finally, giving space to the first song of the most recent album: “Torn”, he makes one more joke regretting that “nobody probably bought the new album but, unfortunately, they had to play that song”. Well, if nobody bought it, they surely downloaded it together with the lyrics at darklyrics.com, cause as soon as he started to sing, hundreds of voices covered his.
It is really complicated to review a concert made of 18 potential hits, all I can say is that they also played “The Masterplan”, with the always necessary fun moment in the middle-end, where everybody sings the chorus while the band stops, the big hit and tittle track of the album “Monday Morning Apocalypse”, “Blinded”, another song that makes everybody scream in the chorus, “End of Your Days”, the unexpected and fantastic “Still in the Water”, almost unnoticeable track on “MMA” if you don´t listen to it really paying attention.
But let´s say that the most difficult thing would be to go to an Evergrey concert and get as a present the great “Words Mean Nothing”, in that typical moment “keyboards and vocals”, followed by the real touchy track named “I’m Sorry”, originally a cover from the pop Kurdish singer naturalized Swedish, Dilba Demirbag. The Evergrey impact on this track is so big that we really feel as if that song were theirs. P.S: don´t listen to this song during bad moments of your life, the result might not be good XD.
Remember what I said about the opened rehearsal for friends? Wanna bigger prove than Jonas Ekdahl, drummer, taking the guitar changing places with Henrik Danhage, now drummer for a few minutes?
Some more great songs: “Obedience”, “When the Walls Go Down” and “Recreation Day”. The comeback brought us the majestic opening track of “Torn”, entitled “Broken Wings”, and finishing that old existential issue of bands that have unforgettable hits: have you ever seen Iron Maiden not playing Iron Maiden? Rolling stones not playing Jumping Jack Flash? No way, right? So if Evergrey don´t play “A Touch of Blessing” to end up the concert, they will probably need the cops help to be taken home safe even though they played 17 awesome songs. Actually, the high level, musical maturity, structure, singing, bridge, chorus, etc, these set of things would surely take the band to the level of at least “one hit wonder”, just because they made it.
One more important detail to be commented: On the 14th of December, day after the concert, was “The Boss” Tom Englund´s birthday so, of course, he had a cake on stage, brought by the tour manager Heloisa Vidal , and everybody sang “ Happy Birthday” to him. What a “cute” end! XD
Due to geographic and financial matters I wasn´t able to stay long after the concert and unfortunately I lost the “meet and greet” after the show, but those who stayed there probably went back home very happy, fact we can attest watching the pictures in several websites and fotologs.
For those images I can finish this review saying something I already knew: prog should be done for the people and to the people, and for sure, Evergrey would be the great “ambassador” (big missing on the concert 13/12 ), and the best bridge between the audience and the band, artists and patrons of their arts.
I leave here a special thank to my friend and bro Pedro Salles, from the band Avec Tristesse, living in São Paulo for the past 2 years who saved me from a big trouble giving me a ride until the subway station. Pedrão “modorrento”, I OWE YOU ONE, bro xD
Hard Blast thanks the tour manager Heloisa Vidal for the great support given to our work regarding the press pass. Thanks a lot!
