Angra was the main headliner for the second and final day of Bangers Open Air 2026, which took place at the Memorial da América Latina in São Paulo. The Brazilian band made history by being the first national act scheduled to close the event since its creation in 2023, when the festival was still called Summer Breeze Brasil.
In a three-act show, the group celebrated its thirty-five-year career, spanning all eras of its history, a concept created for the event and which will be repeated again with the side show that will take place this Wednesday, the 29th, at Espaço Unimed, without the presence of the Italian Fabio Lione – who performed as the band's vocalist at the festival.
The first act of the show served to officially introduce Alírio Netto as the new vocalist and to end the long-running Lione era, marked as the longest period in which a vocalist has ever been part of the band, 14 years. The farewell sounded somewhat confusing, since he only sang 3 tracks from Cycles of Pain (2023), and there were no inclusions in the setlist of songs from Secret Garden (2014) and Omni (2018), albums also recorded by him. Fábio also sang "Lisbon" and returned to the stage only at the end of the show with the other members.
As for Netto, who performed songs by Andre Matos – including “Wuthering Heights” by Kate Bush – the performance was an opportunity for him to showcase his talent, and his selection as the new vocalist was already expected, given his relationship with the current members, his experience in other bands, and his ability to hit high notes.
The Nova Era lineup thrilled fans during Angra's show
However, the fans' expectations rested on five names: Rafael Bittencourt, Kiko Loureiro, Edu Falaschi, Aquiles Priester , and Felipe Andreoli, the much- celebrated Nova Era lineup , which would reunite for the first time since 2007.
As soon as Priester approached his imposing drum kit, fans screamed his last name, became emotional, and were transported back to their teenage years. For those who discovered the band after the lineup broke up, the feeling was like witnessing something magical, because if we went back a decade, nobody would have imagined the possibility of this happening.
The quintet played songs from all the albums recorded during their time together, and impressed with the musical chemistry that still exists there, despite so much time apart. Of all of them, Falaschi deserves special mention, because despite his known vocal limitations, the singer performed very well and it was clear how happy he was to finally experience that moment.
Kiko, in turn, delivered his signature solos that continue to baffle any guitarist who's a fan of his work. Also noteworthy was the moment when the musicians played the ballad "Bleeding Heart," and Edu joked that the fans could "sing it however they wanted," since the song gained popularity with the version "Agora Estou Sofrendo" by the forró band Calcinha Preta.
The final act included a tribute to Maestro Andre Matos
The final act featured a beautiful tribute to the Maestro of Rock in "Silence and Distance," where images of André were displayed on the screen, bringing tears to the audience's eyes, and showcasing the vocal alternation between Edu and Alírio, as well as the returns of Marcelo Barbosa as the third guitarist and Bruno Valverde on drums.
The dynamic remained the same in "Late Redemption," only this time, with Aquiles taking over the drums, and for the finale, all 9 members joined together to play "Carry On," ending the night flawlessly and leaving the stage to loud shouts of "Olê, Olê, Olê, Angra, Angra!"
Angra's reunion show at Bangers Open Air 2026 will undoubtedly go down as one of the most important moments in the history of Brazilian metal, and leaves a feeling of an open future where a Helloween might become a reality, but only time will tell if that will happen.
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