Fury – the history and stories of heavy metal in Brazil
Chapter 3: The first explosion takes place in Belém do Pará
By Luiz Cesar Pimentel & Wikimetal
When Heavy Metal gained cult status, many claimed Brazilian origins. Karisma released an album, there were heavy rock records by Made in Brazil, Patrulha do Espaço, but the first real heavy metal recording was by a band from Pará, Stress.
From this point on, the responsibility for understanding the genesis of the movement in practice rests with those who actually participated.
Roosevelt Bala, leader of Stress for almost four decades, says:
“In 1975, we had no reference to heavy music here in Brazil. In Belém… forget about it. The few rock records we found in stores arrived years late. Magazines hardly ever arrived. When they did, they were worn out from being passed from hand to hand, borrowed from one rocker to another. Among the rockers – as the guys who liked rock called each other – there was an impressive unity, it was almost a brotherhood – if someone told you that way out in the boonies there was a guy who had the latest Sweet album, for example, you'd grab some of your best LPs and go find the guy's house. When you got there you'd ask: “Are you the rocker?” Then, a rock session would start on the old record player and a solid friendship would form.”.
We were kids, around 14 or 15 years old, and we met at school. We had something in common: a passion for rock music. This wasn't usual here, especially in northern Brazil (Belém do Pará), where regional music – Carimbó, Merengue, Brega – and the fads from the South and Southeast (disco music and MPB) dominated local radio stations. We decided to form a band to play our favorite songs by our idols (Stones, Sweet, ELP Pink, Led Zeppelin, UFO, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, etc.).
We started from scratch, nobody knew how to play anything, we chose the instruments and set about learning. The name "Pingo D'água" (Water Drop) was initially adopted by chance, because, at that time, we had a drum set where the bass drum – instead of being round – was almost "oval," like a water droplet lying on its side, hence the name Pingo D'água.
We spent the first two years just having fun, playing at friends' 15th birthday parties and school festivals. Our repertoire consisted only of covers, up until then. In 1976, we adopted the name Stress, perfect for our intentions of playing heavy rock.
Back in the early days, around the mid-70s, we went through several phases, each one influenced more by one band or another. Initially, we listened mainly to Sweet, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, and Black Sabbath. Since we weren't yet thinking about our own compositions, they served more as a foundation for harmonic and melodic knowledge than as a direct influence. When we heard Judas Priest for the first time – keyboardist Leonardo Renda brought several albums from England before they were released in Brazil – we realized that was the musical style we wanted to follow: heavy, elaborate, and melodic. However, something in our minds told us that something was missing to make it perfect: "We have to be faster and heavier than any other band in the world," "Let's play what we'd like to hear.".
It was with this thought that we began our first compositions. Still not knowing how to play even the guitar properly – I was just the vocalist at the time – I took the initiative to start composing. It seems incredible, but I managed to compose all the songs on the first album, riffs and arrangements, with only a basic knowledge of guitar, which I acquired by watching the guys in the band play. André Chamon – the drummer – was in charge of writing the lyrics, and he did a great job, by the way. This partnership is responsible for 98% of the band's compositions.
After performing cover songs in theaters and gymnasiums in Belém, we decided it was time to create our own music.
We started composing frantically; our songs were indeed fast and incredibly heavy for that time. We had a futuristic vision far ahead of our time and space; we were audacious and confident kids. We decided that the lyrics would be in English to stay in tune with what was happening in the rest of the world. But after a performance in 1978, where we presented our songs to the public for the first time – and were highly praised for the compositions – some fans questioned the themes of the lyrics because they didn't understand the language. It was from then on that we decided to rewrite the lyrics in Portuguese and continue that way. We wanted our audience to understand our messages clearly and directly; we knew our lyrics were excellent and deserved to be absorbed immediately. With a powerful and heavy sound, combined with high-level lyrics, we would have a killer combination. We then decided to definitively prioritize our Brazilian fans.
In the following years, the band played in the main theaters and largest arenas in Belém, always selling out every show. There were no more venues or challenges left to conquer. It was time to take a bigger step, time to soar higher. To record an album of original songs. The songs were finished; all that was left was to find the right studio for the long-awaited project.
(It's important to point out that, in the 70s, the difference in technical level and equipment between national bands and established ones was brutal; imagine what happened to us here in northern Brazil. Regarding musicians, I consider that Brazil has always had some of the best in the world, across all styles. What was truly lacking was the knowledge and operational conditions to get a good sound out of recording studios.).
Today we have easy access to imported instruments of excellent quality and at good prices. In the 70s, you only saw these instruments in photos, because we didn't even have videos to watch. A Fender guitar, for example, was imported for around US$5,000, an absurd price for the time, but it was an instrument that made it easier to get a good sound when recording.
Today we have good studios and knowledgeable technicians to record distorted guitar, which was the great villain for inexperienced technicians in the past
In the early 80s we already had all the songs ready and properly selected for recording our first album.
We had a lot of problems with censorship at the time; almost all the lyrics were vetoed. We had to make modifications and adaptations to get around the censors. We took the faster and heavier compositions and included two or three that weren't so fast, but still considerably heavy. We didn't want to leave any doubt about the band's style, which we called at the time "hard-hitting rock," more than just heavy, since the term "Heavy Metal" wasn't yet widespread.
We shortened the songs (on the advice of a friend – the Prophet), since most were over 6 minutes long (long solos and introductions). The cost of recording an LP in the early 80s was extremely high, equivalent to a small one-bedroom apartment (R$50,000.00). Independent recording wasn't for everyone. We gathered all our savings and took a bus to Rio. Before leaving, we contacted the Sonoviso studio, which gave us a quote, guaranteed they knew how to record our sound and had everything we needed for the recording – they just didn't say we'd have to rent from them (laughs).
After a 3-day road trip (by bus), we stayed in bunk beds at a modest guesthouse in Catete; we had to save as much as possible. Arriving at the studio, they offered us a completely broken drum kit. We had to tie all the pieces together with string and tape so that the drum kit would stand upright. The recording itself was a complete rush; we did everything in two 8-hour sessions, and some execution errors went uncorrected. It was only during the mixing that the disappointment came; the result wasn't what we were used to hearing. Our suspicions were confirmed: the guys at the studio had never recorded heavy rock like ours. Imagine, they suggested we play with the guitar without distortion, that they had a "machine" that would add the distortion during mixing. That was absurd! But it was too late; we didn't have any more money to fix things, and we still had to pay for the mixing time.
It was then, in desperation, that we waited for the sound engineer to go to the bathroom, and we took the opportunity to run away with the master tape, since we would have to pay extra for the mixing, plus two more hours of studio time (we had already paid most of it). We left the studio and ran to a subway station. It was a small rip-off, in the name of the future of Brazilian metal (laughs). The final result didn't please us at all; in fact, it was a huge disappointment. The sound was very bad compared to the bands we were used to listening to (Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Saxon...). We felt cheated! We didn't even want to release the album. In the end, we decided to make 1000 copies of the album as a record; we didn't imagine the importance it would have in the future. It was named after the band, "Stress".
At its release show in Belém, we drew about 20,000 people to the Curuzú stadium on November 13, 1982, "National Metal Day," as they are trying to officially recognize it. Fate decreed that our disappointment would turn into gratitude. This album was decisive for the history of Stress and Brazilian metal. It was after listening to it that many renowned Brazilian metal bands decided to form. One of them was Sepultura, according to statements from its members in articles and interviews.
After the success of the launch show in Belém, André took some copies of the LP to Rio. He gave some to Maria Juçá, producer of Rock Voador, a project that was booming at Circo Voador, which would become the temple of rock in Brazil. At first, she didn't pay much attention, throwing some copies to the audience that same night. But when she got home, she put the LP on and was immediately stunned, shocked by the sonic power (according to herself). She immediately booked a performance for the band. Another copy ended up at the Fluminense radio station "A Maldita," "the most rock radio station in Brazil," which popularized the song "Oráculo de Judas" on its programming. Thus, Stress's debut show in Rio would be a major event.
The term heavy metal wasn't widely used yet; we considered ourselves a heavy rock band or a "hard-hitting" rock band, as I used to proclaim at shows and interviews. When we played our first show in Rio, at Circo Voador, there was a lot of anticipation to see if we were really that heavy. Radio Fluminense was saying: "Straight from the Amazonian hell... the Brazilian Judas Priest... Stress... The heaviest band in Brazil...".
On the day of the show, there was a special program about the band where they played songs from the album and then gave commentary. During soundcheck, dozens of rock fans were vying for the best spot by the barriers at the Circo Voador, hoping to see and hear this supposedly heavier band. As we were leaving, they approached us with dozens of questions; everyone wanted more information about the band. When we said we were from Belém do Pará, the disbelief was universal: “Are you sure about that? Aren’t you from São Paulo?” Until then, we didn’t understand what was happening, why so much astonishment and curiosity. For us, we were just a band that would have the privilege of playing in Rio de Janeiro, coming from Belém do Pará; it felt like a dream, a great achievement for us. Later I would understand everything, and my surprise would be immense.
I don't remember everyone who "would play" that night, but I recall being impressed by the musical skill of the Água Brava trio, and the Gibson guitar of the excellent bluesman Tony Roqueiro (we didn't know any imported instruments, amplifiers, or any other equipment. We were amazed by a Fender Twin amplifier on stage and Tony's guitar. Not to mention that it would be the first time we would play through a real PA system).
However, one thing I noticed very clearly: nobody was playing heavy rock, it was rock'n'roll and blues the whole time. The Circus was packed with rockers (lots of pretty girls, too), there were guys hanging from the metal structures that supported the tent. Before the shows, there was a screening of an Iron Maiden video, it was exciting for everyone, it was the first time a video of the band had been shown in Brazil, or so they said, and I believed it. The guys were in motion (laughs).
We were very apprehensive because we knew our sound was completely outside the standards presented by the other bands, all very good, but playing rock 'n' roll. Our turn came, we opened the show with "Mate o Réu" (Kill the Defendant), the audience's response was immediate, it was "that" what they wanted to hear, a hard-hitting sound. I was surprised to hear them singing along; the Rio rockers knew Stress's songs. The show was very heavy, the Circo's sound was perfect, and we played well. When the riff of "Oráculo de Judas" (Oracle of Judas) started, the audience screamed loudly; they knew it from the radio. I was surprised; I didn't know we were played on Rio radio. At the end of the last song, "Sodoma e Gomorra" (Sodom and Gomorrah), emotion took over. I looked at André, and he was already playing standing up, his eyes wide with adrenaline announcing what was to come. We didn't plan anything. I went in with the bass cable right in the middle of the drum kit, "swept" to the right and left, microphones and cymbals flew, and André started kicking and pushing what was left of the drum kit. When everything was on the ground, I jumped with the bass and smashed it against the floor. There's just one detail: the instruments were rented for us. In the end, the silence was ominous. In a fraction of a second, I realized the mistake we had made. I imagined the worst when I heard a loud explosion of voices (like when a goal is scored) and saw people invading the stage. At that moment, I thought we were going to get beaten up. I closed my eyes and instinctively protected my face when I was grabbed by the legs. To my surprise and relief, I realized that the "guys" had loved that stunt. We were lifted onto their shoulders and displayed like trophies, from one side of the stage to the other. It was an unforgettable moment for us; few artists in Brazil have experienced a similar situation. Many shouted that we were the Brazilian Judas, and for the first time we were labeled heavy metal; someone shouted, "It's the first heavy metal band in Brazil!".
After that, I understood the reason for so much anticipation surrounding our performance. Contrary to what we imagined, there wasn't a single band in Rio that played heavy metal, not even covers, much less original music. Later we would be surprised to learn that nothing of the sort was being done in Rio or anywhere else in the country. Just to clarify, the Circo's producer, Maria Juçá, overjoyed with the event's success, said that the production would pay for the damage to the instruments. Thank goodness!
Following that show, Stress and their first LP received extensive exposure. Several fanzines (photocopied) and renowned magazines (Som Três/Livro Negro do Rock) published glowing reviews of that work. Later, it would become our most important document, our "certificate of pioneering spirit.".
It would have been a huge mistake not to release this album, as we initially hesitated to do. Today, 30 years later, we understand that it was vital to the history of Brazilian metal, to all the bands that came to form and record metal after it. We owe everything to this work.”
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Coming soon: Chapter 4.
Read the Preface (aka Carmina Burana).
Read Chapter 1: Nativity in Black.
Read Chapter 2: Crusader, The Landing in Brazil.
Help write the history of Heavy Metal in Brazil. Leave your comment; it may end up in the book, and your name will be in the credits, as this is the first collaborative, evolving, and innovative book written by all those who love Heavy Metal and want to record the history of Metal in Brazil.
