The year 2026 marks a special chapter for Edu Falaschi, who is celebrating 35 years of his career and is releasing this Friday, the 12th, exclusively for Brazil, Mi'raj, the third and final album of his trilogy that began in 2021 with Vera Cruz and continued in Eldorado (2023).
After passing through Portugal, Brazil, and Latin America, the saga of the character Jorge comes to an end in the Middle East, the historical cradle of the religion. It is in this setting that the protagonist faces his final spiritual conflicts to defeat the Order of the Cross of Nero and rescue his great love, Janaína, crowning the most complete and ambitious conceptual work of the Brazilian singer to date.
In an exclusive interview with Wikimetal , Edu detailed the album's concept, the historical research process during composition, and the rhythmic shift in his new work. He also revealed plans to create a musical based on his trilogy and recalled the story told in the exclusive listening session about "Echoes of Vows," a song composed with Bruce Dickinson 's characteristics that was even sent to the British vocalist's producer for possible inclusion on his new solo album.
The singer also reminisced about the reunion show with Angra at Bangers Open Air 2026 and even talked about his relationship with football. Read the full story.
Wikimetal: Jorge's saga passed through Brazil with Vera Cruz, was in Latin America with Eldorado, but will end in the Middle East. The album cover features many elements of Arab culture, such as the desert crossing and the image of the Seer at the Gate of the Twelve Veils. Could you explain a little more about the concept behind this?
Edu Falaschi: The story of the album Mi'raj is the conclusion of the trilogy. As you said, it all started in Portugal. The main character is Jorge, and he comes to Brazil fleeing because he carries a burden: he is as if chosen by God to develop spiritually and grow as a man. He is the chosen one of that time. In the story of Mi'raj, it is explained a little more that, at various moments in human history, there have been different choices; he is not the only one of all time, but in that period, he was that person. He grew up in Portugal, began to be persecuted, and needed to come to Brazil to escape. The story begins more or less like that. It's a fiction in which I also use elements of real history, such as the discovery of Brazil, bringing Pedro Álvares Cabral into the narrative.
In Eldorado, which is the second album and the second part of the trilogy, the plot takes place more in Mexico. We have [Hernán] Cortés, who is basically the Spanish colonizer who went there. We tried to maintain a historical context, but it remains fiction. At the end of the previous story, he comes from Portugal to Brazil fleeing and ends up meeting Janaína, an indigenous woman who becomes his wife. I'll give a brief summary here, because the story is quite long and has many characters.
A whole war situation unfolds, and at the end of the Vera Cruz, the Order of the Cross of Nero, along with the Black Bishop —who is the main antagonist—forces him to try to return to Portugal, but a storm throws him to Mexico. He arrives there completely battered and ends up being rescued by Cortés and the Aztecs who inhabited the region at the time. He becomes friends with Cortés, they form an alliance, and thus the story of Eldorado. At the end of this second album, Janaína is kidnapped. They come here to Brazil, take her away, and Jorge, her husband, doesn't see it. When he discovers the kidnapping, he tries to find out her whereabouts, and that's exactly where the story of Mi'raj.
He receives a message confirming the kidnapping and informing him that she was taken back to Europe by the Order of the Cross of Nero. Jorge needs to go to Portugal to meet with his allies, the people from the Order of Christ, to see if they have any information about her whereabouts. When he arrives there, he discovers that she was indeed taken to Europe, but that she was later transferred to the Middle East, where the Order of the Cross of Nero's alliance base was located.
From there, he receives a series of instructions on how to get there, what to do to reach the Black Bishop, defeat him, eliminate and destroy this evil order, and rescue Janaína. That's the central point. The plot takes place in the Middle East precisely because the Order of the Cross of Nero took it there, and I wanted to situate this story in that region because it draws parallels with Christianity, with the story of Christ, and speaks a lot about religiosity in general, also encompassing other beliefs.
When we conceived this narrative, it made sense to me to end where it all began: at the heart of religion, in the cradle of Christ's story and his birth. For us, it made perfect sense to conclude Mi'raj, which concludes the trilogy on the third album, in the Middle East. Because of this, the entire album's theme is basically set in that region. The songs incorporate elements of Arabic music and the Middle East in general, not being restricted only to traditional Arabic sounds. However, I don't delve into the political context; I focus on the story itself, on this fiction.
I won't give away any spoilers for the complete ending because we're releasing supplementary books: we've already released the Vera Cruz book with all the details of the story, the Eldorado book is coming soon, and later, the book with Mi'raj 's story . In short, Jorge pursues these goals of finding and rescuing Janaína, while also trying to fulfill the divine mission he received—something he didn't even suspect, as he grew up without knowing anything about it. In fact, a key part of Mi'raj 's plot deals with his doubts about whether or not he's capable of fulfilling this mission. There's a lot involved there, and the story unfolds in the Middle East within this context.
WM: One interesting thing is that you're always using cultures from other parts of the world. I wanted to know what the historical research process is like to ensure that elements of Arab, Latin American, Portuguese, and Brazilian culture are incorporated into the history of the records.
EF: Talking about our culture is a little easier, obviously; I'm Brazilian and we've always been immersed in it, so the process was simpler. But when I started developing the whole context of Eldorado —which takes place in Mexico around 1509, during what we call the Spanish conquest of Mexico—the Aztecs were there. And there are many things about their culture that we don't know as much about, because we learn more about our own history. That's why I went there, to Mexico, to research. I spoke with people connected to Mexican culture, with historians, I researched museum exhibits, and I talked to some local people; I met, for example, an indigenous woman. When I told her about my idea, I also asked her to understand both sides of the story, because every story has, at the very least, two sides.
That was really cool, because one of the songs [“Q'equ'm”] that I put on the Eldorado features an indigenous singer [Sara Curruchich] singing in Aztec. When I wrote the lyrics, I wrote them in English and sent them to her. She read them and said, “Wow, I want to know about these lyrics, I want to understand your perspective on the issues faced by the Aztecs at that time.” After reading my text, she gave her feedback and asked me to change the lyrics.
She asked if she could include her own indigenous people's version, expressing how they felt about the Spanish conquest at the time. You see, even today, more than 500 years later, they are still concerned about it. She altered the lyrics and added her point of view. The translation became much heavier and darker than the version I had done, talking a lot about the destruction of the peoples and detailing what her ancestors suffered.
And in Mi'raj it's the same thing. It's an album that has this context of Middle Eastern culture, in which I also researched the rhythmic aspect, which is very rich. We have a little more contact with this due to the Moors, who colonized mainly the north and northeast of Brazil. Northeastern music itself is very influenced by the harmony of Arabic music. So, we already have this influence more closely, although we also had contact with the Spanish—but Brazil not as much as other Latin American countries. We've had a significant influence of Arabic music here since the beginning of Brazilian colonization.
Therefore, it was a somewhat simpler process. I consulted a lot of material and did a lot of research, mainly with Marcus César, who is my percussionist and a true genius. He's played with everyone, including Phil Collins, so you can get an idea of what a monster he is. Marcus helped me a lot with the rhythmic aspects to bring the right elements to the songs. In a more layman's approach, you put together a rhythm thinking it sounds Arabic, but when you analyze their percussion cell, you realize it has nothing to do with it. Since he's an expert in this, the result was really cool.
WM: I was present at the album listening session and it was very interesting. And I noticed that the feedback from people so far is that the album is very different from Vera Cruz and Eldorado. It seems that the songs are more rhythmic, not as fast as on the others. I wanted to know if this choice is already part of the narrative of the story or if it was something that came about spontaneously.
EF: Yes, I think it was spontaneous. We did that on Vera Cruz, it's an album that has that adrenaline, maybe because it's the first one, I don't know, but it has that adrenaline. Eldorado , I think, has less of it; it also has a lot of virtuosity, but less so, because we delved much more into that cultural aspect of Spanish music, Mexican music, their local indigenous culture. But obviously it's there too, we play power metal, so there will always be one element or another.
But on this album, I flirted more with other things, so I gave it more space. Maybe that's why there was this issue of less instrumental virtuosity, of many notes, because I was also looking for new elements. I went after fusion, I listened to a lot of Greg Howe, I started listening to other things, Spyro Gyra, things that I like. I also really like fusion, especially 90s fusion, I think it's really cool, fusion rock. So I listened a lot, researched a lot, understanding the language of things, because it was something I wanted to include to differentiate it from the language of the other things I've done, so as not to keep repeating elements.
In the song "Unchained" itself, it's super progressive rock, it has influences from the progressive rock of the 80s and 90s. And there are also elements, for example, a saxophone in the music. I included a saxophone solo for the first time in my career, which I love, I've always loved. And I said: "Man, since it's the end of the trilogy, and I've already used the elements I used in Vera Cruz and Eldorado, I'm going to explore new things." And these new things, these elements, don't flirt much with speed, they don't flirt much with virtuosity. They have other things, they flirt more with harmony, a more jazzy harmony.
With songs like "Unchained," for example, as I mentioned, which is more progressive rock, I used many quartal elements within the harmonies, which we call quartal. So I went down other paths, and that obviously took up space from that more virtuoso side. And also Victor Franco, who is my guitarist, has that vein, so he's not such a fan of very fast things, he's more into melody. This album also has a lot of more metal guitar riffs, some bigger riffs, there are some thrash elements mixed in, so it leans more towards that side.
This album has much more groove, much more swing. Today I released the song "Intuição," which is a song with a strong Brazilian rhythm. And this album goes in that direction, focusing a bit more on harmony, changes in tone, and moods. One thing that's great about this album is that it also has a lot of dynamics, more than the others. It has moments where the tempo drops, there's a certain mood, a solo comes in, then it rises again, drops again. There's a lot of that, and several songs have it.
But there's obviously the power metal, which I haven't released yet. There are the fast songs, power metal, double bass drums, a faster prog as well. So, it has everything. There's the vein that people know me for best, which is this power metal, this prog power, as we call it. But I also ventured down other paths, and that took up space that could have been used for virtuosity, with more notes. That's why it's an album where I explored other things more. I thought it turned out interesting this way because it has more new things, it sounds fresher to the listener. People say, "Wow, I've never heard this from Edu before, how cool!" I think it gives a feeling of novelty.
WM: One cool thing you mentioned at the audition is that the track "Echoes of Vows" was intended for Bruce Dickinson, but he ended up not using it. Can you tell us more about that?
EF: Well, I'm going to tell the story exactly as it is so there's no doubt. I'm absolutely certain that Bruce has never heard, maybe he doesn't even know this story, but what happened is this: Brendan Duffey, who is Bruce Dickinson's producer nowadays, is a great friend of mine and was the producer, along with me, of Almah, Fragile Equality and Motion, and also Aqua, by Angra. He's a great producer, he and Adriano Daga worked together a lot. Brendan is now American, he returned to the United States, produced Bruce Dickinson's last album and is producing the new one now.
Through friends, I found out they were receiving songs. I messaged Brendan and said, “Brendan, I’m in the process of composing my new album, and I even have several songs here. If you want, I can send them to you.” He replied, “Wow, Edu, that’s great, send them! Total secrecy, for God’s sake.” He asked me to send them the songs I had for them to review. He was very direct, said he wasn’t going to promise anything, but asked me to send them.
So, what I mentioned at the audition, the interesting thing about this story is that I wrote this song thinking about Bruce Dickinson singing it. That's what's interesting. The issue isn't whether or not it's on his album. The issue is that I designed the entire structure thinking about Bruce's singing style and the melodies he uses. Coincidentally, he's my biggest idol and my biggest influence, along with Dio. For me to sing this ends up being natural, because I grew up kind of imitating Bruce Dickinson. At the beginning of Mitrium, I practically imitated him.
It's an interesting story because the song was written for him and sent to his producer. It turned out that, in the end, he already had several songs well underway. Time passed, and I decided to use my song, since I had it developed and considered it very strong. I had basically developed the vocal part, bridge, and chorus, which is how I sent it to them. When I went to use it on my album, I developed the rest. I created the introduction and the guitar theme at the beginning, which is beautiful and fits the song very well. This theme also has influences from fusion and guitarists of that style.
I developed the rest of the song: the instrumental parts and the choirs, which have a really epic moment. It's one of my favorite tracks on the album, along with "Unchained" and "Intuition," and probably one of the coolest ballads I've ever written, to my taste. I really wanted to write a song like that, starting with a guitar solo; it had been a long time since I'd been able to do something like that.
I don't think I've ever actually released a ballad that starts with a guitar solo. If you take, for example, "Wishing Well," it starts with vocals and acoustic guitar. "Heroes of Sand" begins with vocals and Kiko [Loureiro]'s tapping. "Skies in their Eyes," by Vera Cruz, starts with vocals and acoustic guitar. I've always done it in a more direct way. This is the first time I've composed a long introduction before the vocals come in, highlighting the guitar solo. The solo was masterfully done by Victor Franco, who captured all the fusion language I wanted to put into the song, and he did it very well because he has that vein.
The story is this: it's a song I prepared, with Bruce's DNA, in case he happened to record it. Since that didn't happen, I ended up using it. It's an interesting story because I sent the material. Brendan probably didn't even show it or comment on anything, as they must have received dozens of songs. But it's a track that has his voice. You never know, dreaming costs nothing, but who knows, maybe one day we can sing together and he'll sing this song that was made for him. It's an interesting story and who knows, maybe one day I'll realize this dream of singing it.
WM: You mentioned earlier that Vera Cruz had a book adaptation, Eldorado will also have one, and possibly Mi'raj as well. We know that metal fans love these conceptual works, especially yours. And it's a story that easily lends itself to a visual adaptation. How would you like to do a visual adaptation of the trilogy? And who do you think would be the ideal actors to play Jorge and Janaína?
EF: As I told you, I'm a big dreamer. But I'm the kind of dreamer who chases after and achieves most of his dreams. I already have a desire, I even mentioned it I think in the audition, to possibly focus heavily on the trilogy next year and launch a show, a musical. We were even talking this weekend, me and the people who work with me, about possibly creating a musical next year. With actors, maybe an orchestra and the band playing the main songs from the trilogy: Vera Cruz, Eldorado and Mi'raj.
Now, the main actor, I don't know, maybe it's a big coincidence or the work of fate, but this weekend I met Thiago Lacerda. I ended up meeting up with friends who were at the event, this event that is Metal Jam. I participated in this great event in Rio de Janeiro. I met up with friends there, whom I hadn't seen in ages, who had a parallel connection with him, and he had brought his children to the event. They went to the dressing room and we ended up talking.
We met and I told him about this musical idea. One of my friends, Pablo Greg, who does the orchestrations on my album, was the one who told Thiago: “Thiago, Edu has some great ideas, he has this idea for a musical.” And Thiago was super cool: “Hey, Edu, tell us that story! Let's think about it, have you ever thought about actually doing a musical? Wow, let's do it!” Obviously, it was a relaxed conversation, but if it were Thiago Lacerda, it would be insane. Imagine Thiago Lacerda as the main character, playing Jorge in this musical, and then we put together a cast with great actors, established actors. It's like I said, we still don't pay to dream.
So that's it, let's see if next year we can accomplish something close to this, but I want to do something special with the trilogy after completing it. There will obviously be, as you said, the books. I hope that Fábio Caldeira, who is the guy who developed this whole story with me—a great friend, partner, and vocalist of Maestrick —can finish these books before the musical, to use as a basis for the script to create this show. And that's it, we're going to work on that. Obviously, there are several other plans for next year, which are still just plans, but creating a musical of the trilogy is one of them.
WM: And now that the trilogy is coming to an end, what are your personal feelings about finishing such a grand project that began in 2021, is in its third chapter, and is concluding to mark your 35-year career?
EF: I'm very happy, with a feeling of mission accomplished, because it's not easy to develop a trilogy. You have to base all the lyrics on the story, so you get constrained. You become somewhat limited in what you want to say. You have to talk a little about what you want, but it has to be within the concept of the story. So, it's a moment of satisfaction that I'm experiencing. Of mission accomplished, as I told you, and also of joy for having managed to achieve it.
I know several singers, including Dio himself, who seemed to be working on a trilogy as well. He started with the album Magica (2000) and passed away, unable to finish the trilogy. I've known other artists who also didn't finish trilogy projects, conceptual works, and I managed, thank God, to finish with an album that's on its way to becoming a great classic.
I see a lot of comments from people, I talk to the fans, and it's an album that's really pleasing them. From the singles I released— Mi'raj, featuring Veronica Bordacchini, then "Unchained," which has saxophone and that whole progressive vibe, and the song "Intuição," more Brazilian, featuring Rafael Bittencourt —all of that has already given me a bit of a spoiler of what people think of the concept and the album as a whole. We'll still hear the other songs, of course, but since I've had feedback on the other albums, I can already compare the three releases a bit. And I see that this Mi'raj is really heating up. People are really enjoying it, I'm very happy.
WM: This year you're celebrating 35 years in your career, and besides Mi'raj, I think we can't help but talk about the reunion with Angra, because it was a very special moment not only for you and the band, but for the metal scene itself, because we had never had a Brazilian band headlining Bangers. Today I consider this the main metal festival in Brazil; it has become increasingly established.
I wanted to know a little about you: what was it like sharing the stage with them after so long, especially with Rafael, Kiko, and Felipe [Andreoli]? Because you had already been working with Aquiles [Priester] at Eldorado and Vera Cruz. And what was that specific moment when it clicked that this was really happening?
EF: We had a few meetings before, but I think the most special moment, when it really sunk in, as you said, was the rehearsal. When we rehearsed for the first time with the five of us together. There was the first rehearsal where Kiko hadn't arrived yet, so we did the second rehearsal with him. That moment was special because it's very impressive, we hadn't played together since Aurora Consurgens. That's many years, it's an album from around 2006. Think about it, we did the tour, Aquiles left afterwards, and we never had that lineup with the five of us again.
So, almost twenty years later, we did this rehearsal and it felt like we'd never stopped playing together. Sometimes I'd close my eyes and sing, and that sound would come back, because obviously the identity of all of them is very strong. I've played Angra with dozens of different musicians, different lineups, with the guys from Almah, with my solo band, who are exceptional, wonderful musicians. Now, closing my eyes and listening to that was the closest thing possible to the albums I've released, because it was the same people. It was very special, very cool. We had several very emotional moments in that rehearsal. And this was the first moment.
The second moment was when we were crouched down there, waiting for our turn to go on to play “Nova Era,” at the first show, which was Bangers. That was the moment when it really hit me, because when I looked, I was on stage, I heard the audience screaming, and when I looked and saw Aquiles, Felipe, Kiko, and Rafael, I said, “Wow, what a crazy world.” It was very emotional because I was so happy. And it was a memorable show, absolutely beautiful.
WM: I think for me, even speaking as someone who's been following the band for a long time, since I was 15 when I started listening, I used to dream of a reunion one day. And who would have thought that 10 years later, I'd be here interviewing you. I was at the show. And one thing I think is cool to mention was when you sang "Bleeding Heart." People sang both versions. They sang both in Portuguese and in English. And this version by Calcinha Preta is really cool, it totally broke through the bubble.
EF: Well, I usually say it gets confusing because the audience sings in Portuguese and I'm singing in English, hearing them singing in Portuguese and hearing myself singing in English. So, nowadays it's a real mix. It used to be exclusive to the Northeast when it happened, and now it's spread like crazy. The whole of Brazil is singing this Portuguese version. But, great, the more the music spreads around the world, the better for me.
WM: The World Cup is about to start and you're a big football fan, and you've mentioned a few times that you even tried out for Vasco, you support Corinthians, especially since Angra recorded a version of "Pra Frente Brasil" back in 2002. I wanted to know a little about your relationship with the sport and your expectations for what you're expecting from the World Cup.
EF: Man, I love soccer and I love playing soccer. I even like it more than watching and cheering for a team, like Corinthians, the national team, and so on. I like it, obviously, but what I really like is playing. My real passion is playing. I've had several moments where it almost happened. A lot of people say, "It's a good thing it didn't happen, otherwise you wouldn't be here with us as Edu Falaschi, the singer and songwriter." But it really was a passion, and it still is. Whenever I can, I like to play. I like to play on the field.
There was a funny incident. Once I was playing in São Vicente, on the beach, and that day I was playing really well, I scored several goals. There was a gentleman watching, I remember the scene: he was wearing green swim trunks with a fanny pack, looking like a middle-aged man, and he called me over to talk. In short, he said: “Hey, I'm a director at Palmeiras, I saw that you play really well. Do you have a club? Do you play for any team?” I replied: “No, I'm just studying here in São Vicente, I don't have a team.” And then he said: “Hey, wouldn't you like to try out for Palmeiras in your age category?” He pulled out his card and said: “Give this to your mother and see if she talks to me,” because he saw that I was young.
When I got home, my mother, obviously, said: “What? What soccer player? Go study! Go to college!” That sour look. But I tried. She said that if I lived with my grandmother in São Paulo, because I would have to go there and live in the Palmeiras dormitory if I passed the tryouts. So, I would have to live with my grandmother, but she didn't want to because she was already old. So it was something that didn't happen, but there were several situations where it almost did.
I love football, I really enjoy playing it, and obviously I'll be rooting for Brazil. Although, of all the national teams I've watched, I consider this one the most—I won't say weak, because that's kind of impolite—but the least exciting, let's say. They're good players, they all play in Europe, we know they have technique, but I don't know, it's something that hasn't yet given me that spark, that feeling of looking at it and saying, "My God, this could be something, we could be champions with this formation." There are several players there that I don't particularly like, because of their style of play.
Many are considered geniuses and idols, but for my generation, which grew up with Zico, Sócrates, Falcão, and later Ronaldo and Ronaldinho Gaúcho, I think they fall far short. You can't elevate these guys to that level. Putting them in the same category as those players is impossible. Football has changed, it's become faster and more physical, but technically these guys are far behind in my opinion. Do they have moments of brilliance? Yes, of course, it happens, but they're paid for that, they're professionals and they have to have them.
Compared to what it used to be, and this isn't nostalgia, it's a fact. You watch the play today and you think, "Wow." There are some things that are so obvious, we who play football watch the game and get desperate. Why didn't he pass there? Why didn't he do this? Why didn't he do that? So it's a team that hasn't really excited me yet. But I'm rooting for Brazil, I hope they at least reach the semi-finals. If Brazil is eliminated earlier, I'll root for Portugal, because I really like Cristiano Ronaldo. So I'll root for Portugal and see what happens.
WM: Now I'm going to touch on a slightly more delicate subject, because during the audition you played an audio clip from "The Ancestry" showing how you suggest ideas to the guitarists. This inevitably ended up reaching Roberto Barros, and he made a video giving his opinion on the creative issues of the Vera Cruz era. I wanted to know how you received these comments and what you have to say about his collaboration on the first two albums.
EF: As I said in the audition, the video was about how I present ideas. That was all. It was an example of how funny it is. Actually, it was a joke; you were there and you saw it. Because it's really funny to imitate guitar and drum sounds with your mouth. I even talked about the things I showed Aquiles too. So, it's a funny situation because I really can't play those things. My only way of showing ideas is through recording, humming with my mouth and stuff. And many times it sounds funny, that's all.
Regarding the two albums, Roberto helped me a lot, especially with the arrangements for Vera Cruz and Eldorado. But, as I said, I always like to prioritize the present moment and the future. So, I'm very focused now on Mi'raj, a sensational album that will close this trilogy with a golden key. And, thank God, I have Victor Franco, who is a genius, a sensational kid with extremely good taste. He has a very rare quality for a boy his age, a maturity that is difficult for someone in their early twenties to have, especially a guitarist who is emerging and making a name for himself. He's down-to-earth, has great charisma with the public and, besides that, the musical talent to compose and arrange.
I even mentioned it in another interview recently. I don't remember which one it was now, maybe in a video that's coming out soon. But the solo in "Unchained"the one he developed right after the saxophone part, man, that's at least in the top 20 best solos ever created in the history of prog power. That solo is truly brilliant, I consider it brilliant. So, I'm very focused on the present, on the things I'm doing, and that, for me, is what matters: making music, doing what people expect from me, delivering good songs that move and connect with the audience. And Mi'raj has that.
This album is a bit more sensitive philosophically than the others because it talks about spiritual and personal ascension, which is what Jorge is going through in this story. It deals with the doubts about whether he can truly ascend as a character capable of fighting against that evil and defeating the people of the Order of the Cross of Nero. I even mentioned it during the listening session and in another interview: the entire story of this trilogy has a direct connection to my own story. It's something personal that I only revealed now with Mi'raj, precisely because it's the end of the trilogy and the album that speaks about this evolution as a human being, as a person, as a spirit, and also as a musician and composer.
You see, it's an album with other nuances, as I told you. I explored new paths, and many people have said it's my most mature album as a composer. That's the idea behind Mi'raj. So, I'm very focused on that, focused on the future, on my friends who are with me in the current lineup. Jean Gardinalli killed it on the drums, he's a young guy, and what he did on this album in terms of arrangement was sensational.
Rafa Dafras, the bassist who's been with me for many years, there's nothing more to say about what he did on the songs, and especially on "The Ancestry," with that bass groove where he'd never shown that side before. There are several cool and new things on this album, and we also have Diogo [Mafra], who also recorded and did some solos on the album.
I'm focused on this album, with a lot of people helping me, a lot of kind-hearted people who are with me. So, there's the whole band that already plays with me, there's Tiago Mineiro, who played on "Intuição," Juninho Carelli, who played on "Echoes of Vows," there's Wagner Barbosa, who did the solo on "Unchained," there's Rafael Bittencourt who did the solo on "Intuição." Man, there are several people working with me: my brother Tito Falaschi, Fábio Caldeira, Juliana Rossi who recorded the backing vocals. So, there are many people involved, many great people, and I, as I told you, am in the album's release period. My focus is on the future, on my story and on my music. And that's it, I'm very focused on Mi'raj itself and the future.
WM: If you could go back in time and give advice to Edu, from the Mitrium and Symbols days, what would you say to that younger version of yourself?
EF: Man, there's so much to talk about. I could say so many things, including a lot of advice. But the main thing is: believe in what you love. Fight for the things you believe in, keep fighting. It will hurt, there will be obstacles along the way. There will be people who will try to bring you down, there will be various situations you will go through, but it will all be worth it, because in the end you will achieve what you most desire, which is to live in the musical universe, to make a living from it and to be part of this universe that is my life.
Without music, without shows, without releases, without songs to sing, especially live, and without the presence of the audience, I would be really very sad. So I'm one of the lucky guys who managed to realize his dreams. I would tell that young Edu: look, it's going to be hard, it's not going to be easy, you're going to fight a lot, it's going to take time, but it will be worth it. So, just keep going. I think that's the advice I would give.
WM: And now, to wrap things up, I'd like you to send a message to the people who follow the website. Tell us what we can expect from the album and what the future holds for Edu
EF: First of all, I want to thank you all for your continued support. We're always together. You're always promoting my work. I'm very grateful. You have no obligation to do this, and you're always posting things about my work. Sometimes with criticism, and that's important too, because we grow from criticism. We realize that sometimes that criticism was good because I can improve in a certain aspect. So, I want to thank you all for this support.
Secondly, to the Wikimetal who follow my work. On June 12th, Valentine's Day, the album will be released on all digital platforms in Brazil, only in Brazil. The initial release is only in Brazil, and in August in the rest of the world. I really prioritized my country to have this differentiation. So, if you can, give it a like, subscribe to my YouTube channel, where we are releasing music videos and lyric videos, and follow my platforms. Start following me on Spotify, Deezer, wherever you want. Keep up with my releases and follow me on Instagram, you'll be very welcome.
And that's it, thank you so much for everyone's support, and I hope everyone will come. It's important to mention the tour: in August the Mi'raj & Legacy Tour, which is the tour for the new album and also for my 35th anniversary, where I'll be playing many songs from my entire career. So come to the shows, several have already been announced: Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, São Paulo, Curitiba, Recife, Florianópolis, Porto Alegre, and many more will be announced soon. Come with us, let's go to the show and sing these songs live.
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