Text by Leca Suzuki and Larissa Catharine Oliveira
The scene at HammerFall and Helloween's in São Paulo was like this: sold-out tickets, a packed house, and a line stretching around the block. The bands came to Brazil with the United Forces Tour 2022 , and Wikimetal covered the performance last Saturday, the 8th, at Espaço Unimed.
The opening act, by the Swedish band HammerFall, drove the audience wild from the first chords, despite a half-hour delay. The charming vocalist, Joacim Cans, interacted with the audience throughout, calling them "friends" in an intimate tone. When the audience was asked how many of them were seeing the band for the first time, a surprising number of arms went up – and in a way that was far too orderly for the singer's liking.
“Friends, this is a heavy metal show, not a school. When you raise your hands, you also scream!”, he said before inviting the audience to shout the name of the song “Let The Hammer Fall”, sung in unison, as well as other classics of the night, such as “Renegade”, “Last Man Standing” and “Hearts on Fire”, responsible for closing the night.
In addition to their career classics, the band also performed "Brotherhood" and "Hammer of Dawn" from their new album. Despite the short setlist, the crowd was very satisfied with the infectious and musically competent show.
But the real stars of the night were Kai Hansen, Michael Kiske , and Andi Deris , as became evident when the stage was obscured by the band's iconic pumpkin backdrop and the crowd erupted in cheers. Bringing these three together on the same stage was Helloween's best move – and each year the trio proves to be more in sync, as does the rest of the band, with Michael Weikath (guitar), Markus Grosskopf (bass), Sascha Gerstner (guitar), and Dani Löble (drums) completing the lineup.
The band, which had already played in Ribeirão Preto with HammerFall last Thursday, the 6th, began their first show in São Paulo with the epic “Skyfall”, a 12-minute adventure from their most recent album, Helloween (2021), the first sample of the current lineup's power in the studio, and delivered a setlist capable of balancing past and present.
Helloween confirmed in São Paulo that they are one of those bands you need to see live, even if you don't know every hit from the Germans' extensive discography by heart. There's nothing better than seeing a band having fun during a show, and that's exactly what happened on the Espaço Unimed stage, in addition to the impeccable production and stage design, with the giant pumpkin under the drums and impressive visuals displayed on the screen.
And the fans were no less enthusiastic. Seeing everyone singing along with the band to “Future Word”, “Dr. Stein”, “Keeper of the Seven Keys” and “I Want Out” is always incredibly beautiful! Honorable mention goes to the ballad “Forever and One (Neverland)”, which is perfect with the combined voices of Kiske and Deris. As always, some still insist on debating who is the best, but what really matters is that metal has once again shown its strength.
As Joacin from Hammerfall aptly summarized in his conversation withWikimetalabout the two bands' tour: this powerful combo is "the ultimate heavy metal package for true metal fans."
See the photo gallery by our contributor Leca Suzuki below (swipe to see more photos). If you can't access the gallery, click here .
HammerFall at Espaço Unimed, in São Paulo. Credit: Leca Suzuki
HammerFall at Espaço Unimed, in São Paulo. Credit: Leca Suzuki
HammerFall at Espaço Unimed, in São Paulo. Credit: Leca Suzuki
HammerFall at Espaço Unimed, in São Paulo. Credit: Leca Suzuki
HammerFall at Espaço Unimed, in São Paulo. Credit: Leca Suzuki
HammerFall at Espaço Unimed, in São Paulo. Credit: Leca Suzuki
HammerFall at Espaço Unimed, in São Paulo. Credit: Leca Suzuki
HammerFall at Espaço Unimed, in São Paulo. Credit: Leca Suzuki
HammerFall at Espaço Unimed, in São Paulo. Credit: Leca Suzuki
HammerFall at Espaço Unimed, in São Paulo. Credit: Leca Suzuki
HammerFall at Espaço Unimed, in São Paulo. Credit: Leca Suzuki
HammerFall at Espaço Unimed, in São Paulo. Credit: Leca Suzuki
HammerFall at Espaço Unimed, in São Paulo. Credit: Leca Suzuki
HammerFall at Espaço Unimed, in São Paulo. Credit: Leca Suzuki
HammerFall at Espaço Unimed, in São Paulo. Credit: Leca Suzuki
HammerFall at Espaço Unimed, in São Paulo. Credit: Leca Suzuki
HammerFall at Espaço Unimed, in São Paulo. Credit: Leca Suzuki
HammerFall at Espaço Unimed, in São Paulo. Credit: Leca Suzuki
HammerFall at Espaço Unimed, in São Paulo. Credit: Leca Suzuki
HammerFall at Espaço Unimed, in São Paulo. Credit: Leca Suzuki
HammerFall at Espaço Unimed, in São Paulo. Credit: Leca Suzuki
HammerFall at Espaço Unimed, in São Paulo. Credit: Leca Suzuki
HammerFall at Espaço Unimed, in São Paulo. Credit: Leca Suzuki
HammerFall at Espaço Unimed, in São Paulo. Credit: Leca Suzuki
HammerFall at Espaço Unimed, in São Paulo. Credit: Leca Suzuki
HammerFall at Espaço Unimed, in São Paulo. Credit: Leca Suzuki
HammerFall at Espaço Unimed, in São Paulo. Credit: Leca Suzuki
HammerFall at Espaço Unimed, in São Paulo. Credit: Leca Suzuki
HammerFall at Espaço Unimed, in São Paulo. Credit: Leca Suzuki
Halloween at Espaço Unimed, in São Paulo. Credit: Leca Suzuki
Halloween at Espaço Unimed, in São Paulo. Credit: Leca Suzuki
Halloween at Espaço Unimed, in São Paulo. Credit: Leca Suzuki
Halloween at Espaço Unimed, in São Paulo. Credit: Leca Suzuki
Halloween at Espaço Unimed, in São Paulo. Credit: Leca Suzuki
Halloween at Espaço Unimed, in São Paulo. Credit: Leca Suzuki
Halloween at Espaço Unimed, in São Paulo. Credit: Leca Suzuki
Halloween at Espaço Unimed, in São Paulo. Credit: Leca Suzuki
Halloween at Espaço Unimed, in São Paulo. Credit: Leca Suzuki
Halloween at Espaço Unimed, in São Paulo. Credit: Leca Suzuki
Halloween at Espaço Unimed, in São Paulo. Credit: Leca Suzuki
Halloween at Espaço Unimed, in São Paulo. Credit: Leca Suzuki
Halloween at Espaço Unimed, in São Paulo. Credit: Leca Suzuki
Halloween at Espaço Unimed, in São Paulo. Credit: Leca Suzuki
Halloween at Espaço Unimed, in São Paulo. Credit: Leca Suzuki
Halloween at Espaço Unimed, in São Paulo. Credit: Leca Suzuki
Halloween at Espaço Unimed, in São Paulo. Credit: Leca Suzuki
Halloween at Espaço Unimed, in São Paulo. Credit: Leca Suzuki
Halloween at Espaço Unimed, in São Paulo. Credit: Leca Suzuki
Halloween at Espaço Unimed, in São Paulo. Credit: Leca Suzuki
Halloween at Espaço Unimed, in São Paulo. Credit: Leca Suzuki
Halloween at Espaço Unimed, in São Paulo. Credit: Leca Suzuki
Halloween at Espaço Unimed, in São Paulo. Credit: Leca Suzuki
Halloween at Espaço Unimed, in São Paulo. Credit: Leca Suzuki
Halloween at Espaço Unimed, in São Paulo. Credit: Leca Suzuki
Halloween at Espaço Unimed, in São Paulo. Credit: Leca Suzuki
Halloween at Espaço Unimed, in São Paulo. Credit: Leca Suzuki
Halloween at Espaço Unimed, in São Paulo. Credit: Leca Suzuki
Halloween at Espaço Unimed, in São Paulo. Credit: Leca Suzuki
Halloween at Espaço Unimed, in São Paulo. Credit: Leca Suzuki
Halloween at Espaço Unimed, in São Paulo. Credit: Leca Suzuki
Halloween at Espaço Unimed, in São Paulo. Credit: Leca Suzuki
Halloween at Espaço Unimed, in São Paulo. Credit: Leca Suzuki
Halloween at Espaço Unimed, in São Paulo. Credit: Leca Suzuki
Halloween at Espaço Unimed, in São Paulo. Credit: Leca Suzuki
Halloween at Espaço Unimed, in São Paulo. Credit: Leca Suzuki
Halloween at Espaço Unimed, in São Paulo. Credit: Leca Suzuki
Halloween at Espaço Unimed, in São Paulo. Credit: Leca Suzuki
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