“What would the world be without black culture?” This is what Black Pantera in the title track of his new studio album, Perpétuo , released last Friday (24).
Formed by Charles Gama (guitar and vocals), Chaene da Gama (bass and vocals), and Rodrigo “Pancho” Augusto (drums), the openly anti-racist and decolonial band focuses their new album on Black ancestry and spirituality. Throughout the songs, the group looks at the still very recent and painful past of four centuries of slavery, but also considers the future and longevity of Black culture, to which they, as a band, also contribute with each new project.
Expanding on the themes explored in previous albums, Perpétuo specifically pays homage to Afro-Latin identity, emphasizing themes such as the importance of decolonization, not only in society but also in relation to South American culture, which is sometimes underestimated even among Latin American countries themselves. To this end, Black Pantera decided to venture sonically with producer Rafael Ramos , adding Brazilian and Afro-Latin rhythms to the heavy hardcore sound, with a variety of percussion instruments led by drummer Rodrigo Augusto (or “Pancho”). These new experiments are spread throughout the album, but the tracks “Candeia” and “Mete Marcha” stand out, even incorporating influences from maracatu.
“All of these things fit within our sound,” Charles states in an interview with Wikimetal . “In these 10 years, we’ve managed to mold ourselves in this way. We have no sonic limits.” Rodrigo, who began his musical life playing percussion and samba, agrees with the need to expand horizons within heavy music: “We’re not afraid to experiment at all. Our thing is to make music. And our biggest focus today is more on what we have to say. I think that’s much more important,” he emphasizes.
Perpétuo arrives in the wake of the acclaimed album Ascensão (2022), which placed Black Pantera on the circuit of major festivals held in Brazil, such as Rock In Rio , Primavera Sound , Knotfest , Afropunk and Lollapalooza . Featuring songs like "Fogo Nos Racistas" and "Padrão É O Caralho", the band became known especially for its revolutionary discourse and stance, and created for its community of fans (and for itself) true battle cries, not only against racism, but also against homophobia, sexism, and any other type of oppression that afflicts minorities in Brazil, as they themselves are keen to emphasize.
In the opening track, “Provérbios” (Proverbs), the trio speaks of the revolution they want to see and make in our society, not as an individual endeavor, but as a collective one. Reaching the stage of these major festivals “talking about what we talk about, without backing down, without taking a step backward, without sitting on the fence,” as Chaene da Gama points out, is already a revolutionary act and part of Black Pantera's “ant-like work” of building a community and a space where Black people feel represented.
“[Before the band started], we used to hunt for Black people in rock 'n' roll, in bands, in the scene,” says Chaene. “There were events where it was just me and Charles who were Black. With Black Pantera, we see that many Black people are going back to rock shows because they feel represented. We see that it's very important for some people, that they get emotional, they identify with it. People want to be together, they want to be close, they want to talk, comment, they want to sing at the top of their lungs.”
“And we’ve been seeing more and more diversity at our shows,” Rodrigo adds. “People feel very comfortable being at our shows. You see trans people carrying flags, girls joining the mosh pit, letting loose without fear, because people know they have to respect each other, and we make a point of emphasizing that. That’s really beautiful: not just seeing metalheads and headbangers. I think we’re getting further and further away from that. On the one hand, that’s good, because that metalhead mentality has become somewhat outdated. I think that’s the revolution: the revolution of thought. For us, it doesn’t make sense to be an original band and not talk about things of our time.”
The band admits that they owe much of their current racial literacy to the help of their fans, who have always been involved in opening discussions, suggesting readings, and helping to strengthen the knowledge they now possess after many years of study. Even after three undeniably political albums, Perpétuo addresses themes in a much more focused and sophisticated way, exploring narratives ranging from the journey of African peoples to be enslaved in Brazil to the importance of spirituality and religions of African and Afro-Latin origin. “I think we always wanted to say what we're saying [on this album], but we lacked racial literacy. The band's fans brought a lot of that to us,” says Rodrigo.
One of the standout moments is the sensitive and visceral “Tradução” (Translation); an emotional outpouring written by Chaene da Gama for her mother, but which ends up portraying the reality of many Black and marginalized mothers in Brazil who struggle and work their entire lives, even in old age, to take care of their home and family. The track, written with vocals and guitar and recorded on bass, caused some listeners to take offense, accusing the band of making ballads. Chaene counters: “I’m not making a ballad. I’m talking about my mother, about structural racism and how it acts in our lives.” To which Rodrigo adds: “For me, it’s the heaviest lyric on the album because we didn’t want to live this way. Everyone here wanted their mother to be traveling, living in luxury. Today, with the band, we still can’t give that to our mothers.”
Celebrating their 10th anniversary in 2024, Black Pantera reveals that only recently, with the success of the album Ascensão (2022) and their appearance at Rock In Rio, have they seen enough financial return to support themselves solely from the money generated by the band. Today they have enough to take care of their families and maintain their entire team of people working with them, but not enough to fulfill big dreams, such as providing a more comfortable life for their mothers. "It's the cause and effect of being a self-proclaimed anti-racist Black band," Chaene points out.
Despite this, Charles Gama, who came up with the idea of forming Black Pantera 10 years ago because he didn't feel represented by the rock music of the time, looks at the trio's trajectory with great pride and satisfaction. "We are extremely fulfilled," he affirms. "Although we are not yet financially successful, we manage to support ourselves, we always have food at home, which is very good. The orishas are always blessing us. It's very gratifying to know that 10 years ago this project seemed impossible. A Black band in Brazil playing rock 'n' roll? We think it's impossible, but it is. Devotos has been doing this for 30 years already. Nowadays we know that we are the new generation of this and soon our new generation will emerge too, and this becomes a constant flow."
This perpetuation of the message passed down by Black Pantera and the community they help create and strengthen every day is the true meaning behind the name of the new album. The band, which started a decade ago with the dream of being the representation they rarely found, is now thrilled to see their work bearing fruit and moving diverse generations.
“It’s very moving because we experience extremely warm situations of great affection and tenderness, really great affection, from older people, you know? Seeing an elderly Black man clinging to the railing, getting punched, but staying there to watch the show and then coming to talk to you, emotional, and saying how important it was for him to see us,” recalls Charles. “It’s a small child of six or seven years old wearing the band’s t-shirt and already looking at it with so much affection, seeing us as the rockstars of his life, you know? That’s huge. It’s about changing the whitewashing of rock 'n' roll music and bringing pride to these Black people: that rock 'n' roll was created by Black people. And also taking that back in a fair way. We’re not taking anything from anyone, we’re not stealing anything from anyone. We have our space within this.”
And they have absolutely no intention of stopping here. All the members are adamant that they want to continue with Black Pantera for decades and that the goal is to keep growing and occupying more and more spaces with their music and their messages of struggle and revolution. "We still have a lot of ammunition to burn, a lot of albums to make," Rodrigo assures. "We want the mainstream, we want to be huge.".