In 2019, Andre Matos , one of the greatest and most acclaimed voices in national and international metal, passed away. Besides being a singer, he was a composer, conductor, producer, and pianist, also known for his work with the bands VIPER , Shaman , and Angra .
VIPER was the first Brazilian band to achieve great success in Japan, topping the charts in the 90s ahead of names like Nirvana and Van Halen (via Roadie Crew ). The group's fame influenced and marked the Japanese metal scene, serving as inspiration for many local bands. One of the names marked by VIPER was the power metal group Unlucky Morpheus – also known as Ankimo . The band released the track "Carry on singing to the sky" in 2020, from the album Unfinished (2020), in homage to Andre Matos.
The song was released on Andre's birthday, September 14th, in his honor. Fuki , the group's vocalist, used the social network X (formerly Twitter) at the time to comment in Portuguese: “This song 'Carry on singing to the sky' is a tribute to Andre Matos. There is a very large distance between Brazil and Japan, but his music had a huge impact on my country. Celebrating his birthday on September 14th!!!!”
The track begins with a sample from Angra's "Unfinished Allegro," and the lyrics speak of the great loss that metal has suffered, showing great respect and admiration for the maestro. The song also contains references to Angra's "Carry On," both in the title and lyrics, such as the line " There's a meaning to life ," present in both tracks.
Other verses demonstrate the affection the group feels for Andre, whom they considered a "light," such as the lines "always remember what he sang" and to get rid of sadness, but he (Andre) is by my side ."
Watch the video for “Carry on singing to the sky”:
A little about Unlucky Morpheus
Unlucky Morpheus is a Japanese power metal band formed in 2008, featuring vocalists Fuki and Kasumi , guitarists Shiren – who also performs the guttural vocals – and Jinya , bassist Ogawa Hiroyuki , drummer Fumiya Morishita , and violinist Jill .
Currently, the band has 5 studio albums, with evolution (2022) being the most recent. The album featuring the track "Carry on singing to the sky", Unfinished Oricon music charts . The company provides statistics and information about the music industry in Japan and Western music.
Aside from studio albums, the band has released 20 "doujin" albums, which are self-published discs. The Japanese word, in the entertainment industry, refers to works published by people who share common interests. The band sold their first mini-album on October 3, 2008, at the M3 on a homemade CD-R.
READ ALSO : VIPER recalls the invitation made to Andre Matos to join the band 40 years ago.
