Text by: Rust Machado
Masterplan 's travels in recent years may be surprised by the news of the German band's return to Brazil. Without any albums released since PumpKings – reinterpretations of Helloween by Roland Grapow , who took advantage of the Helloween reunion wave in 2017 – the prospect of a tour outside Europe might have seemed unlikely. But Grapow and company defied expectations and came up with a list of dates spread across the Americas, including 4 Brazilian cities.
In Porto Alegre, the band concluded their national tour on November 2nd, completely at ease celebrating their life with fans who, in the capital of Rio Grande do Sul, have been there for a long time. After all, Masterplan's first visit to the Opinião bar was back in 2003, still in their memorable lineup with Jorn Lande and Uli Kusch , and sharing the date with Gamma Ray . All this happened two months after Helloween came to the city bringing their album Rabbits Don't Come Easy . More "Helloweenverse" than that, only mentioning the 2001 visit, when Grapow and Kusch, still members of Helloween, brought The Dark Ride to the very same Opinião bar. What a time!
This time, Opinião opened early to welcome two bands for the opening night. At 7 pm, it was Tierramystica , a group already traditional in the Rio Grande do Sul scene, which blends powerful melodic metal with Andean music. With the audience still arriving, the show served its purpose of welcoming them with great energy. Following them, Phornax – also a local band – continued the opening with a very heavy show. Cristiano Poschi (vocals) entertained the audience with his spontaneity and took the opportunity to promote the third Phornax Fest, an event organized by the band to promote the local and national scene, and which will feature, among other names, Edu Falaschi in the December edition.
Finally, the Masterplan!
It was already past 9 PM when Alex Mackenrott (keyboards), Jari Kainulainen (bass), Roland Grapow (guitar), Rick Atzi (vocals), and Brazilian Marcus Dotta (drums) – a guest on this tour – took to the stage, with the venue already quite full of fans from the band's various eras. The band opened with "Rise Again," a single they released in 2024. The song provided the necessary time for sound adjustments, and then the series of classics began: "Spirit Never Dies," "Enlighten Me," "Lost and Gone," and "Crimson Rider."
After this journey through the hits from their first three albums, they had the audience in the palm of their hand. Besides exceptional vocal control, communication was handled by Atzi, who, however, reported to Grapow in almost all his speeches. In addition to mediating the audience-band dynamic, he also seemed to ensure that the boss was happy with Masterplan's long-lasting success overseas. To the audience's delight, the setlist became increasingly interesting, bringing the excellent "Kind-hearted Light" and, subsequently, the very heavy "The Time of the Oath," the title track from Helloween's seventh album, written by Grapow.
In conversation with the audience, there was confusion regarding the information: Roland Grapow didn't seem to remember playing in Porto Alegre (the band toured Brazil in 2015, but left the capital of Rio Grande do Sul out that year), appearing lost in the history of his own band. But for the people of Rio Grande do Sul, the time when all the foreign bands visited Porto Alegre is priceless.
The band followed with “Keep Your Dream Alive,” the only song in the set released with Atzi on vocals. Aside from that, the band dedicated the performance to their debut album. “A song that touches on the history of Roland, and of Germans in general” was the introduction to the exceptional “Crystal Night,” which was followed by the rhythmic “Soulburn.” Despite the dense atmosphere of these songs, the band maintained lighthearted and humorous interactions.
For the next song, Gui Antonioli , vocalist of Tierramystica, returned to the stage with the headliners for a duet of “Heroes,” originally recorded by Michael Kiske. The vocalist took the opportunity to shine alongside the masters, singing this great classic and showcasing his powerful vocal range.
The band began their farewell with more Helloween, this time featuring Grapow's first contribution to the Hamburg quintet. "The Chance" moved the audience, who sang the iconic chorus loudly. Before leaving, "Crawling from Hell" closed Masterplan's set on a high note. The band took advantage of a pause in the song for a lengthy introduction of the musicians, including some individual solos, among which the Brazilian Marcus Dotta ended up delivering even more than the veterans.
For the grand finale , the band performs "The Dark Ride," the captivating title track from Grapow's last album with Helloween. Rick Atzi returns to the stage wearing a Brazilian national team shirt. The audience appreciates the closing and celebrates the great night, and is also given the news that there will be a new Masterplan album. Despite the great night of music and some nostalgia, there's also a good dose of informality.
Masterplan delivers a lot live, but also lets itself be carried away by the fun. For a guitarist trained in virtuosity and author of memorable creations, there is no rigidity whatsoever in the way Roland Grapow plays his solos. For those who still care about execution, instrumental skill, and guitar playing in general, he played freely, prioritizing enjoyment. But if this tour was a test of their own popularity outside of Europe, that justifies all the smiles on stage: the quintet leaves convinced that the people of Rio Grande do Sul haven't lost interest, and that the dream can stay alive for a long time.
Our photographer, Alessandra Felizari, was also at the show and captured the evening. Check out our photo gallery:
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