Matanza Ritual and Massacration tour show took place at the beautiful Ópera de Arame in Curitiba on Saturday, March 2nd, 2024. The architectural structure is situated amidst nature and is accessed via a bridge, which sometimes makes it difficult for the public to enter, as many stop to take photos before heading to the show area. But the organizing team was excellent and managed to overcome the problem well.
The opening act was Steal This Band , a band formed in 2019, with Yuri Al'Hanati on vocals, Ryan Augusto on guitar, bassist Felipe “Greengo” Gusinski , and drummer Nicholas Pedroso .
The band's formation, according to them, "was intended to faithfully reproduce the heavy, dreamy, and crazy atmosphere of the Californian band System of a Down ." And they delivered, starting with a strong beat, "Holy Mountains," and soon after came "Chop Suey," and the dance floor began to fill up.
The band really showed great ease and charm; at one point they launched into the song "Toxicity," and other hits of course. It would have been impossible not to get excited by these songs being performed with such energy. Very friendly, they thanked the audience and finished their set to make way for the stage setup for the next band.
During the intermission, the electronic music featured songs led by female artists, such as Within Temptation , Nightwish , and others.
Matanza Ritual, the show we wish would never end.
It was a little past 8:30 PM when Jimmy London, leading Matanza Ritual, took the stage. The venue was almost full, but since it was a seated venue, it was easier to organize the audience. The venue also had very comfortable opera-style boxes, which made the place aesthetically perfect for performances. The excitement and anxiety of everyone was visible, especially at being able to see the Matanza Ritual crew so close. The audience shouted in unison: "Hey, Jimmy! Go f*** yourself!", a kind of battle cry present at all the band's shows.
Next, they played the classic "Chamado do Bar," followed by "Meio Psicopata" and "A Arte do Insulto." This showed that the sound quality had improved, as well as the chemistry between the band members, which included Antônio Araújo ( Korsus ) on guitars, giving a show of his own, Felipe Andreoli ( Angra ) on bass, and Amílcar Christófaro ( Torture Squad ) on drums, and of course, the great Jimmy London on vocals, who loves to playfully provoke the audience, generating a better response from his crowd.
The setlist included “Não Gosto de Ninguém” (I Don't Like Anyone), “Último Bar” (Last Bar), and the ballad “Tempo Ruim” (Bad Times). Around 10:03 PM, towards the end of the show, the vocalist took off his shirt to get more comfortable and belted out more classics, “Mulher Diabo” (Devil Woman), “Mesa de Bar” (Bar Table), and, with his shirt back on, he provoked the audience, “Let's shout Curitiba! We're part of the Club of…” and made jokes to get the crowd going, teasing Massacration, before launching into “Clube dos Canalhas” (Club of Scoundrels). With well-composed and dynamic songs and riffs, Matanza captivated everyone, and we definitely didn't notice the time passing, and so, without everyone realizing it, the show ended with “Ressaca Sem Fim” (Endless Hangover).
Heavy metal with plenty of humor and quality from Massacration
Massacration is already part of the hall of fame of national metal, and even after two shows the audience was still very excited to receive the band, who obviously put on a kind of theatrical performance to generate comedic suspense and also some comments about the Curitiba audience, which tends to be more indifferent and not as enthusiastic as in other cities, "Come on Curitiba! Who wants metal?" Then an international act was announced, performing Nickelback and Creed to entertain the audience, and then Bruno Sutter appeared, looking like a member of a boy band and singing electronic music, surprising everyone, there was widespread laughter on that unforgettable night.
But getting to the important part, the show had very good sound quality, the lights were great, and the band members were properly dressed in the heavy metal style of the 80s and 90s. They started strong with "The God Master," followed by "Metal is The Law." Sutter's voice was perfect, and the band members' dynamic in occupying the entire stage was very well thought out. The setlist also included "Metal Milkshake" and the new song "Metal Warferas," released in December 2023.
After many jokes and interactions with the audience, it was time for "Feel The Fire From Barbecue," complete with real barbecue skewers offered to the crowd. The band's technical skill and talent for combining heavy metal with cutting-edge humor were incredible.
Finally came "Let's Ride To Metal Land" with a lot of interaction between Sutter and the audience, and the very well-executed "Metal Is My Life," and after the famous encore break, came: "Evil Papagalli"; "Metal Bucetation" and "Aruê Aruô Dance."
At exactly eight minutes past midnight, the night ended with the band thanking the audience, and the people of Curitiba returned home with their "souls cleansed" by the wonderful show presented, especially in such a beautiful location with great acoustics. It was no coincidence that Angra chose this place to record their acoustic DVD in August 2023.
READ ALSO: Matanza Ritual and Massacration announce first tour dates in 2024
