The evening was dedicated to Fabiano Penna, founder of Rebaelliun, who passed away shortly after returning from a European tour.
The late afternoon of Sunday, December 2nd, marked the end of Porto Alegre's metal calendar for 2018. The 9th RS Metal , featuring the melodic progressive rock of Aquiles Priester 's Hangar as well as the veteran death/thrash band Panic from Rio Grande do Sul, and the tortuous continuation of Rebaelliun after the regrettable loss of Fabiano Penna, one of its founding members. With this diverse, entirely Rio Grande do Sul-based lineup, and at an affordable price, enthusiasts of the local scene (many wearing t-shirts of these bands) filled the dance floor of the traditional Bar Opinião, home to decades of national and international heavy metal, which has been preparing for a complex change of neighborhood.
For the opening act, at 7:30 PM, Gueppardo (chosen in an online poll) took to the stage, performing for approximately 70 people. Despite the echo reverberating off the walls of the semi-empty venue, the band used the opportunity to let loose and showcase their sound, a blend of traditional heavy metal, high-pitched vocals, and hard rock attire, all with lyrics in Portuguese. The band started with "Fúria e Paixão" and "Instinto Animal," and after greeting RS METAL, performed "Castelo de Cartas," the highlight of their set, thanks to its catchy chorus.
“Execução Sumária,” the title track from the quartet's debut, revealed some issues that need improvement: the bass was too high-pitched, the guitar was still too thin for riffs that demand body, and the high-pitched vocals bordered on uncomfortable, although the vocalist, with some effort, showed he could handle it. Those who check out the band's album online might be impressed by the pompous production, which is indeed impressive for its 80s metal feel. The band still needs some work, more focused on their live sound, to transform the recording into a more impactful concert, but the show certainly fulfilled its purpose, introducing the night with some important variables for an event like this: independent work, a desire to play, and the courage to showcase their own characteristics. With “Fissura Total,” a song where the Gaucho (from Rio Grande do Sul) style of “tu tens / tu sabes” (you have / you know) is evident, the quartet left the stage grateful for the opportunity, aware of the responsibility they had in anticipating what was to come: the tribute to Fabiano Penna .
On the other side of the metal spectrum, the night also took an extreme turn. With a fuller venue, the event prepared for the (previously announced) tribute to the late guitarist of Rebaelliun , a death metal band from Porto Alegre that, with their third album (and two EPs), had already been gaining increasingly solid ground in international circles. After more than 10 years of hiatus, the band returned triumphantly, largely due to Penna's exceptional work behind the scenes and on the stages of the national death metal scene. The guitarist had played in Andralls and contributed to Unearthly and Nephasth , in addition to showcasing his genius in the exceptional The Ordher Rebaelliun 's hiatus . Along with the band, the guitarist was returning from the "Fight the Plague Tour 2018". Diagnosed with a generalized infection, he did not survive and passed away on February 27th. Thus, the purpose of the evening was clear from the start: among everything being celebrated there, the focus was on the memory of the guitarist, strengthened by the presence of his family, the tributes from friends, and the appreciation of his legacy.
Thus followed the presentation of a moving 10-minute video dedicated to Penna, presented as the leader of Rebaelliun . Several names from the local scene highlighted their affection for the guitarist: among them, André Meyer ( Distraught ) recalled when, during the recording of his band's first album, Penna would skip lunch to buy a Marshall amplifier. Abel Camargo , founder and only remaining member of Hibria , reminisced about his time working with the musician. Márcio Jameson ( Finally Doomsday , ex- Bestial ), owner of the store A Place Rebaelliun 's exemplary management .
Following the enthusiastic applause from the audience, Penna's colleagues and friends, Lohy Fabiano (vocals) and, visibly shaken, Sandro Moreira (drums), took to the stage. Joining them was Evandro Passos (guitar) with the extremely difficult task of replacing the honoree. The musicians of Rebaelliun declared their objective to honor the guitarist's legacy, maintaining what "would certainly have been Penna's wish: the band's continuity," according to Lohy, and thus began the best performance of the festival.
With tears in his eyes, Sandro calls out the first song of the set, “ War Cult Anthem,” a sonic machine gun that was very well received by the audience, as was the entire set. Lohy recalls the importance of this concert, which indeed has a totally atypical atmosphere, but is held in the comfort of their Porto Alegre “home,” alongside family and friends. The show continued with the cutting riff of “Spawning the Rebellion ,” and then “Afronting the Gods ,” a devastating song from the band's last full-length album with Penna.
Evandro's commitment to bringing Penna's legacy to life was evident, confirming the guitarist as a new member worthy of the position and responsibility. Before playing " Anarchy ," Lohy made a point of clarifying his dissatisfaction with the current political climate: "Wherever [Penna] is, he must be very pissed off about this situation," said Lohy of the guitarist who didn't live to see the election results. Fortunately, the intervention was well received by the audience, and here Sandro's skill stood out, as he relentlessly pounded the drums, stealing the show and translating the feelings of many in attendance.
Finally, during "The Last Stand, " Lohy himself stole the show, captivating the audience with vocals and bass lines that seemed impossible to string together. To close the set, the band invited some guests to the stage, including Gabriel Siqueira (currently with Panic ) and his brother, as well as the aforementioned Márcio Jameson and the vocalist-agitator Antônio Fumanchu ( Noncomformity ). The friends delivered an "informal" cover of "Breaking the Law," Judas Priest anthem , which, despite the good intentions, erred in leaving Sandro out of the fun, merely watching from the side of the stage. Thus ended Rebaelliun , and they left the stage for Panic to take over.
Panic is one of those bands from Rio Grande do Sul that, alongside names like Leviathan and Distraught in the tradition of Rio Grande do Sul metal. At 9:30 PM, the quintet took the stage ready to bring everything down, and that was more or less the impression one got at the end: sonic chaos, a bewildered audience, and a real mess on stage.
Despite drummer Everson Krentz showcasing impressive fills and virtuoso speed, the sound didn't seem to help the musicians, who perhaps had a very different impression of the amps and monitors than we did of the PA system. The other hypothesis, however, is exactly the opposite: the band was there to cause a stir, and, if that was the intention, they did it masterfully. The band's set spanned their three albums, and the track that drew the most attention was the (expected?) anti-anthem of Rio Grande do Sul thrash metal, "Shoobydahbydoobah Porto Alegre é Meu Lar ," which featured no less than 13 people on stage, including the band and guests, including Pisca (Pisca Produtora), the event organizer.
It was approaching 11 PM when we realized: one band was missing. With Aquiles Priester's tour bus parked to the side of the venue, and his monumental drum kit covered by a tarp throughout the event, leaving only half the stage for the other bands at the festival, we knew that Hangar's show would be the most produced, professional, and ambitious, but we had no way of knowing it would be so long. Hangar's show was preceded by a medley of guitar parts from Iron Maiden 's Somewhere In Time , following the strategy of pre-show announcements used by major bands.
The band firmly takes the stage and begins their set with "Reality is a Prison," revealing the infamous element that has plagued Hangar since its inception almost 20 years ago: drums that are too loud. Still, it was possible to enjoy Pedro Campos' (vocals) powerful vocals, and the rhythm section truly needs Aquiles Priester and Nando Mello (bass). The band followed with the rhythmic "The Revenant" and "Forgive the Pain," where the vocalist showcased his impressive pitch. Technique, pomp, ambition: these are the keynotes of Hangar's current show, which erred in not letting the guitar sound as loud as the drums, often making Cristiano Wortman's (guitar) work sound like just another effect of Fabio Laguna's (keyboards), something that highlights the progressive element but unfortunately causes the metal to lose its focus.
One of the highlights of this show was arguably Hangar's best song of their career, "To Tame a Land," from the now-classic Brazilian album Inside Your Soul (2001). But the audience… didn't seem to grasp that very well. It might seem like I'm being overly opinionated, but after the fifth song, it was noticeable that the audience was more or less accepting of everything they saw: neither impressed nor disappointed, just generally satisfied. This was further proven when the surprising appearance of the first vocalist, Michael Polchowicz , who came to perform a medley of great songs from Inside Your Soul, didn't seem to move many people, not even when he climbed the side of the stage to the ceiling. What was happening? The show went on, time passed, and maybe it was just tiredness, after all it was almost midnight, and they had work the next day, and the crowd arrived while it was still daylight… but it's a fact that the clicking bass drums and the booms from a hyper-amplified speaker helped to make the audience dizzy, many people, even those wearing the band's shirt, commenting on the excess.
Hangar ended their long show with applause that, in a way, thanked them for the spectacle, but also for its conclusion, even with Aquiles' intervention, who even declared that they would do a full show that night (despite the limitations usually imposed by festival logistics). Despite everything, the band proves to be in its best phase since 2003, and continues touring to promote its most recent release, "Stronger Than Ever," which justifies a full, high-performance show in their own hometown.
Thus concluded the 9th RS METAL, a celebration dedicated to the vitality of the underground, the life and legacy of Fabiano Penna, and the enduring strength of Rio Grande do Sul's metal scene, justifying the state capital's status as a mandatory stop for both large and small bands from around the world.
Text by: Rust Costa Machado
Photos by: Daniela Cony
