After more than a decade since their first visit, The Ghost Inside finally landed in Brazil last Sunday, the 18th, in São Paulo, at Vip Station. The show concluded their Latin American tour, which included stops in Mexico, Colombia, and Chile.
To make the night even hotter, three national bands were scheduled to open the show. Starting with the Brasília-based band Never Look Back , whose main musical influence is the American group The Ghost Inside. The hardcore group, formed by Kenji Matsunaga (vocals), Marcelo Maia (drums), Rique Martins (guitar and vocals), and Fábio Alexandre (bass), managed to get the crowd going in a unique way; people arrived early to check them out and quickly started forming mosh pits and warming up for the main show.
The short and fast-paced setlist was enough to showcase the band's talent and authenticity. Despite their short time on the road, they seemed more like a traditional and acclaimed name – I felt the same energy as when I've seen great bands at European festivals. This was all thanks to the clear evolution on their recently released album, Relentless, where Never Look Back started singing in English and added more weight and modernity. The only song in Portuguese, "Única Saída," featured vocalist Lucas "Jota" Ferreira from Escombro , further exciting hardcore fans.
Next, the already well-known Bayside Kings nearly brought the Vip Station down. The Santos-based punk hardcore quartet exudes the unique style that only Brazilian flavor provides, with a show that seemed more like that of the headliner. The venue was already packed; it seemed like the audience had come to see Bayside Kings and their energetic performance, already known in the scene, marking the band's consolidation in their phase of singing lyrics in Portuguese.
Lead singer Milton Aguiar has a gift for energizing fans, inviting them to join in the famous dance and mosh pits, further cementing another characteristic of the band: the enthusiastic fans who are a show in themselves. The highlight of each show is when Milton goes into the audience and engages intimately, making his audience a part of the spectacle. Full of social commentary and musical influences, a Bayside Kings show is already an event on the scene, one that should be witnessed at least once in a lifetime.
Colid was the third band of the night, formed by Lucas Guerra on bass and vocals, Charles Moreira on drums – both former members of Pense – and Gabriel Valadão on guitar and electronic production. This newcomer, about to celebrate its first anniversary, offers a modern rock sound with electronic beats and is already known for playing at major events and achieving significant numbers on digital platforms. The show was lukewarm, without much excitement from the audience, but it was still possible to tell that a good portion of them knew all the songs by heart.
Right on time, the most anticipated band of the night took the stage, one of the most revered bands in modern metalcore and hardcore. The Ghost Inside's first performance was in 2012, also a single show in São Paulo, and tonight was a celebration of a band that defied the odds and rose from the ashes; a fact that is literal, as this tour is the band's first tour in Latin America after their catastrophic accident at the end of 2015 – the band's tour bus collided head-on with a tractor while they were going to Arizona, the driver of both vehicles died, and band members Jonathan Vigil (vocalist) , Zach Johnson (guitarist), and Andrew Tkaczyk (drummer) were hospitalized in critical condition and, after a ten-day coma, Tkaczyk confirmed through his Instagram account that the accident resulted in the loss of one of his legs.
Upon taking the stage, each member was ready to deliver what was an unforgettable performance. The emotion was evident in the eyes of each fan, after years of waiting to see their favorite band, as were the looks of surprise for those watching for the first time. In the midst of the tour, The Ghost Inside is announcing their sixth studio album, * Searching For Solace *, to be released on April 19th by Epitaph Records, and asked fans if they were excited. Throughout the show, the band continued to thank the audience for their support and expressed their satisfaction at being back in Brazil.
The Ghost Inside was a perfect show from beginning to end. I felt the same sensation as being at shows in Europe, where most festivals give space to modern metal bands, and it was possible to feel a renewed and unique energy, a young and modern spirit that we need to feel in today's metal. Beyond the heavy music, there's a unique energy and underlying message of hope and perseverance that resonates with the audience, closing the show with the track "Aftermath," the first after the five-year hiatus following the tragic bus accident, allowing the band to put an end to the event and return in their new phase.
Our contributor Mara Alonso also attended the event and captured the evening. Check out our photo gallery:
