Concluding their tour in Brazil, Venom performed in Belo Horizonte last Sunday, the 1st. It was the band's second time in the city – the first was in 1986. This time accompanied by Flageladör and the American band Warbringer , the pioneering black metal trio packed the Mister Rock venue on a historic night.
Opening the night, the green stage lights introduced Flageladör to the audience. Founded in Niterói and about to celebrate its 25th anniversary, the quartet features lyrics in Portuguese and a sound that blends the speed of speed metal with the rawness of thrash metal – having even inspired many current Brazilian bands.
Led by Armando Executor , always wearing his executioner's hood, the band began the performance with "Ultimatum/Flagelador," which opens the album A Noite do Ceifador (2017), and soon after played "Conjuração," from the new album Culto Aos Decibéis (2024).
At the end of “Máxima Voltagem”, from the album Predileção Pelo Macabro (2019), the audience shouted the band's name and Executor thanked them, saying that “BH is the capital of extreme metal”.
Later on, the frontman dedicated “Queimando nas Chamas do Heavy Metal”, also from Predileção Pelo Macabro (2019), to Pit Passarel and Paul Di'Anno , who passed away this year. The band closed their show with “Unidos Pelo Metal”, from the LP A Noite do Ceifador (2017), with the audience singing along.
Soon after, it was Warbringer's turn to deliver a very heavy show, with intense headbanging and several mosh pits. They started the setlist with "Firepower Kills," from their most recent release, Weapons of Tomorrow (2020). John Kevill began without a voice – his microphone was malfunctioning.
From the third track – “Living Weapon”, from the album Worlds Torn Asunder (2011) – to the microphone on the right side of the stage, the frontman never lost his composure. Throughout the show, Kevill interacted a lot with the audience, and the band seemed very comfortable in their first performance in Belo Horizonte.
Closing the night, with the stage lighting intensely red, Venom took their place as the main attraction. Opening with the classic "Black Metal," from the album of the same name in 1982, the trio had the audience shouting the chorus in unison and "surrendering their souls to the gods of rock n' roll."
Without wasting a second, the band released “Welcome to Hell,” from their first album, Welcome to Hell (1981), in a slower version, just like the original recording. The fourth song, “Bring Out Your Dead” from Storm the Gates (2018), was one of the few songs that wasn't part of their first two albums.
Conrad “Cronos” Lant , bassist and vocalist, showered the audience with compliments. Even with his Newcastle accent, it was clear how happy the trio's leader was to be there – despite the “melting heat,” as he called it.
Stuart “La Rage” Dixon (guitar) posed quite a bit for photos with the audience, while drummer Danny “Danté” Needham performed acrobatic tricks with his drumsticks – including using his absurdly tall cymbal set.
During one of his breaks, Cronos declared: “It’s great to see new people at the show, pressed against the barrier. Metal will be passed down from generation to generation. And long after I’m dead, you’ll still be enjoying it!”
The crowd, which packed the floor to the point where it was almost impossible to move, sang along to the lyrics of "Don't Burn the Witch" and "Countess Bathory" from Black Metal (1982).
After a short break, the band returned, to a standing ovation from the audience, to conclude with “Witching Hour” and “In League With Satan,” from Welcome to Hell (1981).
