Back in the mid eighties, Brazil was not a nice place for a head banger to live, I can tell you. The marks of our recent past of a very violent and repressive dictatorship regime weren't gone just yet, and the country was only beginning to build the structures of a true democracy. In those days, to see a concert of your favorite band was a very rare fact. The access to the heavy music was very restrict, with no local labels releasing metal albums, and the only alternative for the Brazilian fans were the imports which would arrive here costing a fortune. So mainly, the trading of recorded tapes paved the way to an underground scene to rise in this land. Someone that had money would import the new
Iron Maiden album, or the new Accept, and would record tapes to friends and relatives.
Dozen of fanzines were spreading the word and were the only source for us Brazilians to know the latest (with months of delay actually) news of our beloved bands. One of those pioneer fanzines became a magazine, and later, a record company, its name was Rock Brigade Records.
In the same time there were lots of new bands trying to break out the barrier of the first studio release. They had no good equipments, no money, no music schools of quality and to make things worse, they had no places to play live and when they had found somewhere to perform their music, occasionally the cops would arrive in the best part of the shows kicking the heads of young kids that were there only enjoying their music. Sad but true.
Even though, some real warriors managed to succeed through this chaos scenery. Andre Matos (
Shaman, Angra), with brothers Pit (bass) and Yves Passarel (guitar), along with Felipe Machado (guitar) and Cassio Audio (drums) formed the legendary band
Viper. They were only teenagers like 15 and 16 years old, but their age wasn't taken too seriously by metal fans that had the chance to listen to their demo tape called "
The Killera Sword". It was fantastic!!! Nobody ever had reached that musical quality level and in the same time had the opportunity to record a demo in this country. That demo got in the good hands of Rock Brigade who signed with the young band and recorded their debut album named "
Soldiers of Sunrise" in 1987. Immediately they were acclaimed all over the world. They received very positive and enthusiastic reviews in the international press, notably Rock Hard, Kerrang, Metal Hammer, and Metal Forces.
Soldiers is a very raw metal album, based 100% in the NWOBHM, with a killing guitar work, and the presence of a voice that would become later known all over the world as one of the most talented singers to arise in years. The concepts of the songs were pretty naïve, what was perfectly understandable by their age and so short career time. But it was very promising and there was some great energy running through the 9 songs of that album. The future would have the answer anyway.
And in 1989, they made it! Andre, Felipe, Pit and Yves along with new drummer Sergio Facci, recorded that sort of material that after years people call classic. Ground breaking.
Theatre of Fate was the kind of album that people discuss about and quote as a mark in history for years. Never ever had a Latin metal band reached that level of perfection in an album production, and maturity of compositions, along with some innovations to that particular period, with the marriage of classical music elements and heavy metal. Very few bands and musicians were daring to use classical music as a concrete element in their music, in that time. It wasn´t a trend, it was not fashionable as nowadays.
Since the introduction track
Illusions, a beautiful small instrumental piece with acoustic guitars and keyboards, ´till the emotional ending track
Moonlight, what we listen here it´s a parade of metal hits. All strings concept and arrangements were made by Andre Matos, giving us a good taste of what the future was holding to us years later with Angra. They were performed by the Kubala Strings Quartet in these songs: -
Prelude to Oblivion, a sort of a opera rock song, with fantastic choirs and very melodic, but also aggressive guitars in the very British tradition, with Andre singing his ass off, in few words, a definitive classic; in that river, later passed Blind Guardian, Rhapsody, Edguy. -
At least a chance, the second track, but real opener and the already mentioned ending track,
Moonlight where Renata Kubala, from the Quartet, executes an amazing violin solo along with Andre´s emotional piano playing and singing.
Among these songs we still have the rocker
To live again, which made part of their setlist for years, where we listen to a fantastic job of Sergio Facci in the drums and the guitar duels of Felipe and Yves that made half of my generation dream to form a band ;) ; and the not less important
A cry from the Edge, another song that made part of
the band concerts until their last day of activities. This song starts with a very cool and calm acoustic guitar introduction that leads to a slow and melodic solo and then suddenly goes to a complete tempo change getting faster and heavier with Andre´s voice sounding as a pissed off Rob Halford, reaching Mars in the chorus words.
Living for the night is a song that needs no introduction if you can call yourself a fan of this band. This is their
"Number of the beast", or the song that made them famous, one of the biggest classics of Brazilian heavy music ever. If you never heard this song, you will have the chance to listen it live if you attend to a
Shaman concert in your town, because Andre resurrected this gem due to the fans demand. Sounds really cool listening to this song live again 14 years later, and hear those famous sirens in the end of the song. \m/
And last but not least, the title track, one of my favorite songs of all times, the epic
Theatre of Fate. In the very "Maidenish" way to compose a song,
Viper made this short tale a fabulous metal piece, with fast guitars and pulsing bass lines. The music tells the story about a kid full of dreams and follow him through the years until he is an old man full of disillusionment and hate. I highly recommend this song for you to start with, if you don't know this band.
Produced by the english gentleman, Roy M. Rowland (Testament, Satan.), this album was recorded in Sao Paulo at the BMG Ariola Studios between August and September, 89. Mixed at Strawberry Studios, Stockport, England between September and October, 89.
So this is a deserved 10 of 10!!! Theatre of
Fate is an album full of definitive classics, that still up dated with the contemporaneous heavy music 14 years later. Having influenced several musicians/bands that later would make popular, this symphonic metal mixture, they also reached a quality level in the production camp never imagined before in Latin America. This album marked a whole generation of latin fans of heavy metal, and still today, being remembered as a seminal moment in the history of our underground music scene.
Written by
Rafael Sunday, September 28, 2003
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