1988. Sanctuary releases their classic debut, REFUGE
DENIED. 2001. For the first time, Brazil has the chance to see
Nevermore live. It's been 12 years of wait, but for the hell of it, it
was worthy. Promoting their latest and better album, DEAD
HEART IN A DEAD WORLD, Nevermore has made two unforgettable gigs in
São Paulo. Unfortunately, the gigs weren't so well promoted, so mane
people that could have gone to the gig didn't know about it. In the
first day, there were about 300 people (and a huge storm in São Paulo);
in the second, though, there were about 1,000. A great audience.
The venue where the gig take place isn't one of the better places in
Brazil. Formerly known as Floresta, A1 is like a disco club during usual
days, and it was turned into a heavy metal venue for those two days.
Between the songs, one could hear some techno shit music from the halls
in the side of the place - which was a reason to a fun moment when, in
the second gig, Jim Sheppard got in the mic and showed how much he hated
disco music. The sound for the gig was surprisingly good. Not great, but
nothing I could complain about. Anyway, I think that this place can
become a good place for smaller heavy metal gigs in the city (way better
than other places of the same capacity).
Before Nevermore entered the stage, Brazilian acts Necromancia and
Krisium were the support acts. Necromancia performed a cool gig,
although their sound is not among my favorite. They play thrash metal,
but it just doesn't appeal to me. They played songs from their new
album, CHECK MATE, their "classic" "Greed Up the
Kill", but no one of them catch me. The crowd seemed to approve.
Krisium wasn't a support act, but a co-headline. On Friday, they were
scheduled to close the night, but I don't know why, they played before
Nevermore the two days. It was my first time seeing Krisium live, and,
man, they can play fast. I'm into death metal, but maybe not much enough
to enjoy this Krisium gig. But, enjoying or not, everybody was
astonished by their skills. Drummer Max Koslene is a monster in the
double-bass drum. In the end of the set, it seemed that my heart was
beating as fast as his drums! Guitar player Alex Camargo is extremely
fast in his guitar, I couldn't follow what he was doing when soloing. I
can't say that I like their gig. They last about one hour, but for me it
seemed to be three or four hours. All their songs sound a bit the same,
after fifteen minutes, the fast drums started to annoy me. But if you're
into extremely fast stuff, well-played, make yourself a favor and see
this band. As a cool fact, there were a lot of people in both days that
were very much into Krisium, proving that the band has achieved a good
crowd in Brazil. And they deserve it.
Finally,
it was time to see Nevermore live. As the introduction song started, the
band entered the stage and Warrel Dane was using the mask that is among
a lot of stuff in the cover of their last album. And so "Narcosynthesis"
opened their set. Although Friday there weren't less people than the
next day, the audience seemed to be more into the band, singing more
intense not just the chorus, but all the lyrics from thousands of songs.
The almighty "Engines of Hate" came, and in the chorus the
people were extremely loud both days. Warrel had them in his hands, and
he proved to be a great front man. Also, he can still sing. He reached
the high tones when he wanted. Van Williams is a monster in his drums.
Jeff Loomis is perfect. This guy deserves a better recognition than he
gets. He is one of the best guitarists I've ever seen live. In the
sequence of the set, when he started to play the slow beginning of
"The River Dragon Has Come", and then he played that amazing
riff, it was just amazing. Touring guitarist Curren Murphy and bass
legend Jim Sheppard are something incredible to see. They have a
fantastic stage performance. Man, I didn't know to whom I looked while
the band was playing. Everybody in this band has something for you to
look.
The next song was the great ballad "The Heart Collector".
In the first day, the crowd sung all the lyrics, what happened only with
the chorus in the second day. But Warrel was amazing during this song,
also was Jeff in its solo. Then it was time for something heavier.
Warrel said "this is a song from the Politics of Ecstasy. Back
then, they called it thrash metal. You know what you're supposed to do
now? Start slamming your neighbors! This is 'The Seven Tongues of
God!'". The crowd obeyed him on this and the next song, also from
the same album, "This Sacrament".
Then it was time for something off DREAMING
NEON BLACK. Welcome to the fall! It was time for some darker wrath
songs, and "Beyond Within" was the first. Fast, furious, the
crowd screaming their lungs out. The sequence was with the slow-deppressive-amazing
title-track, that I wasn't expect to hear that night. "Dreaming
Neon Black" is one of my favorite tracks and one more time the
crowed in the first day showed to be more 'qualified', making all the
backing vocals, even the sampler feminine vocals they did, while in the
second day the people sang 'just' the chorus. After this song, the band
did a short and somehow unexpected break.
When they came back, Warrel was wearing a Sacntuary t-shirt, and he
said that he had waited 12 years to play in Brazil, so it was time to do
something special for us. He asked if someone had heard an album called
"Refuge Denied". Well, the reaction was crazy. And so they
played "Battle Angels", and I could see Warrel screaming all
that high-tones stuff, and some nostalgic feeling and a "dream
coming true" sensation were around all the venue. The next song was
another Sanctuary classic. "Taste Revenge" is my favorite off
INTO THE MIRROR BLACK, and for me that song was something absolutely
amazing. Curren and Jeff making the duets on the solos was great. To
finish the nostalgic section, nothing more appropriate than the band
playing the song "Sanctuary". Another break.
Warrel was back with the t-shirt he entered the stage(on
Saturday, that classic one written "Fuck You I'm From Hell")
and the band played "Inside Four Walls", that seemed to be the
song that worked better in the gig. In the first day, during the solo,
the band has destroyed a melon(?!?) in the stage, and then throwed it on
the crowd, pretty disgusting. Then it was time for the band to cover all
the basis, as said Warrel Dane. From their first self-titled album,
"What Tomorrow Knows" had a reception of a hit in the crowd,
for my surprise, a lot of people knew this song, and I've seen a lot of
them asking for another songs from the first Nevermore album. Then,
Warrel said that something was missing. Well, something off the EP IN
MEMORY. And so they played the awesome BauHaus cover "Silent
Hedges". In the first day, this ended the first part of the set,
but on Saturday they finished it with "We Disintegrate".
For
the encore set, the band played my favorite, "Next in Line". I
had a blast, all the people screamed the chorus. The next song was the
title track "Dead Heart in a Dead World" (emended in the first
day with Next in Line, but not in the second gig). Well, I can say that
this album is a classic in Brazil and even if the played other songs
from it the people would know the lyrics. Warrel was extremely happy. He
asked if the people would like if Nevermore plays every night in Brazil,
he didn't want to go back home. The crowd seemed to approve the idea. To
finish the gig, the band played their version to Paul Simon's "The
Sound of Silence", the fastest song from the last album. And Warrel
teased the people to invade the stage, and so it happened. It was fun
seeing the security people throwing the people back to their places, and
Warrel pulling them back to the stage. And so the gig has ended. I
stayed waiting for more songs, maybe one more Sanctuary stuff, but
nothing.
When I was going out the venue, there was this feeling that I had
seen one of the better gigs of this year -if not of all time. But all of
them had only one complaint: they haven't played "Future
Tense". Jim Sheppard started to play it in the second day, but he
just teased us, but the band didn't deliver. Maybe this is a song for
the band to play the next time they tour Brazil. I hope it doesn't take
another 12 years.
