I Am That Power – Hatefulmurder release new album with special show in São Paulo (25.5)

Brazil has long been hailed as the land of crazy crowds, masses upon masses of black-shirt donning maniacs, hungry for metal. What about the underground, though? We all know Krisiun, Sepultura, Angra and Ratos de Porão, but what about the smaller bands? Does the crazy energy persist? Does chaos still ensue? Come with us on this journey to the depths of the Brazilian underground.

That Saturday happened to be quite chilly, for Latin American standards, (around 17/16 degrees, nothing compared to Finland), but things would quickly heat up in the Casa Aurea, a small venue in the Bela Vista neighborhood of São Paulo. The club would be hosting Rio de Janeiro death metal/metalcore outfit Hatefulmurder, fresh off the release of their 4th full length album, “I Am That Power” and Irish/Brazilian groove metal act The Risen Dread, for the first time in the country.

A few minutes before The Risen Dread were set to get up on stage, at around 6:30 in the afternoon, quite early for a Saturday gig, the narrow hall that constituted the venue was already lined with black shirts, mostly evenly split between the opener and the headliner. Even though the crowd was small, it is safe to say that the people who were there were ultimately quite excited for the shows that would go on during the night. The Irish-Brazilian four-piece was quick to take up the stage, standing ominously with the house lights dimmed out, keeping the energy sky-high with “Psychoses”, off their 2022 album “Night Hag”. Their setlist revolved mostly around songs from that release, with “Sound of the Unknown” and “Lazzaretto” following suit.

“Betrayal”, released earlier this year was the fourth song played, with the crowd already heating up. While there were no moshpits, no walls of death (yet), the attendees were pretty into the set, headbanging, jumping around and filming as if there was no tomorrow. A characteristic of Brazilian crowds that is quite different from foreign audiences is the diversity within the fans. This thrash and groove metal gig was basically evenly split between men and women and even had some kids and older headbangers along the venue. It was around this time that Marco Feltrin, the vocalist joked around with the crowd, saying that although the band was quite clearly composed of 3 brazilians, they did have one “representative” of the European nation, Mat Maher, the bassist. The mic was passed on to Mat, who proceeded to greet the crowd with a charismatic “e aí, mano” (portuguese equivalent of “what’s up, man?”) and declare that he also learned “o elefante bebe leite” (the elephant drinks milk), eliciting some laughs from the crowd.

One of the high points of the night was a frenetic cover of Sepultura’s iconic “Refuse/Resist”, named by the lead singer as one of the most important songs for the band, as Sepultura was one of their major influences. They also had the chance (described as a “dream come true”) of recording “White Night” with Andreas Kisser, which was coincidentally the next song played. “Fallen” was chosen to end the set, perfectly encapsulating The Risen Dread’s sound; fast, groovy metal, filled to the brim with captivating riffs and basslines.

Catching up with the bassist and frontman of the band after the concert, they had this to say:

“Finalizing our Latin American tour by playing with Hatefulmurder was incredible. We played in Colombia, Argentina, Chile and finished here in Brazil. The gigs were incredible, crowds were sensational. We will be back here for sure! Thanks again” Marco Feltrin

“It was incredible! We played with some amazing bands, NVLO, Vertebrae, the festival in Colombia, Krisiun, it was unforgettable. We’ve played with such a high caliber of bands, something we wouldn’t get from playing our local bars. The crowd was fantastic! The best crowd I’ve ever played in front of! I want to come back, let’s play twice a day for a month!” Mat Maher

The Risen Dread setlist:

1. Psychoses
2. Sound of the Unknown
3. Lazzaretto
4. Betrayal
5. Silent Disease
6. Revelations
7. Bury Me
8. Refuse/Resist
9. White Night
10. Fallen

As the clock approached 7:30, more and more metalheads slowly dripped into the Casa Aurea on that cold Saturday night to appreciate the electrifying sound of Hatefulmurder, which would be celebrating the release of the already critically acclaimed “I Am That Power”. Led by the charismatic Angélica Burns, Renan Campos (guitar), Felipe Modesto (bass) and Thomás Martinoia took to the stage, starting the night off with “Eye for an Eye”, first track from the new album, which would take up most of the night’s set. 2017’s “Red Eyes” was also played extensively, with 4 of its 9 tracks being included, one of them being “My Battle”, which was sung at the top of most fan’s lungs.

Contrary to the opener’s set, where there was a good deal of space between the fans at the stage, people were headbanging and singing their hearts out at the barricade, almost jumping onto the stage at times. Impressively, a group of fans from the band’s native Rio de Janeiro could be found at the concert, showing the true sense of unity in the Brazilian underground. Many people were willing to leave their state to see Hatefulmurder. This love for the band was surely mutual, as the frontwoman constantly gave fans the microphone to aid her during choruses. In spite of the weather, things were already on fire by “Silence Will Fall”, the fourth song played, as it was welcomed with a wall of death. Fan favorite “Red Eyes”, again off the album of the same name, much like “Silence” followed, maintaining the electric atmosphere.

The cariocas not only have songs in English, but also in their native Portuguese, adding some flair into their discography. “Crime & Castigo”, single off the new album was the only one of those tracks played, but it kicked off a sequence of 4 songs off of “I Am That Power”. Before initiating “The Root of Fear”, Burns declared that one of the most special moments of the night had come, as all of the songs from then on would feature a special guest, violinist Tamara Barq. “The Root of Evil” and “Call Out Your Soul” were the subsequent tracks played, received by a lot of engagement from the fans, headbanging and singing along, even though the album had been dropped on streaming services a bit over a week before. 

The gig was closed by the titular track from the new full-length and “Creature of Sorrow”, another fan favorite off the 2017 project, still aided by Barq’s beautiful violin playing, adding depth into the songs, creating a unique live experience for the less than 100 fans that happened to be there that night. 

We were ecstatic with how responsive the fans were to the new songs! We are excited to play this new album more extensively with these different elements. All in all, it was fantastic! Angélica Burns

Hatefulmurder setlist:

1. Eye for an Eye
2. My Battle
3. Reborn
4. Silence Will Fall
5. Red Eyes
6. Crime & Castigo
7. The Root of Fear
8. Call Out Your Soul
9. I Am That Power
10. Creature of Sorrow

In general, The Risen Dread and Hatefulmurder presented short but sweet sets that surely helped fans stay warm on that chilly Saturday afternoon. It is safe to say that after that gig, Brazilian fans are now eagerly awaiting more news from The Risen Dread and will be listening to the brilliant “I Am That Power” nonstop. Calling back to the first paragraph, latin american fans’ rabid energy remains, even in the underground.