A few days before the long anticipated show of the historic Brazilian Power Metal band ANGRA, on March 20th, 2024 in Athens, THE GALLERY had the opportunity to talk to the band’s bassist Felipe Andreoli, both about their upcoming appearance in Greece, as well as some important milestones in their multi-year career!
– Hello Felipe!! Welcome to our webzine THE GALLERY. I would like to thank you for giving me this opportunity to chat about one of the most important power metal bands of the last 30 years!
Felipe Andreoli: Thank you. I really appreciate that!
-The last months and even years, especially after the pandemic, you were very busy. You signed with one of the most important labels in the world, Atomic Fire Records, you released an amazing album, “Cycles of pain” and you are about to kick off on a tour. So, let’s begin with Atomic Fire. How did this collaboration come to life and what made you decide it? I mean what part of the agreement persuaded you?
Felipe Andreoli: Now they are called “Reigning Phoenix Music”, they are a new group with a new name but the same people. Actually, we were discussing other things with them, other releases when we were writing the album. And then we didn’t really agree on some things with the previous label and we decided to hear an offer from Atomic Fire and very quickly we realized that it was a great partnership, a great move. There are so many experienced and very talented people inside Atomic Fire that really know what they are doing and we wanted to be part of the team, so they made an offer, it was good for both parties and that’s how it started.
– Let’s talk about “Cycles of Pain”. Reading the title for the first time I thought that it would be an ominous album but that is not the case after all since as I understand it, it is about the bad aspect of pain but also what good can come out of a painful situation (like the pandemic maybe). So, what is the main theme of this album and which are the messages you wanted to pass to your fans?
Felipe Andreoli: We did not consciously decide to write about pain. We realized we were writing about pain when we started reading some of the lyrics and we found the common thread among these songs to be pain. Many kinds of pain. Of course the pandemic was a big pain that the world experienced but there are other kinds of pain. We feel pain since we are born. You are born in pain and you experience pain in many different stages of your life. But we did not want to write a depressing album. We wanted to use pain as a stepping stone for growth and evolution because pain is inevitable and if you don’t learn to gather the positive aspects of a painful situation you never grow. And I think it is very important to learn how to deal with pain. Sometimes it is unwise to avoid pain at all costs cause it will come and you better be prepared and the more you go through it the more prepared you get throughout life. So, we have many different angles that we talk about pain in the album but always with a positive spin. We didn’t want it to be a depressing album that did not give any answers. We always like to look at the bright side of things.
-What new does this album bring in comparison to your previous albums and especially the last 2 which, if I am not mistaken, are the other albums with the current line up?
Felipe Andreoli: “Secret Garden” had Kiko and of course Kiko is a great composer. I think what’s different from “Omni” for example, which has the exact same line up, is just who we are now and the things we listen to now and how our relationship with the band has evolved and how we learn to work together, five years apart from “Omni” and how we feel now more cohesive and more confident as a band and that just translates into the music we do.
So, I think when everything is working and everything is conducive to a creative environment, where everyone feels free to speak their mind and contribute, if you know how to make the best of it, it can only be great. The process itself was really fast and we were able to capture all the individual influences and still sound like ANGRA, in my opinion, which is the main objective. I think the record is actually more aggressive. Maybe this has to do with the times we are living in, the pandemic or maybe with the energy we felt after missing playing together for so long time. It is what it is. We didn’t try to control it or to make it one thing or the other. We just naturally let the music speak for itself.
-My favorite song I think is “Vida Seca”. You can always find a good power metal song, or a good progressive song but when this song embraces the local folk tradition it gets even better. What is your favorite song and why?
Felipe Andreoli: Actually we have the same favorite song. I think it really captures the essence of ANGRA of being this power / prog metal band from Brazil that mixes all those different styles, has a lot of dynamics. It has the rhythm, it has the melodies and the way the song develops tells a story. Not only with the lyrics but musically as well. So, I think we really did a great job with this one and it’s my favorite. But there are many great songs in the album and these things tend to change after a while. So maybe in a month from now I will have a different favorite. I don’t know.
-Another song that drew my attention is “Tears Of Blood”. When I first heard it I was trying to find out who is singing the operatic male vocals and I realized it was Fabio Lione. He is a great singer and is there anything he cannot sing?
Felipe Andreoli: I never encountered something that he couldn’t do. Fabio is incredibly gifted as a singer and we were happy to have some of his italic heritage on the album by doing the tenor thing, the operatic voice. It’s something that he never really studies which is really impressive but he has it in him being an Italian singer with such a great tradition of the Italian opera. He just has it. He never studies it, he never practiced. He just opens his mouth and that is what comes out. And it’s really impressive to see.
-How did you meet with Fabio. He is the only non-brazilian member of the band so how did this connection happened?
Felipe Andreoli: Exaclty 11 years ago we played the 70000 Tons of Metal Cruise, which we just played now as well. When we were invited to this show, we didn’t have a singer at the time. But the skipper who is also the owner of the festival he said: “I don’t care if you don’t have a singer. I want ANGRA to play to my festival and I can suggest you a singer to come here with you”. So Fabio Lioni played with KAMELOT last year because they didn’t have a singer at the time as well. So, he did a show with them. The skipper told us that he was sure he would do a show with us. Just had to ask him. So the first ever time we played with Fabio was on that ship during the cruise and that’s when everything started. The chemistry worked so well that we kept on doing it. And of course when we thought about getting a new singer, we thought about a Brazilian guy but Fabio just came into our lives and just stayed.
-Right now, there are members from different eras of the band. Rafael is the only founding member, you joined in 2001 and the rest of the members joined the last decade. Looking back in the band’s history I guess that there are 2 turnpoints. One in 2000-2001 when Matos and Mariutti left the band and you joining, and the second is the period between 2013-2015 when Falaschi, Confessori and Loureiro left. Did the band in any of those periods come close to stopping forever? Was this possibility ever on the table?
Felipe Andreoli: I have to say…yes. Especially on 2012 when we had no singer and there was a time when we wondered if it was really worth coming back and that’s why the arrival of Fabio and the show at the cruise ship was so important because showed us a way forward and showed us that we still wanted to play together which is very important. There are times in a band 32 years old when you question your decisions, you question if it’s time to stop but as I said before, right now we are really happy about the work we are doing and I don’t see the band stopping in a while. We want to do more, we have energy so we keep doing it until we don’t have it anymore.
– In the 90’s ANGRA already had some pretty legendary albums like “Angels Cry” and “Holy Land” so I am curious, were you a fan of ANGRA before joining or was it just a job opportunity for you?
Felipe Andreoli: I wasn’t the kind of fan that followed the band but I listened a lot especially to “Angels Cry”. “Holy Land” not so much. When it was released I was too much of a metalhead and this Brazilian rhythm things kind of through me off. I was really into thrash metal at the time and of course later on when I listened to the album became one of my favorites. But when I joined the band, I knew them really well and of course the opportunity but also the honor of joining such an important band of our country.
-In your tour I saw that you included Spain, Greece, Italy and of course Brazil. Do you believe that the Mediterranean countries have similarities with the Brazilian mentality and tastes in music and not only music as a matter of fact?
Felipe Andreoli: I think so. Even Portugal. The latin countries in general are more similar to Brazil than the Northern countries for sure because as latin people we are warmer and we have a little bit more of the emotions, so we are similar in that regard. I think the latin people understand our music better. You people from Greece you are not Brazilian but you kind of know where we come from. We have a common heritage. Long long back. So, the Latin countries and the Mediterranean countries understand us better. You are warmer country, so is Spain, Italy or Portugal. I think even the geographic position of the warmer countries helps us have a common thing.
-Talking to musicians from Greek bands like Scepticflesh I realized that many Greek metal band are quite popular in your part of the world (South and Central America). Do you know any Greek bands and what is your point of view about the Greek metal scene in general?
Felipe Andreoli: Not a lot. I know of course the band that you cited. ROTTING CHRIST have come to Brazil many times. We toured with FIREWIND. And now we have a half Brazilian, half Greek band, NERVOSA and I do follow them. But in general not many to be honest.
-In March the 20th you will visit Athens for a much-anticipated show in Kittaro Live Club along with the Dutch ELEGY and THE SILENT RAGE. If I am not mistaken, Angra have visited Greece 3 times in the past but your last show here was almost 20 years ago. This is going to be your second time in Athens so what do you expect from this show and what are you going to present to the Greek audience.
Felipe Andreoli: We are going to do the show from this tour which is promoting the “Cycles of Pain” but it’s a show that also contains songs from the whole catalogue so we go through many different albums with the main focus on the new one. It’s been 19 years since the last show. It’s crazy and I can’t really understand why we haven’t come back to Greece in so long cause we know we have fans there and as I said Greece is a warmer country just like the Latin countries and we know that we have this kind of similar way of being with you guys. In my mind it’s such a great match. It’s hard to understand…19 years. But I hope that this show is the start to a sequence that never ends again. Also, this time I want to see some of Greece because last time I was about to go on Parthenon but it was closed 5 minutes before I tried to enter and hopefully we will have the opportunity to see some of the country which is so beautiful. And the food…the food is lovely.
-You mentioned earlier the 70000Tons of Metal cruise. Please, tell me about your experience there and how awesome it must have been!!!
Felipe Andreoli: it’s just like a big family gathering because even though we don’t know the majority of the people there is a sense of communion. It’s different from any other style I think. The way metalheads from different parts of the world can instantly be friends and click. It seems that this thing we have in common, metal music, just binds us in a way that no other style can. So, everything just seems like a big party that never ends. But it is such a great experience. There are so many friends on board. We had 4 Brazilian bands on board this year that was great. And the opportunity to see so many great musicians just performing and having a good time. That’s a great experience and everyone should experience it at least once. But once you go, you want to go again.
-I am sure that fans love this close encounters with their music idols, something that was not very common in the past. Do you think this is a good thing or you agree with some musicians who believe that there must be a distance between the musician and the audience?
Felipe Andreoli: I think this is definitely a thing of the past. The idea that you have to sustain a myth of some kind, that you have to be unreachable. This world doesn’t exist anymore but some people are still stuck to it because they do not know how to do it differently. I think my generation already understands that the world has changed and that’s actually fun to meet these people and hear first hand their impressions on the band and their opinions and just hang around like normal people. We are no different. The only difference is that I am on stage and you are watching but I am as much of a fan like any fan of ANGRA, of other bands. When I go to a METALLICA show or a DREAM THEATER show, I am exactly the same as any ANGRA fan in the crowd. And the fact that people admire what we do is great and we are grateful for it. And the fact that people are maybe inspired to play an instrument because of us is very flattering. But in a human level we all the same. And that’s why the boat is so nice. It’s just highlights that.
-I read something about an acoustic album. Tell me more about that because it sounds really interesting.
Felipe Andreoli: Last year we recorded an acoustic show, audio and video. It’s a show that goes through the whole career of the band. It’s almost like an acoustic best of. We have some guests to this acoustic show. The one international guest was Amanda Somervile known from AVANTASIA and many other projects. It will be released in the beginning of the second semester and it turned out beautiful. We recorded on a venue called Opera de Arame in Curitiba, a city in Southern Brazil. It’s a really beautiful venue and it was a special night so we are really looking forward to releasing the album and doing some acoustic shows as well.
-So, I guess you are fully booked for the next 2-3 years. I guess it’s a little early for new material but what are your plans?
Felipe Andreoli: We have plans until March next year and after that we will take a break, rest a little bit and think about the next step. We ‘ve been in a very intense working regime ever since we got back to work in 2022 and we feel like after March next year we need a few months just to rest, be with our family and then think about the next project, the next step. Probably an album…we’ ll see!
-That is all for now Felipe! I want to thank you once again for this amazing opportunity. It was really an honor! You may close this interview as you like!
Felipe Andreoli: Thank you Kostas. Thank you for having me. It was a pleasure talking to you and I really look forward to seeing you all at the show and having a great time. And I hope this would be the start of a big sequence of appearances in Greece in the future!
Interview: Kostas Boudoukos
Text Transcription: Kostas Boudoukos
Design & Editing: Kostas Boudoukos
Date: February 22nd, 2024
External Link: ANGRA – Official Page
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