Another night, another fine event on "Metal" Teatro Odisséia, and this time, thanks to Open The Road Agency, was time for a true lecture on Heavy Metal, bringing along the English quartet GRIM REAPER, the Legendary Dutch quintet PICTURE and the Brazilian quintet METALMORPHOSE.

The event started punctually at 19:30 o'clock, with Rio de Janeiro based band METALMORPHOSE coming to the stage, and making an excellent show. A legend to Brazilian Metal, the band started back on the first part of the 80's, and was one of the first bands from the city to release an album back then (a Split LP with DORSAL ATLÂNTICA, on the first day of the first version of Rock In Rio Festival, in 1985), and on the stage, these guys still have a lot to show to anyone. They're the masters of Traditional Metal.

Tavinho Godoy (vocals), PP Cavalcanti and Marcos Dantas (guitars), André Bighinzoli (bass guitar) and André Delacroix (drums) are really savages on stage, playing and showing a good posture on the stage, specially the guitarist Marcos and the bassist André (that reminds sometimes DEEP PURPLE's Roger Glover on the stage), and they played songs both from 1985's "Ultimatum" and 2012's "Máquina dos Sentidos", like "Máquina dos Sentidos", "Cavaleiro Negro", "Máscara" (what lovely chorus!), and "Maldição" (their drummer is a monster, no about that).

Oh, by the way: these guys are preparing a new album soon (and as you could note, the band uses lyrics on Brazilian Portuguese), so, hear them wait to have great satisfaction. And let's hope the new album to be as great as "Máquina dos Sentidos".

Ol' Big Daddy here just can't wait!

Setlist:
1. Jamais Desista
2. Cavaleiro Negro
3. Metrópole
4. No Topo do Mundo
5. Máquina dos Sentidos
6. Pelas Sombras
7. Livres Pra Sonhar
8. Máscara

After a great delay (due a bus turn-out on the city, what turned the whole Rio de Janeiro's car traffic a fuss. And I'm not talking about the riot acts of destroying and burning of buses, and for what I knew, almost 300 buses were destroyed. So don't come to these lands on World Cup!), PICTURE, one of the most legendary bands of The Netherlands, came to the stage. They came to South America for a tour supporting of their newest album, "Warhorse" (besides the entire setlist was based on their classical albums, due it's their first time on these lands), and by the Metal Gods, they really made an excellent show! It was one of my Top 5 shows of my entire life.
 

Pete Lovell is an excellent frontman, setting the public on fire and having a perfect attitude on stage, extremely charismatic and singing as he did back on the 80's (I'm not kidding. He really sings in the very same way from back then). Mike Ferguson and André Wullems are excellent guitarists, both playing very well and having good attitude on stage (André even jumped to the top of wooden box and getting nearer to the public). And Rinus Vreugdenhill on bass guitar and Laurens Bakker on drums are both members from the earlier incarnations of PICTURE, and holding a strong and hard rhythmic basis (in a more traditional way, with good technique, but more focused and keeping the weight of the music). And how these guys seemed extremely younger on the stage.
 

And their setlist was perfect, but astonished me a lot, for they played classic after classic with no mercy, opening with "Griffons Guard the Gold", "Message of Hell" and "Diamond Dreamer". Yes, they played some extreme strong songs on the start, on the middle and until the end! No Mercy on our necks. And the audience on the venue (the house was almost full by PICTURE's show) sung along them, screamed the band's name, giving a extreme warm embrace on the band, getting wild at every song. But when they played "Eternal Dark", the venue almost felt down, trembling to its foundations.
 

And you're Ol' Daddy here burst into tears many times, overcoming with emotion, because they were one of their first bands I knew back on 1984, but when they played "Battle for Universe" and "Into the Underworld", I was screaming with all my lungs. They ended the show, greeted the public, but when people was screaming for them, Pete asked if the audience wanted one more. And as the answer was positive (of course!), they played "Bombers", so greeted everyone again, and left the stage like heroes (and clearly they are heroes).

Get back soon, guys!
 

Setlist:
1. Griffons Guard Gold
2. Message From Hell
3. Diamond Dreamer
4. Shadow Of The Damned
5. You Are All Alone
6. Heavy Metal Ears
7. Lady Lightning
8. Unemployed
9. The Blade
10. Battle For The Universe
11. Bombers
 

So, after PICTURE left the stage, in few minutes was time for GRIM REAPER show, closing the event. Of course Steve Grimmet is a great vocalist, one of their best in his generation (NWOBHM times, mind you all), and he sang very well as his attitude on stage is fine (and he makes jokes every time as well, showing great charisma), as well as Ian Nash is a good guitarist and has a great attitude on stage like Chaz Grimaldi on bass guitar, and Mark Rumble is a fine drummer as well. And they really made a very good show.
 

It's wonderful to hear the sequence of "Rock You to Hell", "Night of the Vampire" and "Lust for Freedom" (the three first songs from "Rock You To Hell" album, but why in the blazes they didn't play "When Heaven Comes Down" as well?), and Steve made some signs that his microphone wasn't in good shape, and your Ol' Big Daddy here feared some technical problem would occur, but fortunately, nothing wrong happened. And the most experienced ones on Teatro Odisséia became young again hearing pearls of Metal like "Now or Never", "Fear no Evil" and "Lay It on the Line", but almost everyone had tears on our eyes when they made an homage to the Master Dio with a heavy version for "Don't Talk to Strangers".
 

Of course we missed classics like "When Heaven Comes Down", "Fight to the Last" and "Dead on Arrival", but another ones like "Liar" and "Never Coming Back" were played, and for the encore, the catching "Waysted Love", the heavy "Final Scream", and their most famous song, "See You in Hell", obviously with everyone singing with Steve. Another excellent event, so let's wait for next ones!

Setlist
1. Rock You To Hell
2. Night Of The Vampire
3. Lust For Freedom
4. Wrath Of The Reaper
5. Now Or Never
6. Fear No Evil
7. Liar
8. From Hell
9. Never Coming Back
10. Lay It On The Line
11. Rock Me Till I Die
12. Matter Of Time
13. Do Not Talk To Strangers
14. Wasted Love
15. Final Scream
16. See You In Hell

*Photography by Daniel Croce