Metal shakes Rio de Janeiro’s City of Rock
Rio de Janeiro, Sep 2 (EFE).- The main stage of Rock in Rio on Friday became a ‘samurai universe’ as legendary British heavy metal band Iron Maiden made the City of Rock rumble on the opening day of the festival.
Accompanied by Sepultura, Dream Theater and Gojira, Iron Maiden headlined metal day on the first of seven days of gigs amid a strong political tone reflecting the electoral tension in Brazil a month out from the presidential election.
Cries of “Out Bolsonaro! Out Bolsonaro!” were heard from the moment the doors to the City of Rock in Rio de Janeiro opened, and continued throughout the day.
Iron Maiden, founded in 1975 by bassist Steve Harris and considered one of the most important heavy metal groups of all time with more than 100 million records sold worldwide, was the most anticipated by the audience.
They played for more than two hours, covering songs from their 17th and most recent album “Senjutsu” and the best of the “Legacy of the Beast” world tour.
After a set of lights flickered on stage under the sound of Japanese taiko, simulated with Nicko McBrian’s drums, the band appeared before the insistent public.
Minutes later, frontman Bruce Dickinson, 64, jumped on stage to give life with his powerful voice to “Senjutsu,” the eponymous song of the album.
Fans of the British veterans went wild when a gigantic Eddie the Head mascot samurai appeared wielding a katana and delighted the crowd by battling guitarist Janick Gers in a David vs. Goliath fight.
“Stratego” and “The Writing on the Wall” completed this part of the show in the middle of a medieval Japanese city that emulated shogunate times on stage and that in minutes became a universe in which “the beast” began to roar, a fire thrower was activated by Dickinson, and a giant bird man and a plane from WWII collided.
A symphonic touch came at the hands of Sepultura, which surprised with classics by Beethoven, Stravinsky and Vivaldi adapted to the rhythm of hard rock.
Dream Theater had an effusive and enthusiastic audience until the end, enjoying classics such as “6:00” and “Endless Sacrifice,” and recent hits like “The Alien.”
Welsh band Bullet for my Valentine put on an energetic show from start to finish, closing the evening performances on the Sunset Stage, while French metal band Gojira, who had already been applauded in the City of Rock in 2105, imposed an ecological theme on metal day with its acclaimed “Amazonia.”
Lead singer Joe Duplantier said the song is about the “destruction of the forests and their inhabitants, the indigenous people of Brazil and other countries that share the Amazon.” EFE
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