André Matos

Andre Matos entered the Faculdade de Artes Santa Marcelina and in his final year he transferred to the Faculdade de Artes Alcântara Machado , graduating with a bachelor's degree in Orchestral Conducting and Musical Composition. Andre also studied lyrical singing for seven years with professor of vocal technique and interpretation Francisco Campos, professor at the University of São Paulo.

While he was at college, Andre Matos met Rafael Bittencourt and with him he had the idea of ​​starting a new band where they could mix heavy metal with classical music, which would later result in the creation of Angra. With Angra, he developed a career over nine years with tours throughout Brazil, Europe, Asia and Latin America, with more than a million copies sold and which gave him worldwide recognition, consecrating Andre Matos as one of the main vocalists of the so-called Power metal.

With Angra Andre Matos recorded the demo tape Reaching Horizons in 1992, the album Angels Cry in 1993, releasing the single "Carry On", EP "Evil Warning" in 1994, the demo tape "Eyes of Christ" in 1995 and the album Holy Land in 1996 In the same year, Angra released the single "Make Believe" and the EP "Freedom Call", in 1997 and the live album "Holy Live" and in 1998 the singles "Lisbon" and "Rainy Nights" and the album Fireworks.

At the beginning of 2000 Andre decided to leave Angra due to problems with the band's manager. Bassist Luis Mariutti and drummer Ricardo Confessori also left Angra together with Andre Matos and form the band Shaman (Shaman changed its name to Shaaman due to legal reasons, but the issue was solved and they renamed it back to Shaman, inviting Hugo Mariutti to be the guitarist. Right after their first album, Ritual, released in 2002, the band signed contracts with several labels abroad, such as JVC in Japan and Universal Music in Brazil.

The album even had one of its tracks "Fairy Tale", written by Andre Matos, included in the soundtrack of the global soap opera O Beijo do Vampiro . The following year was the release of the DVD RituAlive recorded at Credicard Hall and which featured special appearances by Marcus Viana, Tobias Sammet, (Avantasia, Edguy) Sascha Paeth, (Avantasia, Heavens Gate) Andi Deris and Michael Weikath, (both of Helloween) a DVD whose video and audio quality was considered above average. In 2005 Shaman released the album Reason which resulted in another world tour.

During this period Andre Matos also developed the Virgo project together with German guitarist and producer Sascha Paeth. This was a project more focused on Rock in general, with which Andre went beyond his traditional way of composing. Still in Shaman's early years, Andre Matos made guest appearances on the first two albums by the band Avantasia , created by Tobias Sammet. The albums The Metal Opera and The Metal Opera Part II were released in 2001 and 2002 respectively. Andre also participated in the project's first tour in 2008, at the time when Avantasia was releasing its third album The Scarecrow.

In 2006, Andre and Hugo and Luis Mariutti decided to leave Shaman and released an official statement explaining the decision. After the band's end, Andre Matos performed at the Live 'N' Louder festival with a team of musicians that included Luis Mariutti , Hugo Mariutti, André Hernandes, Fabio Ribeiro and Rafael Rosa, announcing shortly after that these would be the musicians who they would accompany him in his new venture, the beginning of his solo career.

Andre Matos' first album in his solo career was Time to Be Free, released in 2007 and followed by his first tour through Brazil, Europe and Japan with his new project. In 2009 the second album of his solo career was released under the name Mentalize . The following year, he would once again participate in the Avantasia project, this time on the album The Wicked Symphony , although this time he sang on just one track: "Blizzard on a Broken Mirror".

Still in 2010, Andre Matos and Finnish guitarist Timo Tolkki announced the formation of the supergroup  Symfonia. In April 2011, the supergroup, which also included Jari Kainulainen, Mikko Härkin and Uli Kusch, released their first and only album, In Paradisum, kicking off the band's world tour in the second half of 2011. The group broke up a few months later, after Timo Tolkki announced his retirement from music.

Andre Matos announced drummer Rodrigo Silveira, who would replace Eloy Casagrande , who went to Sepultura . Andre also announced that in early 2012 he had begun the recording process for the third album of his solo career.

In 2012, the band Viper announced the "To Live Again Tour" to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the album Soldiers of Sunrise, where they played the albums Soldiers of Sunrise and Theater of Fate for the first time in full. The first show took place on July 1st in the city of São Paulo, with the return of vocalist André Matos after 22 years since his departure to the band Angra and the classic lineup of Pit Passarell, Felipe Machado and Guilherme Martin. Guitarist Hugo Mariutti played in place of Yves Passarell , who eventually made appearances during the tour.

In July 2012 Andre Matos announced that his third solo studio album, The Turn of the Lights, would be released worldwide on August 22, 2012. In Brazil it was released by the record label Azul Music.

Due to the twentieth anniversary of the release of Angels Cry, the musician played the album in its entirety during the 2013 tour. Due to the success of the 2013 tour, the band decided to continue touring Brazil in 2014, the final performance of this tour took place on December 12, 2014 in the city of Sorocaba, São Paulo.

On April 8, 2015, Andre Matos completed 30 years of career and announced a major commemorative tour together with his solo band mates. On the same day, the 30th anniversary of the band Viper was celebrated with a big party at Manifesto Bar, in the city of São Paulo. The launch of the live CD "Viper – Live in São Paulo", referring to the band Viper's show in July 2012, was held on the day of the event.

On April 30, 2015, at the last show before the tour celebrating 30 years of Andre Matos' career, the departure of guitarist André Hernandes, who had played in the band since 2006, was announced. The departure was amicable and was due to "Zaza", who lives in Curitiba, is dedicating himself to his new projects.

To celebrate his 30 years of career, Andre Matos launched a special tour in 2015: the public would choose the songs that would be part of the show, among 110 compositions that cover the entire history of the vocalist in the bands Viper, Angra, Shaman and his solo career, in addition to his participation in projects such as Virgo, Avantasia and Symfonia. Depending on the fans' choice, it was possible that some songs would be played live for the first time in history. The voting process would be carried out in two stages, through the musician's official website.

On May 18, 2015, the debut of the Andre Matos 30 Years Tour took place in the city of Piedade, São Paulo. On the same day, André Hernandes' replacement guitarist was introduced: João Milliet. On May 25, 2018, his band Shaman announced their return with the classic lineup in São Paulo, at the Audio concert hall. This meeting took place after thousands of requests and even a campaign with the hashtag #voltashaman, after an arduous battle by fans against the rigidity that the original lineup demonstrated in returning to the band's activities,

the members answered the call of fans who were surprised by the unexpected news. After a few weeks, shows were announced for Brasília, Belo Horizonte, Rio Janeiro, Manaus, Fortaleza and Recife with Arch Enemy and Kreator. In February 2019, it was announced that the band Shaman would play alongside Avantasia as a special attraction on their tour of Brazil, which came to fruition months later.

Andre Matos died on June 8, 2019, aged 47. The death was announced by a note published on social media and signed by the members of the band Shaman. The media confirmed the news through band members and press officers.

"Fate brought us together, separated us, brought us together and now it has preached this to us again. It is with deep pain in our hearts that we say goodbye to Andre once again, this time definitively. In addition to the wound that will never healed, and Even though we know that we spent glorious moments with our companion and friend, the best of him will forever remain in our hearts."

Statement signed by Hugo Mariutti , Luís Mariutti, Ricardo Confessori, Fábio Ribeiro and Rick Dallal. It was later confirmed that Andre Matos passed away due to an acute myocardial infarction. In accordance with a wish expressed during his lifetime, no wake was held and the singer's body was cremated in an undisclosed location.

On July 13, 2019, the mayor of the city of São Paulo, Bruno Covas, officially decreed June 8, the date of Andre Matos' death, as Municipal Metal Day. On April 29, 2020, the governor of Paraná, Ratinho Júnior  also sanctioned “Metal Day” in the state in honor of the musician.

Albums

Soldiers of Sunrise (1987)

Theatre of Fate (1989)

All My Life (special guest) (2007)

To Live Again: Ao Vivo Em São Paulo (2015)

Angels Cry (1993)

Evil Warning (1994) ep

Live Acoustic at FNAC (1995)

Holy Land (1996)

Freedom Call (1996) ep

Holy Live – (1998)

Fireworks – (1998)

Time to Be Free (2007)

Mentalize (2009)

The Turn of the Lights (2012)

In Paradisum (2011)

Other participations

Nepal – Manifiesto (1996)

Looking-Glass-Self – Equinox (1998)

Superior – Younique (1998)

Time Machine – Secret Oceans Part II (1998)

Sagrado Coração da Terra – Ao Oeste do Sol, Oeste da Lua (2000)

Rodrigo Alves – Suddenly (2000)

Hamlet – William Shakespeare's Hamlet (2001)

Holy Sagga – Planetude (2001)

Karma – Into the Eyes (2001)

Avantasia – (The Metal Opera) Part I & II (2001 / 2002)

Avalanch – Los Poetas Han Muerto (2002)

Luca Turilli – Prophet of the Last Eclipse (2002)

Dr. Sin – Ten Years Live (2003)

Aina – Days of Rising Doom (2004)

Korzus - Ties Of Blood (2004)

Thalion – Another Sun (2004)

Epica – Consign to Oblivion (2005)

Eyes of Shiva – Deep (2006)

Clairvoyants – Word to the Wise (2008)

HDK – System Overload (2009)

Corciolli – Lightwalk (2009)

Avantasia – The Wicked Symphony (2010)

Avantasia – The Flying Opera (2011) live

My Alley – Hope (2011)

Trick or Treat – "Prince With 1000 Enemies" (2012)

Empürios – Cyclings (2013)

Art X – The Redemption of Cain (2016)

Soulspell – The Second Big Bang (2017)

Soulspell – 10 Years of Soul (2019)

Dune Hill – Song of Seikilos (2020)

Andre Matos - vocals (2006-2019)

Hugo Mariutti - guitar (2006-2019)

João Milliet - guitar (2015-2019)

Bruno Ladislau - bass (2010-2019)

Rodrigo Silveira - drums (2011-2019)