2021 was way less tough than 2020 but it was still tough enough. In November I’ve finally attended some gigs with no restrictions, but in December this new COVID-19 strain brought some new rules and I’m getting a little apprehensive regarding some plans I’ve made.. But I’ll talk about it in the “expectations for 2022”. I’m still including one live stream in my top-5 gigs because the “real” ones didn’t happen before June and that one in April (which included an unplugged section and stories about the songs they’ve performed) still meant a lot to me:
- Infraktor at Metalpoint (Porto)
- Equaleft at Hard Rock Cafe (Porto)
- Hollywood Undead at MixOne Sound (“Undead Unhinged” live stream)
- GoDark at Metalpoint (Porto)
- Sugiru at Metalpoint (Porto)
My favorite records:
- “Aeromantic II” by The Night Flight Orchestra
- “Worship” by Hypocrisy
- “Hermitage” by Moonspell
- “SepulQuarta” by Sepultura
- “Aggression Continuum” by Fear Factory
From big movie-like productions to the simplicity of the ocean, going through animation, here are the videos whose producers I tip my hat to the most:
- “Burn For Me” by The Night Flight Orchestra
- “Funeral Derangements” by Ice Nine Kills
- “Treading Water” by Danny Rose
- “Ich hasse Kinder” by Till Lindemann
- “Children Of The Gray” by Hypocrisy
My expectations for 2022 are, in general, all the postponed concerts and festivals that should have taken place in the last couple of years. But then there are these specific items:
- This is the 4th time I put here the 4th Hills Have Eyes album, so let’s hope that the matching number 4 is the lucky strike…
- The Hollywood Undead headlining gig in Hanover (June).
- The W.A.S.P. 40th anniversary gig in Madrid (March).
- Really curious about The Halo Effect album (and gig in Lisbon).
- A chance to see Pitch Black live, after missing their long-awaited return due to health issues.
Enjoy 2022 as much as possible, peeps. Stay safe.
Renata “Pieni” Lino
It was the closing of a chapter in Equaleft’s book, marking the last gig promoting “Adapt & Survive”. If memory serves me well, they’d said that already a few months ago, but just like Marquito, they couldn’t say no to Sepultura. I believe this time it was really the last one, though, as I know a new record is taking a solid shape, with a new drummer who will be announced soon. But that night was still just for what are already considered classics among the national underground – the intrepid “Invigorate” (featuring the mandatory Star Wars lightsabre), the groovy “Tremble”, the eccentric “Maniac” or the classy “Uncover The Masks”. And in the end, “their trademark” box of cookies was distributed among the fans.
There were a lot of Equaleft t-shirts in the crowd, but when Derrick Green himself goes on stage wearing one… damn, even I felt proud – hence the need of mentioning this little detail. Regarding what really matters: when you’ve been in a band for over 30 years and “big” for almost as long, one hour and a half always seems awfully short, especially after the release of another album. The trick is finding the right balance between new and old and, of course, performing both like there was no tomorrow. Guess who were able to do just that? (Okay, I confess I’d rather watch them play “Troops Of Doom” than “Inner Self”, but we can’t always have our way, and the near sold-out venue went bananas screaming along “nonconformity in my inner self / only I guide my inner self”, so who am I to complain?). Also, if you’ve read my live reports before, you probably know how I disapprove of solos; Sepultura seem to share this opinion as Andreas Kisser proved his skills – as if he still needed to – by playing the instrumental “Iceberg Dances”, out of the latest “Machine Messiah” the band’s currently promoting.
“I Am The Enemy” kicked it off, “Roots Bloody Roots” (what else?) finished it up, in-between Derrick told us “this is your fucking territory” and that he wanted to see us all arise, and Andreas dedicated “Sepultura Under My Skin” to Moonspell and F.C.Porto – the first for being good friends and representing Portugal’s metal throughout the world, the same way Sepultura do with Brazil’s; the latter… well, we all know how football is big in Brazil.
Valkyrian Music 