Andre Coelho Matos (; 14 September 1971 – 8 June 2019) was a Brazilian singer and musician. He was involved in the heavy metal bands

Viper Vipers are snakes in the family Viperidae, found in most parts of the world, except for Antarctica, Australia, Hawaii, Madagascar, New Zealand, Ireland, and various other isolated islands. They are venomous and have long (relative to non-vipe ...

, Angra,

Shaman Shamanism is a spiritual practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with the spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritual energies into ...

and

Symfonia Symfonia was a short-lived symphonic power metal Supergroup (music), supergroup formed in 2010 by Andre Matos (vocals), Timo Tolkki (guitars), Jari Kainulainen (bass), Mikko Härkin (keyboards) and Uli Kusch (drums). On February 18, 2011, the band ...

. Since 2006, Matos had been dedicating his time to his solo career. In 2012, he was ranked No. 77 at the list of 100 Greatest Voices of Brazilian Music by ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

Brasil''.

Biography

Viper, Angra and Shaman

Matos grew up in his hometown of

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

. He began his musical education at the age of 10, when he received his first piano from his parents. As a teen, he would gather with his friends to listen to their favorite bands. Soon they began learning to play music too, and Matos joined his first band,

. The band first performed on 8 April 1985, when he was just 13 years old. That same year, they recorded their first demo tape, '' The Killera Sword''. Matos continued on vocals, but he had no intention of remaining a vocalist, a role he assumed only because his singing was the "least poor vocals of all of them", and because he physically resembled

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris (musician), Steve Harris. Although fluid in the early years of the band, the line-up for most ...

's vocalist,

Bruce Dickinson Paul Bruce Dickinson (born 7 August 1958) is an English singer who is best known as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden. Dickinson has performed in the band across two stints, from 1981 to 1993 and from 1999 to the present d ...

. His instruments of choice were always the piano and keyboard. Matos left Viper when the band began to change its musical style. He had become interested in

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

, and felt that his musical vision had begun to diverge from that of the other band members, who wanted to focus on heavier, "crude" music. After leaving Viper, Matos went back to school and finished his education in music, specializing in orchestral conducting and music composition. In 1991, Angra was formed, and with the first album, '' Angels Cry'', released in 1993, the band became famous in Japan and Europe. Later, ''

Holy Land The term "Holy Land" is used to collectively denote areas of the Southern Levant that hold great significance in the Abrahamic religions, primarily because of their association with people and events featured in the Bible. It is traditionall ...

'' and ''

Fireworks Fireworks are Explosive, low explosive Pyrotechnics, pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a large numbe ...

'' were released. Angra's style evolved from a

Helloween Helloween is a German power metal band founded in 1984 in Hamburg by members of bands Iron Fist, Gentry, Second Hell and Powerfool. The band has at times been called one of the most influential European heavy metal bands of the 1980s. Its first ...

-inspired melodic

speed metal Speed metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music that originated in the late 1970s from new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM) roots.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' (Berg Publishers, 2007), , p. 31. It is desc ...

to a unique blend of heavy-metal, classical music and traditional Brazilian influences which brought them worldwide critical praise. In 2000, Matos left Angra alongside Luis Mariutti (bass) and Ricardo Confessori (drums) because of a disagreement with guitar players

Rafael Bittencourt Angra is a Brazilian power metal and progressive metal band formed in 1991. They have released ten regular studio albums, six EPs, and seven live CD/DVDs to date. Led by Rafael Bittencourt, the band has gained a degree of popularity in Japan a ...

and

Kiko Loureiro Pedro Henrique "Kiko" Loureiro (; born 16 June 1972) is a Brazilian guitarist. He has been a member of several heavy metal bands, including Angra and Megadeth. Career Loureiro began studying music and playing acoustic guitar at age 11. He stud ...

concerning the band's management. Matos stayed with Mariutti and Confessori and recruited Mariutti's brother Hugo on guitar; together they formed the band

. The band was a sudden success due to the song "Fairy Tale" which was featured in the Brazilian soap opera ''Beijo do Vampiro'' (Vampire Kiss). Their first album, ''Ritual'', sold over 200.000 copies worldwide in the first year of its release and resulted in a tour with 150 concerts around the world and a DVD called ''Ritualive''. Their second release, ''Reason'', kept the fame and culminated in a concert in front of 10,000 people in Rio de Janeiro. After this, the band owner and former Angra drummer Confessori fired Matos and Mariutti brothers from the band. On 29 June 2018, Shaman announced a reunion of their original lineup to tour in celebration of their 17th anniversary.

Solo records ''Time to Be Free'' and ''Mentalize''

Prior to his death, Matos was carrying his solo career on along with Mariutti brothers, but he often said that calling it a solo career was a big mistake; it was a band with his name, and they all decided so due to the fame of his name around the world and the frequent departure from other bands. Their first album, '' Time to Be Free'' (2007), a themed album with lyrics focused on Matos' departure from Shaman, is considered the most symphonic record written by Matos. The album charted well both in Brazil and Europe and was a success in the eyes of both critics and fans. ''Time to Be Free'' is a more personal album, even though guitarist Hugo Mariutti wrote almost every song along with Matos and Pit Passarel, an ex-band partner of Matos in Viper, who was also a guest in this album. Besides all success heading the release of the album and the expectation over the album, Matos decided not to record any worldwide video clips; he only recorded and released an exclusive video clip for the Japanese audience which features a cover. ''Time to Be Free'' was followed by a tour with more than 50 concerts all over the world; Matos was invited to tour with Scorpion and

Edguy Edguy is a German power metal band formed in 1992 in Fulda by students Tobias Sammet, Jens Ludwig, Dominik Storch, and Dirk Sauer. Initially named after their math teacher, the band faced early rejections from record labels but persevered, relea ...

(an old friend, and this friendship began when Matos was in Angra and Edguy was invited to be the front act for Angra's Fireworks tour), taking place in Europe, Brazil and Japan, and in festivals like Loud Park, Live and Louder, and Finnish Metal Expo. Matos was also called to be headliner in

ProgPower USA ProgPower USA is a progressive and power metal festival held annually in the United States since 2001. Its upcoming edition, ProgPower USA XXIV is scheduled to take place on September 3–6, 2025. The festival's band selection process focuses o ...

, but due to problems with their passport, they canceled the concert; he was replaced by another Brazilian band called MindFlow. At the end of the tour, Matos joined Hangar (a up-and-coming Brazilian metal band) to a metal Christmas project, before returning to the studio to record his new album. ''Mentalize'' was released in Brasil and Japan first, at the end of 2009, and a tour started in Brazil, with concerts in Rio de Janeiro, Recife, São Paulo, Fortaleza, and some other cities. It was released in early 2010 in Europe, so Matos would profit to play in some summer festivals. ''Mentalize'' was produced by Corciolli, and mixed by

Sascha Paeth Sascha Paeth (born 9 September 1970) is a German guitarist, bassist, record producer and mixer known for working with heavy metal bands such as Avantasia, Edguy, Angra, Shaman, Rhapsody of Fire, Kamelot, After Forever and Epica. He owns the ...

Collaboration with Avantasia and Symfonia

In 2001, Matos was one of the guests on

Tobias Sammet Tobias Sammet (born 21 November 1977) is a German musician, songwriter, and music producer. He is the singer and primary songwriter of the power metal band Edguy, and the founder of the metal opera project Avantasia. Career Sammet founded Edgu ...

's metal opera

Avantasia Avantasia is a German Supergroup (music), supergroup rock opera, metal opera project created by Tobias Sammet, vocalist of the band Edguy. It has been characterized as a rock opera, as it features the contributions of various vocalists and music ...

, playing the part of 'Elderane the Elf' in the Metal Opera albums. He was also part of their first world tour in 2008 as one of the main guests. In 2010, he was featured in the album ''

The Wicked Symphony ''The Wicked Symphony'' is the fourth full-length album by Tobias Sammet's German metal opera project Avantasia, released on 3 April 2010, parallel with ''Angel of Babylon''. ''The Wicked Symphony'' was released both as part of a box set, with the ...

'' providing vocals for "Blizzard on a Broken Mirror". Matos is also featured on the live album/DVD '' The Flying Opera''. His last appearance with Avantasia was in São Paulo on 2 June 2019, a few days before his death. In November 2010, Matos joined

, a power metal supergroup formed in with

Timo Tolkki Timo Tapio Tolkki (born 3 March 1966) is a Finnish musician best known as the former guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer of the power metal band Stratovarius. With his tenure lasting for more than twenty years, he was the longest standing ...

Uli Kusch Ulrich Kusch (born 11 March 1967) is a German heavy metal drummer. He is best known for playing with Helloween, Gamma Ray, Masterplan and Holy Moses, among others. He is known for his technical style of playing, fast-paced speed metal-like rh ...

Jari Kainulainen Jari "Jartsi" Kainulainen (born 29 April 1970) is a Finnish bass guitarist. He is best known as the former bassist of the power metal band Stratovarius from 1993 to 2005. He is currently the bassist of Masterplan, having joined 2012. After hi ...

, and

Mikko Härkin Mikko Härkin (born 25 May 1979 in Kuopio, Finland) is a Finnish power metal keyboardist, who has performed with Sonata Arctica and Kenziner. History Härkin begun to study piano at the age of 5. He joined ''Kenziner'' in 1998 and with them re ...

. They made their debut performance at Finnish Metal Expo 2011 and released their first and only album ''

In Paradisum "In paradisum" ( English: "Into paradise") is an antiphon from the traditional Latin liturgy of the Western Church Requiem Mass. It is sung by the choir as the body is being taken out of the church. The text of the ''In paradisum'' — with or w ...

''. As touring and second album plans didn't work as planned, Timo Tolkki (guitarist, ex-Stratovarius) announced that he would stop his life in the music industry and that Symfonia would not continue as a band.

Reunion with Viper and Shaman

On 20 April 2012, it was announced that Matos had returned to his former band Viper to make a reunion tour to celebrate the 25-year anniversary of the band's debut album, ''Soldiers of Sunrise''. The band played its first two albums, ''Soldiers of Sunrise'' and ''Theatre of Fate'', live in their entirety. After that, the solo band and Viper joined each other on the secondary stage of the biggest Brazilian festival,

Rock in Rio Rock in Rio is a biennial Brazilian multi-day music festival held at City of Rock in Rio de Janeiro. It later branched into other locations such as Lisbon, Madrid and Las Vegas. Ten incarnations of the festival have been held in Rio de Janeir ...

, for a special concert and opening act for

and

. On 29 June 2018, Shaman made a reunion of their original lineup to tour in celebration of their 17th anniversary. In February 2019, Shaman were announced as a special guest with

in Brazilian concerts.

Death

Matos died on 8 June 2019, aged 47. The death was announced by a note published on social networks and signed by the members of the band Shaman. The media confirmed the news through members and press agents of the band. It was later confirmed that Andre Matos died due to a heart attack. As a wish manifested in his life, there was no public wake and the singer's body was cremated in an undisclosed location. On 13 July 2019, the mayor of

, Bruno Covas, officially declared 8th June as São Paulo's Heavy Metal Day.

Andre Matos band members

*Andre Matos – vocals, keyboards, piano *João Milliet – guitars * Hugo Mariutti – guitars *Bruno Ladislau – bass guitar *Rodrigo Silveira – drums

Former members

* Eloy Casagrande – drums *Rafael Rosa – drums *Luís Mariutti – bass guitar *Fabio Ribeiro – keyboards *Andre Hernandes – guitars

Discography

Solo career

*'' Time to Be Free'' – 2007 *'' Mentalize'' – 2009 *'' The Turn of the Lights'' – 2012 *''Moonlight: The Best of Andre Matos'' (compilation) – 2019 * "Life Goes On" (single) – 2020

Viper

*'' Soldiers of Sunrise'' – 1987 *'' Theatre of Fate'' – 1989 * '' All My Life'' (special guest) – 2007 *''To Live Again: Ao Vivo Em São Paulo'' – 2015 *''The Spreading Soul Forever'' ''Single'' – 2020

Angra

*'' Angels Cry'' – 1993 *'' Evil Warning'' (EP) – 1994 *''Live Acoustic at FNAC'' – 1995 *''

'' – 1996 *''Freedom Call'' (EP) – 1996 *'' Holy Live'' – 1998 *''

'' – 1998 *'' Best Reached Horizons'' (compilation) – 2012

Virgo

*''Virgo'' – 2001

Shaman

*''

Ritual A ritual is a repeated, structured sequence of actions or behaviors that alters the internal or external state of an individual, group, or environment, regardless of conscious understanding, emotional context, or symbolic meaning. Traditionally ...

'' – 2002 *'' RituAlive'' (live album) ''– 2003'' *''

Reason Reason is the capacity of consciously applying logic by drawing valid conclusions from new or existing information, with the aim of seeking the truth. It is associated with such characteristically human activities as philosophy, religion, scien ...

'' – 2005 *''Video Clip Reason'' – 2020

Symfonia

*''

'' – 2011

Other participations

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

– '' Manifiesto'' – 1996 *Looking-Glass-Self – ''Equinox'' – 1998 *

Superior Superior may refer to: *Superior (hierarchy), something which is higher in a hierarchical structure of any kind Places * Superior (proposed U.S. state), an unsuccessful proposal for the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to form a separate state *Lak ...

– '' Younique (album)'' – 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 Karma (, from , ; ) is an ancient Indian concept that refers to an action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences. In Indian religions, the term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect, often descriptively called ...

– ''Into the Eyes'' – 2001 *

– '' (The Metal Opera) Parts I'' '' & II'' – 2001 / 2002 *

Avalanch Avalanch is a Spanish heavy metal band formed in Asturias in 1993. Led by composer, producer and guitar player Alberto Rionda, the band has released nine studio albums, plus a handful of compilations, DVDs and English versions of their works ...

– ''Los Poetas Han Muerto'' – 2002 *

Luca Turilli Luca Turilli (born 5 March 1972) is an Italian composer, arranger, producer and multi-instrumentalist. He is the original guitarist and a founder of the symphonic power metal band Rhapsody, later called Rhapsody of Fire, for which he composed ...

– ''

Prophet of the Last Eclipse ''Prophet of the Last Eclipse'' is the second studio album in a trilogy by Luca Turilli's eponymous band. It was released on November 26, 2002, by Limb Music Productions. The ten tracks tell a story about the world Zaephyr and its destruction. Tu ...

'' – 2002 * Dr. Sin – '' Ten Years Live'' – 2003 * AINA – '' Days of Rising Doom'' – 2004 *

Korzus Korzus is a Brazilian thrash metal band formed in São Paulo in 1983. They are one of the first bands of the Brazilian thrash metal scene, along with bands like Sarcófago and Sepultura. Their first release was issued in the seminal metal compi ...

- '' Ties Of Blood'' - 2004 *Thalion – ''Another Sun'' – 2004 *

Epica Epica or EPICA may refer to: * Epica (band), a Dutch symphonic metal band * ''Epica'' (Kamelot album), 2003 * ''Epica'' (Audiomachine album), 2012 * The European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica (EPICA) * The Epica Awards (International Adver ...

– ''

Consign to Oblivion ''Consign to Oblivion'' is the second studio album by Dutch symphonic metal band Epica, and was released in 2005. The song "Trois Vierges" features a guest appearance by then- Kamelot vocalist Roy Khan. The album's lyrics are inspired by the ...

'' – 2005 *Eyes of Shiva – ''Deep'' – 2006 *Clairvoyants – ''Word to the Wise'' – 2008 * HDK – '' System Overload'' – 2009 * Corciolli – ''Lightwalk'' – 2009 *

– ''

'' – 2010 *

– '' The Flying Opera'' (live album) – 2011 *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

Filmography

* ''Andre Matos: Maestro do Rock'' – 2021 * ''Andre Matos: Maestro do Rock - Episode 2'' – 2023

Bibliography

* ''Andre Matos: O Maestro do Heavy Metal'' – 2020

References

External links

Official website
(archived) {{DEFAULTSORT:Matos, Andre 1971 births Angra (band) members Brazilian heavy metal singers 2019 deaths Musicians from São Paulo 21st-century Brazilian male singers 21st-century Brazilian singers Brazilian heavy metal keyboardists English-language singers from Brazil Child rock musicians Brazilian male pianists 20th-century Brazilian male singers 20th-century Brazilian singers Viper (band) members Shaman (band) members 21st-century Brazilian pianists Symfonia members