The Heavy Years of Rock & Heavy Metal in Portugal

The national metal movement wasn’t always as prolific as it is today. In the late 1970s, few people knew the meaning of the term “Heavy Metal”. There were hardly any Portuguese bands, and the record market showed zero interest in the genre. Back then, it wasn’t easy to find records by foreign groups, and when it came to local products, releases were practically nonexistent. Since few stores sold albums that were released abroad at that time, those interested in buying records by Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, AC/DC, Deep Purple, or UFO had to rely on foreign mail-order sales and used record stores.

We’re at the turn of the decade from the 1970s to the 1980s, and national heavy rock bands are very scarce, making it impossible to talk about a true movement. From those years, it’s impossible not to mention two names that emerged from the famous “boom” of Portuguese rock in the 1980s – NZZN and Roxigénio -, not so much for the weight of their sound, but for the subsequent influence they showed over all the collectives that followed in their footsteps.

To begin with, NZZN is seen by many as the pioneering band of Portuguese metal, and suspicions are confirmed when you realize they were the first to release a national single of the genre. “Vem Daí” was released in 1980 and became a relative success, reaching the top spot in the preferences chart of the “Rock em Stock” program. It was precisely through the broadcasts of Luís Filipe Barros – and also those of António Sérgio – that new record releases from abroad reached those interested.

Locally, the Roxigénio were also starting to make a name for themselves, debuting with a concert at the Pavilhão Académico do Porto on May 9, 1980. António Garcez’s new venture – who had been part of Arte & Ofício – was well received, and by the end of the year, the band’s first album, “Roxigénio”, was released. This is also the first studio-recorded album to feature Filipe Mendes (ex-Chinchilas and Heavy Band), considered the best national guitarist at the time. The group’s lineup was completed with the participation of bassist José Aguiar and Brazilian drummer Betto Palumbo. Despite exploring a clearly heavy metal sound sung in English, the album started playing on the radio the following year. After the album, the single “Song at Middle Voice” was released, and the group underwent some lineup changes. They played in Vilar de Mouros, released the album “Rock’n’Roll Men”, and eventually disbanded shortly after.

Still in 1981, Mac-Zac (led by brothers Paulo and Luís Barros) formed in Porto, also playing in the north of the country were Xeque-Mate, Ferro & Fogo, and Jarojupe. Around this time, in Lisbon, groups like Valium, STS Paranoid, and Sepulcro were taking their first steps. The explosion of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal became the main source of inspiration for the first Portuguese heavy metal bands, and in the following years, some of these groups changed their sound or decided to cease activities.

On the airwaves, António Sérgio hosted the famous Lança Chamas on Saturdays in the afternoon. A small cult grew around the show, with Paulo Fernandes and Gustavo Vidal being two of the main driving forces. The station tried to cancel the show twice, but was flooded with letters. In Lisbon, the Rock Rendez Vous already hosted matinees dedicated to heavier sounds, and when STS Paranoid (whose name meant Satan Take Our Souls) played, they showed they were the most popular band in the capital.

On December 15, 1984, in Santo António dos Cavaleiros, the first Portuguese heavy metal festival took place, featuring Tarantula, Xeque-Mate, and STS Paranoid, among others. On October 4, 1986, the Metal Stage event happened at Cine Plaza in Amadora, with Cruise, Valium, Satan’s Saints, and STS Paranoid.

It’s also around this time that pirate radios emerged, often with shows that promoted metal. “Every town or city had at least two radio stations,” confirms Emanuel Ferreira, who still hosts his show Blast! on RUM. “Each station had its own show. Usually, they were run by enthusiasts who played what was popular locally or occasional imports. With the boom of Portuguese bands, they started playing demos by national bands.” The influence of these radios, especially Lança Chamas, led to the creation of many bands that only had money to record one song. These recordings were reproduced on computer cassettes or provided by those interested in getting to know the band. The genres were diverse, ranging from the glam rock of Ibéria, speed/thrash of Satan’s Saints, black metal of Black Cross, doom of Vasco da Gama (who recorded an album in 1988), FM rock of Cruise (who recorded a single), and Judas Priest-style power metal of Alkateya, considered by experts to be the best band of the era.

Formed by Beto, who previously was part of Sepulcro, the Lisbon-based Alkateya recorded three demos between 1985 and 1989, even going on a national tour. “When we released the third demo, the possibility of a contract arose,” says vocalist João Pinto. “And it’s this situation that ultimately contributed to the end of the band. The person who had shown interest in Alkateya left the label shortly after, and the possibility of recording went down the drain. We had already prepared everything to enter the studio, we felt disappointed and with very little strength to continue. The band eventually broke up.”

By this time, the groups were already numerous: Tao, Valium (now known as Casablanca), Comme Restus, W.A.D.S., Devil Across, Ibéria, Procyon, Massive Roar. In the north, Dove, Web, and Metal Brains emerged.

As new bands appeared and the volume of concerts increased, fan clubs also emerged. In addition to Feira da Ladra – where new vinyl releases appeared – these clubs were meeting points of choice for exchanging information and recordings. All of them had a publication in fanzine format attached, which spread the latest news about what was happening inside and outside the country.

Pioneers in this spectrum are Purgatório do Heavy Metal, Defensores da Fé (led by Pedro Cardoso), Heavy Metal Zombies Paranoid (all in Lisbon), and Brigada Metal Power (in the north). Nelson Santos – former editor of the fanzine Warning!, host of the program Pesos Pesados, and current host on TSF – revisits the era: “By the mid-80s, it was already easy to find foreign material, and there were already important releases that were being edited nationally. The big mystery was national bands, because radio promotion was scarce and on TV, nonexistent. First, you’d read something about a group in a fanzine, and only later would you manage to get a sound recording, at great cost. It was through publications like O Templo do Som Eterno, Último Massacre, and Legião Metálica that many new things were discovered.”

In 1987, a relatively strong movement began to grow on the south bank of the Tagus River, with Braindead, Thormentor, and The Coven.

Braindead formed in Almada, playing quite aggressive thrash metal, but eventually disbanded shortly after due to lack of interest. With experience accumulated in other groups, they reunited two years later and recorded a debut album that, for dubious reasons, was never released. They signed with EMI-VC and released “Blend”, where the collective adopted a funk metal sound similar to Red Hot Chilli Peppers in the early stages of their career. “Cry Alone” became a hit, but the second original album (“Room Landscapes”, 1994) failed to meet expectations. João Nobre joined Da Weasel, and the group ended its career in 1996 with a farewell concert in Costa da Caparica.

Pioneers in the death metal scene, Thormentor became known thanks to their three initial demos. The group, led by guitarist/vocalist Miguel Fonseca, underwent constant changes, but in 1991 released the single “Dissolved in Absurd” through independent label Slime Records, which later also released “The Shades Behind” by Sacred Sin. In 1994, the album “Abstract Divinity” was released, but due to editorial problems and instability, the band remained silent, broken only by occasional stage appearances in Almada.

Sérgio Duarte also led The Coven for some time but passed the baton to his brother Rui, who founded RAMP in 1988.

Still in 1987, Rui Fingers, Raf Maya, Paulo Ossos, Zé Paulo, and Beto Garcia founded V12, immediately recording a five-track demo. The reactions were positive, but the collective disappeared for some time. They reappeared in 1990 with a new vocalist and a self-titled debut album, released by Polygram.

In 1988, Cruise, Sepulcro, and Blizzard officially disbanded. STS Paranoid, Satan’s Saints, and Devil Across were on their last legs.

From the ashes of Cruise, Tao formed. The name comes from the vocalist’s nickname: Paulo “Tao” Fernandes, who was known as Paulo Scorp in Cruise. The bassist was ex-Satan’s Saints Samuel Lopes, who would later form Crush and found the label Música Alternativa.

Even at the beginning of the 1990s, the Barros brothers created Rock’n’School, the music school of Tarantula. Alongside Rec’n’Roll studios, a movement emerged in the north of the country, generating the appearance of groups like W.C.Noise, Dove, Genocide, and Gangrena. “This idea arose out of a need for survival,” responds Paulo Barros when questioned about the influence his school had on the musical scene. “The goal was to live off music, and we were aware that we would never be able to survive playing only in Tarantula. By creating the school and studio, we managed to educate a series of musicians who later formed new bands and gave a huge boost to the national movement.”

In 1990, everything changed with the emergence of the second generation of Portuguese metal. The demos became more professional, the underground fanzines and conditions were very different. However, it was only in 1991, with the release of the mini-album “Thoughts” by RAMP, through Polygram, that the most important turning point in the national metal scene occurred. “In terms of national heavy metal, the debut of RAMP was the first great moment of pride for everyone involved in the movement,” says radio host António Freitas. “RAMP showed impressive skill and played thrash metal with a lot of personality. Even back then, they had the potential to compete with what was being done abroad.” The Brazilian band Sepultura came to Portugal for the first time, and RAMP opened for them; for the first time, a Portuguese band managed to play with a foreign band and hold their own, eliciting an effusive reaction from the audience.

That concert [1st Heavy Metal Festival of Santo António de Cavaleiros] was excellent, at least until the police showed up and put an end to it all. It was the first time something like this had happened on a larger scale, and in terms of public attendance, things went smoothly and the room was packed. If you ask me [Paulo Barros, Tarantula] to point out a moment when things became more serious for Portuguese metal, I will always mention that festival.

ARTICLE PUBLISHED IN THE BLITZ NEWSPAPER ON 12/26/2000