ANGRA's RAFAEL BITTENCOURT On New Singer ALÍRIO NETTO: 'He's A Virtuoso, But He's Also A Friend'

In a new interview with Sakis Fragos of Rock Hard Greece, guitarist Rafael Bittencourt of long-running Brazilian metallers ANGRA spoke about the band's latest addition, singer Alírio Netto, who officially replaced longtime ANGRA vocalist Fabio Lione last November. Regarding how Alírio has been received by the ANGRA fans, Rafael said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, we had only a few concerts in Brazil. He is Brazilian, and people love him here in Brazil. He's a friend of the band for a long time, so it was a natural thing. The most important thing now is not to find only a person who's able to sing ANGRA songs, who's very — how to call it? — a virtuoso on his voice. This is not the approach, because there's lots of great singers, and nowadays we have information about how to play or how to sing; it's much more accessible. So he's a virtuoso, but also he is a friend. He's a person that we're used to have around. And as you get old, it's just harder to bring someone into your house, into your home. So that's the biggest issue. And Alírio's was already visiting me and sleeping at my place even before ANGRA, so it was a natural thing."

Asked if Alírio's strong theatrical background has influenced ANGRA's live presentation in any way, Rafael said: "Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. He's always coming up with good insights about the performance, about how the concert… It shouldn't be just some guys playing the songs, but also communicating stuff, how we can benefit of the lights, of the videos in the LED screen, in the background. So, the dynamics of how the songs balance should go throughout the concert, like where the power speed metal songs would come, how to balance this with the ballads and stuff. So, yes, his theatrical background has influenced the concert a lot."

After Sakis noted that Alírio also plays piano, which gives off a "Freddie Mercury-like" vibe during live concerts, Rafael concurred. "We feel a little bit nostalgic because André [Matos, late ANGRA frontman] was a singer who played the piano, and now we can bring a little bit of that to the audience who is always happy to somehow relive this moment."

On the topic of how Alírio's addition to ANGRA has changed his perspective, not only on the band's legacy, but also on ANGRA's future, Rafael said: "It gives energy, because the excitement that our rehearsals, the time spent together, the music partner, it's always nice. Musicians like to have musicians around. Musicians like to talk about music. Musicians like to talk about next work or next song and how to perform that song on stage. And we get very excited with this new guy around. He was already a friend. He was always around, but I never knew how would it be to be really talking on the same level as an ANGRA member. He was always bringing insights about how ANGRA could be or what we could do because he's also a professional musician and a friend. We talked about ANGRA many times, but never as bandmates. And now we have this chance, so we are excited because the dynamics worked very well. I was always afraid to have him in the band and then our friendship could be harmed. But it was the opposite. We became even closer. And he's very dumb, like me, on his jokes. So we are dumb together. We make fools of ourselves all the time. So we get excited, and that excitement, it's a good motivation and a good inspiration to continue."

As for ANGRA's plans for new music, Rafael said: "We still don't have steady plans. What I want now is to celebrate these two big albums, 'Rebirth' [2001] and 'Holy Land' [1996]. Both of them have big anniversaries this year. But I don't want to make big plans for the future. I just want to live the present, live the moment."

ANGRA is preparing for an extensive return to the stage. The band has a special schedule planned for the rest of 2026, with performances in Brazil, rest of South America, Europe and Asia, including concerts celebrating the 30th anniversary of "Holy Land" and other dates dedicated to different chapters of its career.

ANGRA staged a reunion of the band's "Rebirth" lineup at the 2026 edition of the Bangers Open Air festival on April 26 at Memorial da América Latina in São Paulo. In addition to a performance by ANGRA's most recent lineup — featuring Lione, who had fronted ANGRA for 13 years — fans witnessed the long-awaited reunion of the lineup that recorded the "Rebirth" (2001) and "Temple Of Shadows" (2004) LPs, featuring the return of guitarist Kiko Loureiro, singer Eduardo "Edu" Falaschi and drummer Aquiles Priester. ANGRA also introduced its latest addition, Netto.

Lione officially joined ANGRA in early 2013 as the replacement for Falaschi.

Loureiro left ANGRA in 2015 to join MEGADETH and toured and recorded with the Dave Mustaine-led group for more than eight years before his exit from that band in September 2023.

Falaschi appeared on four ANGRA studio albums — "Rebirth", "Temple Of Shadows", 2006's "Aurora Consurgens" and 2010's "Aqua" — before quitting the band in May 2012, explaining in a statement that "there comes a moment in a man's life when it is necessary to make a radical decision in order to move forward with dignity and renewed energy." In 2006, Falaschi established his own band, ALMAH, and garnered international success. Following Falaschi's departure, there were discussions within the band's management about the possibility of original ANGRA singer André Matos returning to the fold. ANGRA eventually enlisted Lione as its third vocalist.

Priester was a member of ANGRA from 2001 to 2008 and he played on the "Rebirth", "Temple Of Shadows" and "Aurora Consurgens" albums.

2026 marks the 30th anniversary of the release of ANGRA's "Holy Land". The band will celebrate this anniversary with a special concert on September 23 at L'Olympia in Paris, France. This night will be divided in two parts: one during which ANGRA will perform "Holy Land" in its entirety, and another set covering the highlights of ANGRA's rich catalog. This show will also be a tribute to Matos, who passed away in June 2019, and will include an appearance by Loureiro, who will perform with Bittencourt, Andreoli, Valverde, Barbosa and Netto.

Press photo credit: Marcos Hermes