ANGRA To Reunite With KIKO LOUREIRO, EDU FALASCHI And AQUILES PRIESTER For 2026 BANGERS OPEN AIR Performance
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Brazilian metallers ANGRA will stage a reunion of the band's "Rebirth" lineup at the 2026 edition of the Bangers Open Air festival on Sunday, April 26, 2026 at Memorial da América Latina in São Paulo. In addition to a performance by ANGRA's current lineup, fans will witness 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 comments: "Being the headliner of a major festival in Brazil, as a Brazilian band, carries enormous meaning for us, especially in the year ANGRA celebrates 35 years of existence. It proves that the metal made here has strength, history, and relevance."
The Bangers organizers added (translated from Portuguese): "Having ANGRA, and specifically the legendary 'Rebirth' lineup , as the headliner for Bangers Open Air is a historic milestone for Brazilian metal. In the year that a national metal festival reaches its fourth edition, an unprecedented feat in the country, this encounter consecrates the strength, trajectory, and relevance of the music produced here."
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 Italian-born Fabio Lione, formerly of LABYRINTH and RHAPSODY OF FIRE, as its third vocalist.
Falaschi later revealed that he was threatened with a lawsuit by ANGRA guitarist Rafael Bittencourt when he announced plans in 2017 to launch a tour under the banner "Edu Falaschi Angra Years". Edu stated in an interview that he was "sad" and "upset" to receive such a letter from someone who could have personally called him and resolved the issue without the need to involve lawyers. Falaschi ended up changing the name of the tour to "Rebirth Of Shadows".
In 2020, Falaschi released a DVD, Blu-ray and live CD called "Temple Of Shadows In Concert", recorded in 2019 at Tom Brasil, in São Paulo featuring material from "Temple Of Shadows" performed with an orchestra. The band that backed Edu at the gig consisted of Aquiles Priester (drums),Fabio Laguna (keyboards),Roberto Barros (guitar),Diogo Mafra (guitar) and Raphael Dafras (bass). Initially the product was only in Japan due to "bureaucratic problems" in Brazil, with Priester later claiming in an interview that "the songwriters in ANGRA" didn't want it released in Brazil due to the high "quality" of the product. Bittencourt denied those claims, telling the Heavy Talk channel that he never prevented the material from being released and criticized Falaschi, calling the vocalist "naive," "paranoid," and "unprofessional". Bittencourt also ripped Priester as a "liar" and accused the drummer of having "a very weak character".
Priester was a member of ANGRA from 2001 to 2008 and he played on the "Rebirth", "Temple Of Shadows" and "Aurora Consurgens" albums.
In a 2010 interview with Metal Shock Finland, Rafael stated about Aquiles's departure: "Aquiles has preferred to dedicate himself 100% to his own band. During the troubled times with the previous manager, he had an attitude of not caring about helping us out; he turned his back to us. That wasn't cool. So when things started to soften, there was a common decision between him and us that he should spend his energy only to the band he truly believes. And that was not ANGRA."
(Source: www.blabbermouth.net)
