Metal was no longer a monolith. It was thrash, alternative, regional, global.
No coração do verão carioca de 2022, o Rock in Rio preparava um dia inteiramente dedicado ao metal — não como gênero único, mas como universo plural. Do palco principal ao Sunset Stage, o festival reunia décadas de história, continentes e subgêneros distintos, apostando que o público não queria apenas peso e velocidade, mas também virtuosismo, risco artístico e identidade local.
- Com o Iron Maiden já confirmado no palco principal, a tensão criativa se deslocava para o Sunset Stage, onde o festival precisava provar que sabia curar um lineup à altura.
- A parceria entre Living Colour e Steve Vai concentrava as expectativas mais altas: dois mundos de excelência técnica e ousadia estética prestes a se encontrar diante de uma multidão.
- O Bullet For My Valentine chegava ao festival em modo de reinvenção — com um álbum mais pesado e agressivo do que qualquer coisa que haviam feito antes, disposto a surpreender quem os conhecia apenas pelos sucessos do passado.
- Metal Allegiance e Black Pantera ancoravam os extremos do espectro: de um lado, o thrash norte-americano de precisão cirúrgica; do outro, a força do metal brasileiro reivindicando seu espaço num palco global.
- O dia se desenhava como uma declaração: o metal de 2022 não cabia numa única definição, e o Rock in Rio estava apostando tudo nisso.
O Rock in Rio 2022 se encaminhava para um Metal Day de rara profundidade. Enquanto o Iron Maiden garantia o topo do palco principal, era no Sunset Stage que a programação revelava sua verdadeira ambição — um mosaico de subgêneros, geografias e gerações dentro do metal.
O destaque central era a parceria entre Living Colour, banda nova-iorquina que há décadas expandia os limites do gênero, e o guitarrista Steve Vai. A combinação sinalizava que o festival entendia seu público: não bastava volume, era preciso maestria técnica e visão artística.
O Bullet For My Valentine encerraria a noite no Sunset Stage carregando o peso de um recomeço. Seu sétimo álbum, lançado no fim de 2021, marcava uma virada deliberada para um som mais cru e agressivo. Uma banda com mais de três milhões de álbuns vendidos e mais de duas décadas de estrada, ainda disposta a se arriscar.
O Metal Allegiance, supergrupo americano reverenciado na cena do thrash, traria a precisão e a adrenalina que definem o gênero em sua forma mais pura. Ao lado deles, o Black Pantera representaria o metal brasileiro no mesmo palco — e os Devotos completariam o dia.
O que o festival havia montado era, no fundo, um argumento: o metal não é um monólito. É thrash e alternativo, é local e global, é tradição e risco. O Rock in Rio 2022 apostava que o público queria tudo isso — e apostava alto.
Rock in Rio 2022 was shaping up to be a landmark year for metal. The festival had already locked in Iron Maiden as the headliner for Metal Day on the main stage, but the real depth of the programming would unfold on the Sunset Stage—a secondary but prestigious platform where the festival was assembling a lineup that spanned continents and subgenres within metal itself.
The centerpiece of that Sunset Stage bill was Living Colour, the New York-based band that had spent decades pushing at the boundaries of what metal could be, paired with virtuoso guitarist Steve Vai for what promised to be a special collaborative performance. It was the kind of pairing that suggested the festival understood its audience wanted not just volume and speed, but technical mastery and artistic ambition.
Bullet For My Valentine, the Welsh metalcore outfit, would close out the Sunset Stage's evening. The band had just released their seventh studio album in late 2021, also titled Bullet For My Valentine, and it marked a deliberate shift in their sound—heavier, more aggressive, more willing to push into raw territory than their previous work. Songs like "Rainbow Veins," "Knives," "Parasite," and "Shatter" showed a band that had been together since 1998 and had sold more than three million albums worldwide, still hungry to evolve. They were no longer the young upstarts trying to prove themselves; they were established enough to take risks.
Metal Allegiance, the American supergroup project that had become one of the most revered acts in the thrash metal community, would also perform. Their most recent album, Volume II: Power Drunk Majesty, had solidified their reputation as keepers of a particular flame—the kind of metal that ran on pure adrenaline and technical precision. Tracks like "We Rock," "Bound by Silence," and "Dying Song" suggested a band that understood how to deliver the kind of performance that would leave a crowd exhausted and exhilarated.
Rounding out the Metal Day programming on the Sunset Stage were Black Pantera, a Brazilian metal band, alongside Devotos, completing what the festival had assembled as a full day's worth of metal across multiple stages and styles. The lineup reflected something that had become increasingly true of major festivals: metal was no longer a monolith. It was thrash, it was alternative, it was regional, it was global. Rock in Rio 2022 was betting that audiences wanted all of it.
Citas Notables
The band's 2021 album marked a deliberate shift toward heavier, more aggressive territory— Description of Bullet For My Valentine's artistic direction
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why does a festival like Rock in Rio need two separate stages for metal on the same day? Isn't that redundant?
It's not redundant—it's strategic. The main stage with Iron Maiden is the statement, the headline. But the Sunset Stage lets them program depth. You get the legends, then you get the innovators, the regional acts, the bands pushing the sound forward. It's the difference between a concert and a festival experience.
So Living Colour with Steve Vai—is that a one-time thing, or are they actually collaborating?
The source doesn't specify, but the way it's announced suggests something special. You don't pair a legendary band with a legendary guitarist casually. It's either a full collaboration or a guest appearance, but either way, it's the kind of moment that makes people choose to be on that stage at that moment.
Bullet For My Valentine just released an album. Is that why they're headlining the Sunset Stage?
Partly, yes. They've got momentum—new material, a heavier direction they're excited about. But they're also one of the biggest metal bands in the world by sales. They've earned the closing slot through decades of work, not just because of one album.
What's Metal Allegiance? That sounds like a supergroup.
It is, essentially. It's the kind of project where respected musicians from the thrash scene come together. They're revered within the community, which means they're not the biggest draw for casual listeners, but for people who care about metal's roots and its technical side, they're essential.
So this lineup is really for people who know metal, not just people who like metal.
Exactly. There's Iron Maiden for the mainstream, but the Sunset Stage is curated for people who've thought about this music, who understand its history and its branches.