I did not expect to wake up this morning and discover that Andre Matos, who was possibly the most famous power metal vocalist in all of Brazil, had died at the age of 47:

Former Angra frontman André Matos, who made his start with Viper in 1987, has died at age 47. Former Angra drummer Ricardo Confessori – who also worked with Matos in Shaaman from 2000 – 2014 – broke the news via Facebook:

“It is with deep pain in our hearts that we say goodbye to André once again, this time definitively.”

Angra has since released the following statement:

“With a lot of pain we received the news of the passing of Angra is in mourning. André was indispensable for the success and consecration of this band. The contribution of his talent and presence is invaluable.

There are no words right now that describe the size of the void left in the hearts of those who loved him closely and far Brazil loses an irreplaceable talent of the genre heavy metal and with it dies the hope of seeing it on our stages again.

May the angels receive your soul and may the goddess of fire keep the flame of her artistic legacy alight always. R.I.P. Andre Matos.”

No cause of death has been confirmed at this time.

Matos supported Avantasia with Shaaman on June 2nd in São Paulo and later performed with Avantasia that night. Frontman Tobias Sammet has posted the following message:

“I am devastated by the tragic news about the passing of my friend André Matos whom I shared the stage with only five days ago. I am in shock. My thoughts and prayers are with his family. Rest in peace, André Matos.”

Personally I actually strongly prefer the Eduardo Falaschi era of ANGRA, but I will never deny that Andre Matos has – or rather, had – a tremendous vocal range. You just have to listen to a few of his better songs to understand what a range he had, and what great stage charisma he possessed:

I’ve been listening to ANGRA since I was, like, 17 years old. Like I said, I never really got into the Matos era, and never really picked up on SHAAMAN, but I have always had huge respect for his skills. I’m just shocked to learn that he is gone.

My sincerest condolences to Mr. Matos’s family, friends, and bandmates. The world of heavy metal has lost a truly great talent.