Torture Squad

Torture Squad  born in 1993 in São Paulo/ Brasil. Their visceral and powerful death/thrash metal  has been proven on their albums , Shivering (1998), Asylum Of Shadows (2000), The Unhloly Spell (2001) Pandemonium (2003) ,Death, Chaos And Torture Alive (2004) live cd, Death, Chaos And Torture Alive (2005) live DVD, Hellbound (2008) and the most recent album AEquilibrium (2010).
 
The group has gathered legions of fans with their electrifying concerts all over Brazil, Latin America and even hitting upon Europe as well. Torture Squad have played with great bands such as Anthrax, Dimmu Borgir, Kreator, Tristania, Krisiun, Monstrosity, Incantation, Dark Funeral, Absu, Desaster, HeadHunter, Holy Moses, Sodom, Origin, Exodus, Angra, Shaaman, Korzus , Overkill, Sepultura, Soulfly , Artillery , Annihilator, Gama Bomb among others…
 
The band’s first line-up was, Vitor Rodrigues (vocals), Cristiano Fusco (guitar), Castor (Bass) and Amilcar Christofaro (Drums).
 
Torture Squad released their debut album, “Shivering”, in 1998 and it was quickly followed by their 1999 sophomore album, “Asylum of Shadows”. Proving to be a landmark album for the band, it launched them into Europe to play 7 dates in Germany, giving the European metal scene a true taste of Brazilian metal.
 
In 2001, Torture Squad released their third album, “The Unholy Spell”, which was elected by audiences and Brazilian metal magazines as one of the 5 best Brazilian metal albums ever released! In this same year, the band shot their first video for the song “Abduction Was the Case”, which was showcased on Brazil’s MTV.
 
The following year saw the departure of guitarist Cristiano Fusco, who left the band due to personal reasons. Joining the ranks of Torture Squad was former Krisiun axe-man Mauricio Nogueira.
 
2003 arrived and Torture Squad released the acclaimed album “Pandemonium”. Since the release of this album, it has drawn fans from all over the world. An album that has been highly praised, elected by Roadie Crew Magazine, one of the biggest metal magazines in Brazil, as the best Brazilian metal album in 2003! It also got Torture Squad voted to be the headliners of Brazil Metal Union Fest, a great and important Brazilian metal festival at DirecTV Music Hall, São Paulo, Brazil. From webzines, to metal magazines all over the world, “Pandemonium” was indeed taking place.
 
Between 2004-2005, Torture Squad would release their first live CD and DVD, “Death, Chaos And Torture Alive”, and played throughout Brazil for almost two years.
 
In 2006, the band returned to Europe for 18 concerts between Germany and Austria including one gig at Musikmesse in Frankfurt Germany, which is the  biggest music fair of Europe! When Torture Squad returned to Brazil, crowds of over 10,000 people came to see Torture Squad at the Porão do Rock Fest Brasília/DF. The return home also marked the third time they would perform at the Brazilian Metal Union.
 
This followed the “Death, Chaos and Torture Alive” tour which was an extensive one over American Latin territories like Paraguay, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and Panama. During this time, the band was working on their next chapter in new music.
 
In November 2006, the band released the EP “Chaos Corporation”. The EP featured 2 brand new tracks, “Chaos Corporation” and “The Beast Within”, plus 3 bonus tracks from their 1993 demo tape “A Soul In Hell”.
 
In June 2007, Torture Squad was chosen (after winning the local Metal Battle) to represent Brazil in the Wacken Open Air Festival to take place August 2-4, 2007 in Wacken, Germany. Then, once at Wacken Open Air they played in the Metal Battle (at the W.E.T. Stage) with several other bands, having won the contest. With that, they won prizes along with a contract with Wacken Records from Germany which released their 2008 album,  Hellbound.
 
In January 2008, Mauricio Nogueira leaves Torture Squad and Augusto Lopes joined the band.
 
In 2008, Torture Squad embarked on a 60-date European tour, which included a show at Wacken Open Air.
The year of 2009 started pretty well for  Torture Squad. After the release of Hellbound and its excellent worldwide repercussion, the band toured Europe with two legends of thrash metal, Overkill and Exodus. This tour started in mid February in London, where the Brazilian group performs for the first time, and includes 12 more shows in countries like Spain, Germany, Italy, Holland, Switzerland and Czech Republic.
 
Their most recent studio album  “AEquilibrium” was released in Europe in August 2010 by Wacken Records / H'art / Zebralution / SAOL and in Brazil by Laser Company in September the same year . They  had recorded a new version for the title track of their third album “ The Unholy Spell”  which is included as bonus track with the title of “ The Unholy Spell 2010”. The album was recorded in São Paulo/Brazil, at Norcal Studios with producers Brendan Duffey and Adriano Daga.
 
In January 2011, the guitarrist Augusto Lopes leaves the band and André Evaristo is hired as official member of Torture Squad to replace him.
 
In spite of the line up change, things didn’t stop for the band. With the new guitar player, the band stayed on road in Brazil 'till July.
 
A month later the band crossed the Atlantic Ocean for the European leg of the Aequilibrium Tour 2011. Torture Squad appeared for the third time at Wacken Open Air, and performed more than 40 shows around 12 countries till the end of October.
 
Returning to Brazil, once more a set of dates were on the pipeline, two of those were highlights: The first one at the band’s hometown São Paulo, as they were invited by Overkill themselves to join them on the bill and the second one was the bands very first time in the state of Amapá one of the most remote states of the Brazilian territory headlining the Rock day at the Quebramar Festival in Macapá.
 
In march 2012, after 19 years in the line up, the lead singer Vitor Rodrigues decided to leave the band. Since then, the band became a trio with the guitar player André Evaristo singing too.
 
Now the busy schedule continues to TORTURE with important gigs in the band’s career, which will be the festival "Metal Open Air" in São Luiz do Maranhão, with "Anthrax" and "Misfits" in São Paulo, and for the first time in "Palmas" (TO) as the main attraction in "Tendencies Festival".
 
On August 10th of the same year the band was invited to headline the first night of one of the most prestigious Festivals in South America "Quito Fest 2012" that takes place in Equador's capital Quito, where the band played in front of 12000 people.
 
In this year , 2013, the band celebrates 20 years of their very  first  demo-tape "A Soul In Hell" that was recorded back in 1993 on the  "Twenty Years Torturing People Tour / 1993-2013". This tour has started in May , 2013 throughout  Europe with Artillery, Gama Bomb & Tantara.
 
At the moment, the band is in studio recording their seventh studio album entitled "Esquadrão de Tortura " which is gonna be a concept album talking about the time when Brazil was ruled by a military regime, in the period of 1964/1985.This album is scheduled to be released on the first semester of 2013.
 
Current Line-up:
 
André Evaristo – guitar and vocals
Castor - bass
Amilcar Christófaro - drums
 
 
TORTURE SQUAD: MEMBERS BIOGRAPHY 2013
 
BIOGRAPHY – AMÍLCAR CHRISTÓFARO
 
Right-handed, he is known for his velocity, technique and perfectionism, playing with open arms (hi hat with left hand), acquiring, thus, ability and versatility to play grooves as skank and blast-beats, with a great creativity on his work with double-bass.
 
His father, Claudemir Christófaro, was a drummer in the 60´s, when he taught at Conservatório Musical Ipiranga, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, also playing in ball bands and in a twist band, The Four Boys, alongside his uncle, Claudio Christófaro, on the bass. His older brother, Fábio Christófaro, also a drummer but not professionally, had an important role in his early career, and while his brother was out at work, Amilcar left the skateboard aside to risk some beats at his brother´s drums, until the day he was invited to join the former band of his brother, RTH, where, staying with them until 1992.
 
At the same time, he began to know a lot of aggressive metal bands such as Slayer, Metallica, Coroner, Sepultura, Morbid Angel, Ratos de Porão, Annihilator, Deicide, Krisiun, King Diamond and others. Since then, this fast, heavy and aggressive musical style sealed his passion and his way of playing the drums.
 
In late 1992, he was invited to join the metal band Torture Squad, where he is until now. With TS, Amilcar is always on tour and gigs, in Brazil and Europe, sharing the stage with the biggest names on the world musical scene, being part of important events and festivals, locally and internationally.
 
In July, 2011, during the European tour of their 6th album, Aequilibrium, Amilcar was invited to substitute Sepultura´s drummer for five concerts, even playing with both bands, on the same day, in a festival in Germany.
 
His major influences still are Dave Lombardo (Slayer), Lars Ulrich (Metallica), Iggor Cavalera (Sepultura era), Pete Sandoval (Morbid Angel), Gene Hoglan (Dark Angel and Death era), Mikey Dee (King Diamond era, Motörhead), Marky Edelmann (Coroner), Neil Peart (Rush), Scott Rockenfield (Queensrÿche), Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater era)
 
Along the years, he knew jazz and rhythm and blues styles. Drummers such as Buddy Rich, Billy Cobham, among others, had influence him, because, as Christófaro says: “they know how to mix technique, feeling and musicality like nobody”.
 
DISCOGRAPHY – Torture Squad
A Soul In Hell (demo) - 1993
Shivering - 1995
Asylum Of Shadows - 1999
The Unholy Spell - 2001
Pandemonium - 2003
Death, Chaos and Torture Alive - 2004 (CD & DVD)
Chaos Corporation (single) - 2007
Hellbound - 2008
Aequilibrium - 2010
VIDEOGRAPHY
DVD - Death, Chaos and Torture Alive – 2005
 
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BIOGRAPHY - ANDRÉ EVARISTO
 
Composer, arranger, conductor, teacher and singer, total freak guitar, André Evaristo was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Known as one of the most talented musicians from the scene of Heavy Metal music in the country, at age 14 began with the guitar, changing to the bass and drums, going back to six strings at the age of 20.
 
After several experiences with local Death, Thrash and Heavy Metal bands, MPB and ballroom groups, began to work as a teacher and to devote himself entirely to the music.
 
The search for improvement led him to study in EMESP - Tom Jobim (former ULM) and later, after participating as a bursar of the 28th Festival de Campos do Jordão and the 20th Oficina Musical de Curitiba, joined the School of Arts and Communications of the University of São Paulo (USP) in the course of COMPOSITION.
 
In 2004, he served as art educator in the implementation project of the School of Art Initiation at CEU Vila Atlantica, and since 2001 has worked as a professor of instruments (singing, guitar, bass, drums) and the theoretical (perception, music history, harmony), in B MAIOR school of music, Sao Paulo.
 
Did and does perform, in the studio, activities like composition, production and audio engineering as well as recordings of guitar, bass, drums and vocals.
 
As soundman worked in plays such as "Igual contra Igual" of Wolney de Assis and in "Apocalipse 1:11", of the theater company TEATRO DA VERTIGEM.
 
Played with Celio Barros in the Free Jazz group INTERCHANGES and participated in the founding of the coral LUMIÁ ENSEMBLE, which had its premiere in Sao Paulo next to the Portuguese group MADREDEUS. He also sang in CORAL DO ESTADO DE SAO PAULO (current Coral Jovem do Estado de Sao Paulo).
 
While he held such activities, participated in the formation of the heavy metal band MAGISTER LUDI, later renamed MAGISTER. With the great response for the band, there were many good partnerships like the participation, via HEAVY MELODY magazine, on the project HAMLET in the track "The King's Return" (Krusader) where André did the vocal arrangement and direction while the band was responsible for the choirs of the music.
 
Since the end of 2006, André decided to devote himself primarily to the guitar and his great passion: Heavy Metal. Since then he has played with several cover bands (PERFECT MEN, HELLOWEEN COVER BRAZIL, SLAYTANIC, ACHADOS & PERDIDOS), and authorial bands, such the afored mentiond MAGISTER, SIDE EFFECTS, INVISIBLE ORDER and SOUNDER. The latter had his LP/CD "Praise Be To Death" released in 2010 in Europe via Metal Inquisition Records with production and mixing of André Evaristo.
 
In 2010, he was invited to join one of the most important bands in Metal history of Brazil: TORTURE SQUAD.
Ready for the tour of its latest studio work, "Æquilibrium", their Thrash/Death Metal prepares to be one of the big acts of the German festival Wacken Open Air in 2011.
 
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BIOGRAPHY - CASTOR
 
Born in may 14, 1975  Sao Paulo / Brazil, Castor started to be interested in bass guitar at the age of 12. Influenced by Steve Harris, Geezer Butler and Rudy Sarzo he afforded his first bass guitar when he turned 14 and started to play along with some heavy metal albums he got at that time such as Iron Maiden, Kiss, Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne, Metallica and many more.
 
Couple of months later, he joined in a band with some friends in the neighborhood just to play tunes from other bands so, in the meanwhile, he discovered that his ambition was not being stuck in a rehearsal room playing the same type of covers but playing own songs and turn out to be a professional musician.
 
In 1993, Castor was invited to join  Torture Squad and shortly after they recorded and released their first 4 track demo tape entitled "A soul in hell".
 
Castor is gonna start touring  with Torture Squad spreading the new album “ AEquilibrium”  in the second semester of 2010