The awe has its own force of gravity. The three members of Mystifier have made a pilgrimage to the Cemitério do Bonfim in Belo Horizonte, nearly 800 miles south of their hometown, Salvador, that sits on Brazil’s east coast. Amid row upon dense row of gothic gravestones and mausoleums stands a structure that has become the most potent epicentre of the country’s underground metal scene and beyond. Flanked by two dark pillars holding up an imposing arched shrine, a contrasting white marbled, crucified Christ looks down, as if in mourning for the act of blasphemy that was carried out under its shadow. It was here in 1987 that four bullet-belted, ghoulishly made-up teenagers shot the cover for the album without which Mystifier, and a host of other bands now sworn to the dark, would not exist: Sarcófago’s landmark black/thrash debut, I.N.R.I..
Band founder and guitarist, Armando ‘Beelzeebubth’ da Silva Conceição, vocalist, bassist and keyboard player Diego DoUrden and drummer Eduardo ‘Warmonger’ Amorim are being filmed for an online documentary on Mystifier, Dois dias na Capital do Metal da Morte (‘Two Days In The Capital Of Death Metal’). Across its 46 revealing minutes, it’s made clear that their deep and profound connection to their roots is inseparable from the multi-faceted, often contrarian and trailblazing path they’ve travelled since their formation two years after I.N.R.I.’s release. “To talk about emotions is quite easy, right, my brothers?” muses an overcome Beelzeebubth. “To talk about sensations is a little difficult.”