On November 1st, Lisbon’s RCA Club hosted three brutal forces to mark Dia dos Mortos — the Day of the Dead. Promoter SLC Experience brought together Brazilian act Meggera and Portuguese bands Cult of Alcaeus and Haunted Minds for a night defined by unrelenting heaviness and a succession of circle pits.
Cult of Alcaeus channel the raw energy of Death, Thrash and Groove Metal into a sound that paints a dark, dystopian world on the brink of collapse.
Around 20:30, the stage filled with smoke as the band prepared to open the night at RCA. They began in a sombre atmosphere with “The Odyssey of the Soul”, a track from the *Doomed Cycles* trilogy featured on *Doomed Algorithms* — a split release with Necro Algorithm from January of this year. The track addresses the need to escape reality, acknowledging the inevitability of the cycle’s end while holding open the possibility of rebirth. The crowd warmed quickly to the Death/Thrash and Groove Metal of “Raging Vortex”, which triggered the first mosh pit of the night. That track and the two that followed will appear on the band’s forthcoming album, currently in preparation. “Chains of Retribution” explores the concept of karma, while “Echoes of a Broken World” reflects on the attempt to control the chaos the world has become — both tracks rooted in 90s influences but delivered with a modern sound.
D-Void and Melkor, members of Necro Algorithm, joined Cult of Alcaeus onstage for a powerful rendition of Celtic Frost’s “Circle of the Tyrants”. D-Void’s constant guitar picking cut through the mix as Ares Baal urged the crowd into a circle pit. With fierce guitars, a ferocious low end and aggressive vocals, Necro Algorithm — to the audience’s surprise — remained onstage for “Forged by Rage”, a track that explores anger as both a creative and destructive force, also part of the aforementioned trilogy. They closed with “Iron Rebellion”, which guitarist Pophíis Homega describes as “a powerful anthem channelling the raw energy and defiance that define Heavy Metal” — a song about willpower and the testing of resilience.
Scorpion, vocalist of Haunted Minds, then took the stage for the final demolition. During the intro of the Nailbomb cover “Wasting Away”, in the midst of his eccentric and infectious stage movement, Scorpion accidentally stepped on Vlad Cyanide’s bass cable, cutting the signal and extending the introduction — a moment that drew laughter from the crowd. The circle pit and mosh pit formed once again at Scorpion’s invitation. Cult of Alcaeus closed their set with thanks to a crowd that was visibly satisfied with the performance. Special thanks to Pophíis Homega and Ares Baal for taking the time to speak with us.
With the crowd warmed up and hungry for more, Haunted Minds took the stage. The band describe their sound as “Metalcore or Thrash/Death Metal, depending on the inspiration behind each track.” Formed in January 2025 with a different lineup on guitar and bass, they quickly felt the need to bring in three additional members — two guitarists and a new bassist.
The band made their live debut at Casa do Artista Amador in Famalicão, and a month later, following the departure of one guitarist, came close to cancelling their appearance at the Underground Metal Fest. As Scorpion explained: “With our drive and ability to write music, in six months we put together a repertoire of eight tracks that gives us a forty-minute set.” That was exactly what the RCA Club crowd witnessed. Taking a stage dressed with skulls, the band entered dressed in full uniform — boilersuits and masks that, in their own words, “mark the personality of each member”, concealing their identities behind what they call their “insane masks.”
Following the intro, they launched into “Prisoner”, “Insane Maze” and “I’m the Real God” — all well received, with Scorpion continuously pulling circle pits from the crowd. Next came “Fly”, the band’s only recorded single, released through Underground Music before the label closed its doors months later. Amid a haze of smoke, Bugs Slammer, vocalist of Crucivore, was invited onstage to join the band for a cover of Sepultura’s “Territory”. The crowd sang along as one, headbanging throughout.
The set continued with “Shattered Bloodline” and “Phantom of the Opera”, the latter featuring a particularly memorable introduction in which each band member is presented individually, performing in turn. Scorpion introduced the newest member — “just 17 years old” — Macau on guitar, followed by Cézar, “coming from the other side of the planet”, then Abadon on bass. “I’m Scorpion — thank you very much. We are Haunted Minds.” Both Scorpion and Persan, who handles drums, are also members of Crucivore and Ata. The set closed with “Ten Seconds to Die” — a track running, true to its title, to approximately ten seconds. The crowd bid the band farewell with applause, devil horns and raised fists. Haunted Minds will appear at Hell Christmas at Casa do Artista Amador on December 27th — “our fifth show in just one year” — with their debut album expected in early 2026. Special thanks to Scorpion for taking the time to speak with us.
For the final and most devastating set of the night, Meggera returned to the RCA Club stage — their second appearance there following a show in April 2024. Known for their aggressive sound and overwhelming stage presence, the band ran through material from their only album, *Half an Hour of Butchering*, released in 2024. There was no preamble. The band entered over an intro and went straight into “Lethargy”, setting the tone from the very first second. The crowd responded immediately — a mosh pit formed within moments and the energy never let up for the duration of the set.
“Guillotine”, “No One” and “Shiver” followed, executed with precision and aggression, keeping the floor in constant motion. The intensity held through “Reconnect”, a new track destined for the next album, for which several songs are already prepared, and “Bounty Hunter”, a moment that made the band’s total commitment fully evident. One of the most striking aspects of the night was the direct and participatory relationship between band and audience. Meggera were visibly energised by the crowd’s reaction — which included members of Cult of Alcaeus and Haunted Minds — feeding off it and encouraging increasingly intense circle pits and mosh pits in return.
“Pain” and “Adoletreta” pushed the set to one of its peaks, cementing a performance without a single lull. The closing track, “Satan’s Affair” — which the band had debated including in the setlist — carries a slightly more melodic quality than the rest of the material, yet it became one of the most memorable moments of the night, drawing an explosive response from the crowd. Meggera’s set was, without question, a closing statement worthy of Dia dos Mortos: intense, chaotic and deeply energetic. A performance that reinforced their standing as a dominant live force, and one that made clear that on this night, stage and floor operated as one.
MEGGERA
CULT OF ALCAEUS
HAUNTED MINDS
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