KORZUS

Korzus was formed in 1983 by singer Marcello Pompeu, guitarists Silvio Golfetti and Eduardo Toperman, bassist Dick Siebert, and drummer Maurício Brian. At the time, Brazil's youth were still trying to catch up to international trends as the country continued to transition from dictatorship back to democracy. The landmark Rock in Rio Festival (which served as that generation's full-blown national catharsis) was still two years away, and record contracts were extremely difficult to come by for all but the most conventional of pop acts. Needless to say, an aggressive heavy metal band like Korzus could only hope to play the occasional club gig while trying to survive in utter obscurity as the group waited for some or any opportunity to come their way. This opportunity finally knocked in 1985 when the band was asked to contribute two songs to the watershed SP Metal II compilation, of which they were clear standouts. Still lacking the funds or a record deal to pay lofty studio fees, Korzus scraped together enough cash to record a few live dates, which they used for their debut, 1986's Korzus ao Vivo. Toperman and Brian quit shortly thereafter, but new drummer José Mauro "Zema" joined in time for 1987's sophomore Sonho Maníaco album, only to commit suicide later the same year, leaving bandmembers in a state of shock and Korzus in limbo as they recovered from the blow.