Fabio Ribeiro

Fabio Ribeiro — Brazilian keyboardist born in 1972 — was part of the initial line-up of Andre Matos's solo band, between 2007 and 2010. That was the phase in which Matos, after leaving Angra and Shaman, rebuilt a career under his own name. Time to Be Free (2007) and Mentalize (2009) are the records of that period — material bringing together the melodic power metal he became known for, progressive passages and a strong presence of classically influenced arrangements. The keyboard holds a central position in this repertoire. Matos was himself a keyboardist and composed at the instrument; the orchestral arrangements, choirs and piano passages are part of the songs' structure, not their finish. Performing them requires reading arrangement, not merely command of timbre. Ribeiro has also worked in other projects on the Brazilian scene. Matos's solo band gathered, across its two line-ups, musicians who already had careers of their own — which gives the measure of the weight his name carried in Brazilian metal.