Leo Mancini

Leo Mancini is a Brazilian hard rock and heavy metal guitarist from São Paulo, raised in the city's Pompeia neighbourhood. He grew up in a family of musicians — his grandfather, parents and both sisters — and had his first practical contact with music around the age of nine, guided by his sister Rosana. He took nylon-string guitar lessons at eleven before switching decisively to electric guitar, playing in cover bands and citing Eddie Van Halen, Mathias Jabs, Angus Young, Yngwie Malmsteen, Paul Gilbert and Joe Satriani among his influences. He began teaching at fifteen and later taught at São Paulo music schools including the Conservatório Musical Souza Lima, working as a producer and sound engineer as well since the late 1990s. He first drew national attention with Tempestt, a São Paulo hard rock band alongside singer BJ, which also served as backing band for international artists visiting Brazil. In late 2006 Ricardo Confessori rebuilt Shaman around a new lineup, and Mancini took the guitar chair from 2007, recording "Immortal" (2007) and "Origins" (2010) plus the live release "AnimeAlive". When Confessori left in 2013, the remaining members formed Noturnall with drummer Aquiles Priester; there Mancini played guitar and sang backing vocals, left in February 2016 — replaced by Mike Orlando — and returned for further spells. His playing is rooted in the melodic phrasing of classic hard rock — wide vibrato, hook-driven solos and solid rhythm work — rather than pure shred. That leaning also underpins Acoustic Hits, his long-running acoustic covers project, released partly through Sony Music and heavily performed at Brazilian corporate events. He currently plays in Spektra, a melodic hard rock band launched through Frontiers Records with Jeff Scott Soto involved as producer and mentor. In 2026 he was part of the backing band for the Masters Of Voices Latin America tour, featuring Eric Martin, Edu Falaschi, Tim "Ripper" Owens and Jeff Scott Soto.