Son of drummer Claudemir Christófaro (The Jet Blacks, The Four Boys), Amilcar Christófaro has been a drummer since he was 14 years old. His name is recognized nationally and internationally for his speed, musicality, technique and perfectionism.
Right-handed, but with the eternal quest for ambidexterity as his goal, he plays most of the time with his arms open (hi-hat with his left hand), thus acquiring the ability to perform slow grooves to fast beats, such as Skank Beat (traditional Thrash Metal beat) and blast-beats, in addition to demonstrating great versatility and creativity in working with both bass drums.
His biggest influences continue to be drummers like Dave Lombardo (Slayer era), Lars Ulrich (Metallica), Iggor Cavalera (Sepultura era), Pete Sandoval (Morbid Angel), Gene Hoglan (Dark Angel and Death era), Paulo Zinner (Golpe de Estado, Rita Lee), Mikkey Dee (King Diamond era and Motörhead), Marky Edelmann (Coroner), Neil Peart (Rush), Paulo Thomas (Firebox, Centúrias), Scott Rockenfield (Queensrÿche), Nick McBrain (Iron Maiden) and Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater era).
Over time, Amilcar delved deeper into Jazz, Rhythm and Blues, instrumental and experimental music, and then some drummers from these segments like Buddy Rich, Billy Cobham and Thomas Lang, just to name a few, also began to become a big influence.
With Torture Squad, since 1992, his band’s resume includes several studio albums, EPs, live DVDs/CDs and countless tours in Europe, Brazil and South America.
Amilcar played twice at the second largest music fair in the world, Musikmesse, which takes place in Frankfurt, Germany. Four times at one of the largest Heavy Metal festivals in the world, the German Wacken Open Air (until then, being the only Brazilian band to achieve such a feat), and at one of the largest music festivals in Latin America, Quito Fest, for more than ten thousand people, among other events, festivals and tours.
In 2004, he became a teacher at Escola Bateras Beat in São Paulo (Pinheiros Unit), where he teaches to this day and in 2022 he became one of the partners.
In 2007, Aquiles Priester, who was leaving the C Ibanez drumstick brand for Promark, invited Amilcar, S Clovis Ibanez and George Ibanez to a meeting at a music fair and said, “I’m leaving the brand, but you can’t be without a metal drum, and if there’s a metal guy I can recommend to take my place, it’s Amilcar.”
With this recommendation, Amilcar joined C Ibanez and soon had his signature. The drumstick is a 5b line, made of Ivory wood, but with two significant changes at the drummer’s request: having more weight on the neck of the drumstick, to give more punch in the attacks, without requiring more force, and the tip being rounded to define more of the “ping” of the ride.
In July 2011, during the European tour promoting the band’s sixth album, “Aequilibrium”, Amilcar was invited to replace drummer Jean Dolabella from Sepultura, in five shows (Switzerland, Austria, France [2] and Germany), and even played with both bands on the same day at a festival in Germany.
Amilcar Christófaro was invited by Sepultura guitarist Andreas Kisser to join Kisser Clan. The band Andreas formed to put his sons on stage and since then, Yohan Kisser has continued to play guitar in the band alongside his father.
In 2013, as one of the representatives of the Brazilian metal scene, the drummer was invited by the emblematic Heavy Metal band Angra to participate in the show celebrating the twentieth anniversary of the release of their first album, being part of the commemorative live DVD released that same year.
Also in 2013, in the educational area, he launched, in partnership with Dino Verdade (founder of Bateras Beat Music School), the Mundo Double Bass method (also released on DVD) – with the purpose of contributing to the musicality of drummers who want to explore the possibilities of playing with two bass drums or a double pedal. Mundo Double Bass, in addition to having become a reference in the subject, is now part of the Bateras Beats methodology, with copies in all of its units.
May 2014 was very special; the drummer was featured on the cover of the Brazilian version of the biggest magazine of the genre, Modern Drummer, with the title “A Massa Sonora de Amilcar Christófaro”, making him one of the few metal drummers in Brazil to be featured on the cover of the magazine.
Orion Cymbals, his cymbal sponsor, honored him for the ten-year partnership by releasing a limited-edition 21” signature ride. This cymbal has been shaped sonically over the years with the drummer being one of the brand’s development consultants.
In 2015, he wrote and recorded his first drum solo, “First Attack”, recorded on Torture Squad’s live CD and DVD “Coup D’État Live”. The solo features parts that shape the drummer’s style, with heavy grooves mixed with double bass drum beats between Skank and Blast beats.
In 2016, he records, “the old-fashioned way”, the EP “Return of Evil” in one of the largest studios in Latin America, Na Cena, produced by Wagner Meirinho, followed by tours in Brazil, Europe and South America.
In 2017, he enters the studio to record the eighth album of his career with Torture Squad, Far Beyond Existence, followed by a Brazilian tour on a bus, as the headliner, with three other support bands (Warcursed, Reckoning Hour and Hatefullmurder) traveling 14,000 km with shows in almost every state in the country.
In 2019, he plays at Rock in Rio alongside Nervosa, Claustrofobia and Chuck Billy (Testament), Anthrax, Slayer, Sepultura, Helloween, Scorpions and Iron Maiden, and goes on his first tour in Central America, passing through Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala and Mexico, being one of the headliners of the Mexico Metal Fest.
In March 2020, he was forced to stop recording “Devilish” to self-isolate due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Recordings gradually resumed between 2022 and 2023, and the album was released in September 2023.
In early 2022, a dream came true, Amilcar became a partner in the Pinheiros branch of Bateras Beat. The unit has been teaching since 2004.
After 15 years, the company leaves the Ibanez drumstick brand C and joins Liverpool in early 2023.
“I have used 5b my entire life and wanted to find a weight that was in between the 5a and 5b, so when I made the offer to Liverpool I realized that it was mutual for the brand to be there too, which made me very happy. I got a few pairs to test during 2024 and found my signature 5af, which came out in May 2025. I repeat, I am extremely happy.”
The year 2024 is dedicated to promoting “Devilish” with highlights including the shows at Summer Breeze Brasil and with Sepultura on the “Celebrating Life Through Death” tour at Espaço Unimed in São Paulo, on a sold-out night in front of 9,000 people. Still in the second half of the year, with Matanza Ritual, he enters the studio to record “A Vingança é Meu Motor” (Revenge is My Motor), which will be released in March 2025.
2025 is also a year of production for the drummer. He is invited by Claudio Vicentin (Roadie Crew Magazine) to produce the “Tribute to Ronnie James Dio” at Bangers Open Air and by Bateras Beat Music School to produce the first Bateras Beat Music Awards, which took place at Teatro Gazeta.
Amidst a tsunami of musical commitments, such as composing Torture Squad’s tenth studio album, Amilcar has already visited more than thirty countries through his music, and continues to acquire and show new paths in the world of heavy, aggressive, and above all, fluid and musical drumming.
Amilcar Christófaro is the drummer for the bands Torture Squad, Kisser Clan and Matanza Ritual.
DISCOGRAPHY – Torture Squad
A Soul In Hell (demo) – 1993
Shivering – 1995
Asylum Of Shadows – 1999
The Unholy Spell – 2001
Pandemonium – 2003
Death, Chaos and Torture Alive – 2004
Chaos Corporation (single) – 2007
Hellbound – 2008
Aequilibrium – 2010
Esquadrão de Tortura – 2013
Coup D´état Live – 2015
Return of Evil – 2016
Far Beyond Existence – 2017
Torture Years – 2019
Tortura en la Iglesia en Vivo – 2022
Devilish – 2023
VIDEOGRAPHY
DVD – Death, Chaos and Torture Alive – 2005
DVD – Coup D´état Live – 2015
Amílcar Chistófaro contacts: acmetal77@gmail.com
