Batista Of Antidemon Shares His Expectations |

“Play With Mortification Is A Dream Come True”

Antidemon will be part of Mortification’s 2027 Latin American tour alongside Terraphobia, a historic tour in which the Australian band will celebrate and commemorate the 35th anniversary of their classic album “Scrolls Of The Megilloth”, and because of this, their longtime frontman, Antonio Carlos Batista Do Nascimento—better known to friends as Batista—shared with us Antidemon’s feelings and expectations regarding this historic event.
“Play with Mortification is making a dream come true—a dream we’d already stopped dreaming!” he told us, and he also recalled that “When we were part of Rowe Productions, we started talking to Steve Rowe about a tour of Australia alongside Mortification. However, it couldn’t come to fruition due to Steve’s declining health; he hasn’t performed with Mortification since then”, he told us about that opportunity, which unfortunately fell through. Time offers a second chance, and this 2027 Latin American tour will be Antidemon’s opportunity; “…Making this happen in 2027 will truly be a gift for us! We’re also really excited to play alongside Terraphobia!” Batista concluded.

Let’s remember that all of this has to do with Mortification’s official return to the stage, but not in the way many might assume. Unfortunately, due to his health, Steve Rowe, the band’s longtime frontman, won’t be part of the lineup.
In case some of you don’t know yet, Steve suffered a stroke a few years ago, which has prevented him from continuing to lead Mortification in recent years, but the band is back, with a lineup that brings together several members from different eras of the band and features Luke Renno (Crimson Thorn) on vocals and bass—a hot seat if ever there was one (in case anyone doesn’t know, Steve Rowe is the only vocalist and bassist Mortification has ever had). The lineup is rounded out by Lincoln Bowen on guitar (a member during Mortification’s more mature phase) and Mick Jelinic, one of the most recent guitarists to have played with Mortification. Jayson Sherlock, Mortification’s longtime drummer, had been announced earlier, but due to a health issue, he will not be able to join the tour. His replacement has yet to be confirmed.
Antidemon will join forces with Terraphobia (Mick Jelinic’s combative Thrash Metal band) to accompany this tour in February 2027, which will take place in Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico, and Costa Rica.
“Since we’ll be the opening act, our sets won’t be long!” admits Batista. “The setlist will always be very short, so we’re putting together a sequence of high-impact songs that will capture our entire history in the few minutes we’ll have for each performance.” So we can expect a truly intense opening set, complete with classics from these combative Brazilians. Antidemon has more than enough material to unleash in just a few minutes—we can be sure of that.
Batista also acknowledges how important it is for Antidemon to reconnect with the fans and friends the band has made over its more than 30 years on the scene, touring Latin America time and time again. “Another great expectation is returning to countries where we’ve toured so many times in the past, such as Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Mexico. Reuniting with our beloved audiences in so many countries in less than 15 days will be wonderful!” he commented.
Antidemon is likely the band that has visited Argentina the most times, and this time will be a special occasion, given the focus of the tour with Mortification. Even so, the news of the Brazilian band’s participation is an extra reason for excitement. Right from the start, we’ll have the energy and fury that characterize them on stage. Antidemon’s participation in this tour couldn’t have been a better decision.

In fact, Antidemon last performed in Buenos Aires in 2025. On that occasion—which we attended, of course—the band performed as a duo with Batista on guitar and Juliana Batista on drums, since Marcelo Soldado, their most recent guitarist, had left the band that year. Since then, Antidemon has been performing as a duo, and this time will be no exception. “We’re going to do the entire tour as a duo”, Batista confirmed to us. Keep in mind that, to achieve this, Batista tunes his guitar in a special way so that the sound of the bass isn’t necessary. Our experience with the band in this configuration was, as usual, absolutely mind-blowing.
But Antidemon’s February 2027 tour with Mortification and Terraphobia isn’t the only thing on the horizon. The band has just wrapped up an extensive tour of destinations that might be a bit unconventional for them, such as Finland, Japan, and South Korea. In that regard, Batista told us a bit about the vivid experience: “We kicked things off in South Korea at an incredible event in Seoul, where we played alongside four other bands from the Korean scene”, he recalled of the tour’s starting point, “…Both we and the organizers were surprised by the massive turnout: there were three times as many people as expected! The audience welcomed us with great warmth and sang along to the choruses of our songs with tremendous energy. It was incredible!”

As for their stop in Japan, it was no less impressive. “It was a much longer tour than the one in 2024. This time, we played 10 major shows, touring several cities in Shizuoka Prefecture, as well as Nagoya, Osaka, Kyoto, and Tokyo. The highlight was our performance at the “Grind Bastards” festival in Nagoya!” Batista recounted, not without first expressing his surprise and excitement at the response and affection Antidemon received during their tour of both Asian countries.
But it didn’t end there—Antidemon also extended their tour to Europe. “After returning from Asia, we spent 10 days in Brazil before embarking on a new tour, this time to Finland”, Batista told us. “The concerts took place a thousand kilometers north of Helsinki, in the Arctic Circle”—with all that that implies, since, according to our theory, Antidemon must be one of the Christian bands that has traveled the most around the world. “We played at events in Rovaniemi, Kemijärvi, and Kuusamo. At one of them, organized by the Finnish Red Cross, clothing and supplies were collected to help people displaced by the war in Ukraine. They were four incredible performances that left their mark on our history!” acknowledged Antidemon’s frontman.
Among other topics we discussed with Batista, he told us about Antidemon’s future, especially regarding new material, since “Convergence”, their latest album, dates back to 2024. In that regard, he confirmed that, yes, there will indeed be something new on the horizon: “We’re already thinking about a new Antidemon album for the near future! We’re in the process of writing new songs!” he told us, which assures us that Antidemon is here to stay—and, above all, that we can look forward to a new album down the road.

One of the things that stands out most about Antidemon—besides their sound, which centers on a lethal blend of Death Metal/Grindcore with hints of Hardcore—is Batista’s tremendous and spine-chilling vocal range, with his guttural style, which is one of Antidemon’s defining characteristics. Without a doubt, it must be one of the most thunderous voices in the Extreme Metal scene, capable of making windows and everything around them shudder. Don’t believe me? The February 2027 tour with Mortification and Terraphobia is a great opportunity to see for yourself.
To that end, we’re sharing two Antidemon videos as a preview of what to expect on the February 2027 tour. First up is the official video for “Welcome To Death”, and second is a live performance of one of their biggest classics, “Massacre”, recorded at the 2025 São Paulo Rock Fest.
And of course, here are the social media links for both Antidemon and the official account that covers the latest news about Mortification’s 2027 tour alongside the Brazilian band and Terraphobia…

https://www.facebook.com/ANTIDEMON.OFFICIAL

https://www.instagram.com/antidemonband

https://www.instagram.com/mortification.live