In a matinee in November 2022, after a handful of concerts in Spain, Hetta returned to their hometown, Montijo, and shared the stage of Sociedade Filarmónica 1º de Dezembro with fellow countrymen Linger, Hisou and Putas Bêbadas. This interests us because their debut EP, Headlights (released in May’22), was recorded at Cafetra’s studio in Bairro Alto by Leonardo Bindilatti and Miguel Abras (respectively, Putas’ drummer and bassist-vocalist), and it is in this studio that Hetta’s bassist, Simão Simões, usually rehearses with Maria Reis’ band (where he is also bassist) and with Pedro Sousa in their exploratory duo collaborations. Besides this relationship with Bairro Alto, when the Rescaldo festival brought them to ZDB, he highlighted a “triangulation” of Hetta with New York and Tokyo, referring to their affiliation in the global post-hardcore, something that, by the way, had already been announced in Nagasaki Skateboarding (2014-2017), a band that included Hetta’s drummer and guitarist, João Portalegre and João Pires. According to the 2021 A Colina festival, Hetta managed to start from math-rock, screamo and other “too intellectualized” subgenres to arrive at something “pure and violent”: the constant stop-starts and corrosive smashes, together with the fact that the vocalist, Alex Domingos, insistently ventures into the audience, gives the feeling that danger is imminent; in fact, the last time they played at ZDB, we witnessed the most aggressive mosh pit of the post-pandemic Aquarius. AR
