Brother Cesare Bonizzi also known as Frate Cesare and Fratello Metallo ("Brother Metal") - which was also the name of his band, is a Capuchin friar belonging to the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin

Order of Friars Minor Capuchin

The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin is an Order of friars in the Catholic Church, among the chief offshoots of the Franciscans. The worldwide head of the Order, called the Minister General, is currently Father Mauro Jöhri.-Origins :...

, who was known as a heavy metal

Heavy metal music

Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...

 singer.

Biography

Bonizzi was born in 1946 in Offanengo

Offanengo

Offanengo is a comune in the Province of Cremona in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 45 km east of Milan and about 35 km northwest of Cremona...

, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

. He entered a monastery in 1975, and subsequently carried out missionary work in the Ivory Coast. After returning to Italy he was ordained a priest in 1983. Since 1990 he has been interested in using music as a means of contemplation and spiritual devotion, and he has released numerous albums in various styles from new age

New Age music

New Age music is music of various styles intended to create artistic inspiration, relaxation, and optimism. It is used by listeners for yoga, massage, meditation, and reading as a method of stress management or to create a peaceful atmosphere in their home or other environments, and is often...

 to rock

Rock music

Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

. After seeing Metallica

Metallica

Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...

 in concert, however, he became passionate about heavy metal as a musical vehicle. According to him, "Metal is the most energetic, vital, deep and true musical language that I know." He currently lives in the convent of Musocco

Musocco

Musocco is a district of Milan, Italy, part of the Zone 8 administrative division of the city, located north-west of the centre in the direction of Varese. The prominent structure of the district is the Cimitero Maggiore , Milan's largest cemetery...

, a district of Milan

Milan

Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...

. In late 2009, he announced that he would no longer perform.

Music

Although his full transformation to heavy metal is only found on Fratello Metallo's 2008 release Misteri, Bonizzi has recorded numerous albums in various musical genres. He cites Megadeth

Megadeth

Megadeth is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California which was formed in 1983 by guitarist/vocalist Dave Mustaine, bassist Dave Ellefson and guitarist Greg Handevidt, following Mustaine's expulsion from Metallica. The band has since released 13 studio albums, three live albums, two...

 and Metallica as major inspirations on his transformation to metal. With his new style of music, which he calls "Metrock" as a combination of metal and rock, he was the opening act at 2008's Gods of Metal

Gods of Metal

Gods of Metal is the biggest Italian metal festival, held annually since 1997. It takes place in early summer, usually on the first or second weekend of June...

, Italy's largest heavy metal festival.

Bonizzi performed in full Franciscan habit

Religious habit

A religious habit is a distinctive set of garments worn by members of a religious order. Traditionally some plain garb recognisable as a religious habit has also been worn by those leading the religious eremitic and anachoritic life, although in their case without conformity to a particular uniform...

. Although he was frequently mistaken as making the sign of the horns in concert, he actually extended his thumb along with the index and pinkie, which is the handsign for "I love you" in the American Sign Language

American Sign Language

American Sign Language, or ASL, for a time also called Ameslan, is the dominant sign language of Deaf Americans, including deaf communities in the United States, in the English-speaking parts of Canada, and in some regions of Mexico...

.

Discography

• Droghe
• Primi Passi
• L'Eucredo
• Il La Cristiano
• Straordinariamente Ovvio
• Maria Ed "Io"
• Come Fiamma
• Vie Crucis
• Fede Ballare
• Assisi Oggi
• Misteri