(What follows is TheMadIsraeli’s review of an EP announced as the final release by Sepultura. It came out in April of this year via Nuclear Blast.)
Some of us here at NCS are believers in modern Sepultura. I’ve always come to bat for them because the thing that spoke to me of a band who shamelessly and uncompromisingly followed their creative instincts was how, even by the sub-genres of metal they are considered part of, they have chosen to take progressive off-kilter approaches to all of it.
Ever since Max’s departure, and especially from Roorback onward, Sepultura have chosen the hard path. I’m not saying that to imply that Against and Nation aren’t good in and of themselves, by the way, but there is a definitive locking-in that occurs at Roorback. I’d chalk this up to those two records being the warm-up, adapting to Derrick’s inclusion and trying to find who they wanted to be. Some people may not fully appreciate what Sepultura was faced with when Max left and Andreas Kisser had to overcome the perception which had taken over that Max WAS Sepultura.
Andreas Kisser will forever be one of my favorite songwriters and guitarists in metal purely because his answer to that challenge was to not play the fame game at all. He essentially ditched the band’s previous legacy for a new one. I think this decision obviously paid off, but they’ve had to deal with a never-ending barrage of people crying about how this wasn’t the old thing anymore.
So, as you may know, Sepultura retired this year. They will at least no longer be a band that produces new original material, and while everything has to come to an end eventually, it’s hard not to feel a little sad. I feel like I will be missing a part of myself not having new Sepultura to look forward to. Their last album of new music was the powerful and eccentric, if a bit inconsistent, Quadra, which we still came away loving.
They didn’t want to leave their fans with nothing, so they made the rather unusual decision to release a four-song EP to commemorate their hanging it up, and like… going out on an EP, especially only four songs, is a hell of a way for a band like Sep to go. You’d think that EP would have to be one of the most precise, lethal, and efficient recordings — and is it? That answer is a bit complicated. As a result, I’m gonna review the songs individually.
Track #1: All Souls Rising
Ok, so the EP starting on a classic Arise or Beneath The Remains era ripper is a good way to get my attention. It’s got those cool incorporations of string stabs that mimic the guitar riffs they’ve become fans of in the last couple of albums and the song is otherwise just unhinged. This song could’ve come directly off of Beneath The Remains. I love it that Sepultura felt the need to tell people they still know how to unleash that unhinged fast-as-fuck savagery they were known for. Also the dual-guitar harmonized section after the second solo is great.
Track #2: Beyond The Dream
In some respects, this EP feels like it is a tribute to the pinnacle of the metal era they came up in. I can’t recall the last time they ever wrote a song like this, but it is almost like Sepultura trying their hand at a Metallica-like ballad. I’ve always thought Derek Green’s clean vocals could carry a tune, and the solo Andreas rips in this one is a barn-burner. Do kind of wish it was a bit longer though, it would’ve been cool to see them try their hand at an authentic long-length progressive ballad in the way Metallica did.
Track #3: Sacred Books
Now THIS is the modern Sepultura I like. It’s an oppressive groove-metal steamroller that for some reason has a piano improv in it just because it might sound cool to put it in. The song is only 2:52 and I guess you could argue it is more of a hardcore kind of number but, it’s a hardcore banger that has random piano instrumental in it. I dig it.
Track #4: The Place
This is objectively best track on the album and one that captures much of the entire legacy of Sepultura in one song. It’s a slightly proggy riff-laden slow number that pulls out one of Sepultura’s signatures, which is to go slow or mid-paced for the majority of the song and then erupt into a climax of speed that’s almost barbaric in its fervor. First of all, that main riff will stick in your head, but the way this tune explodes when it hits that climax is too good, and it embodies one of my absolute favorite things about this band. A fantastic closer for this EP.
So that’s it. That is the final assembly of new original music Sepultura will write (at least for the indefinite future). It must carry a lot of weight as the final release for a legendary band that did a lot for the development of both thrash and death metal and also showed in their later material that they could push their boundaries.
If this is truly the end, I hope everyone in the band has a good life, post-career. As for whether or not this is a truly good note to go out on? I think so, but I know many are going to disagree. People want a big full-blown record with a press cycle and all that, but I’m not one of those.
https://sepultura.bfan.link/cloud-unknowing
https://www.facebook.com/sepultura/