A year and a half ago we saw Max & Iggor Cavalera reunite for the Roots anniversary in front of packed houses, a sign that metal fans hold nostalgia close to their hearts. Sepultura has always had, as many metal bands tend to have, a hardcore fanbase who always go back to the early years of the band and as much as Roots had an impact on many people, many fans have been screaming for a reunion of sorts so that they can get taken back to the golden years of thrash. For Sepultura, it has always been Beneath The Remains and Arise, two landmark albums that are the pinnacle of thrash metal in the late 80’s and early 90’s. Max and Iggor took the reigns on those demands and brought to us a throwback to that era of the band before stylistic changes catapulted the thrashers into new levels. We caught the first show of the Australian tour in Fremantle and it was everything many of us dreamed of.
Opening the night was Depravity, born out of the depths of the Perth metal scene and brandishing a more extreme version of what Max once described to us as the golden era of extreme metal when death/thrash bands like Kreator, Posessed and Morbid Angel were kicking it in the underground in the late 80’s. Perth fans will no doubt have come across the death metal titans of the west at some stage in local clubs across the most isolated major city in the world and tonight it was the band’s turn to warm up the crowd before the headliners take the stage.
A packed crowd early on meant only good things for the locals as they tore into a solid 45 minute set of brutal riffs and flailing double kicks and fills, standard stuff for this sort of music but certainly enough to entice a few headbangers in the pit while onlookers enjoyed their first frostys at the bar. Death metal leading to thrash? Sure why not!
And that’s when Max & Iggor, along with guitar wizard Marco Rizzo and Mike Leon on bass rocked up and proceeded to kick things off with the title track of all title tracks – “Beneath The Remains”. Admittedly it is a song Max does bring out every once in a while in his Soulfly sets but here we see the full thing in it’s glory and from there we see a few more from the album sneak in. “Slaves Of Pain” is an absolute banger and sounded extra powerful tonight with Iggor providing a massive drum sound that is sorely missed over the years. “Mass Hypnosis” of course another live favorite but the more obscure tracks like “Primitive Future” really show the true power of what the Cavalera brothers turned in all those years ago. Here tonight these classics just hit you hard like a ton of bricks with Rizzo also laying down his usual flawless playing.
Despite the tour being marked as a return to these 2 albums specifically, this wasn’t one of those anniversary type deals where the albums are played in it’s entirety. As much as that would of been a hell of an experience to hear even more deeper cuts, the band chose to select a few choice cuts from each of the two albums and providing the best of both rather than going for the whole thing. Ultimately this worked out well leaving room for some bonus stuff later on but when the intro to “Arise” hit the speakers, things started getting serious.
At this point the moshpit was of course at full tilt with bodies sprawled all over the floor, in the air and back and forth around the general floor area. Security had their work cut out for them and even more so as the band tore into more material from “Arise” including “Dead Embryonic Cells”, “Desperate Cry” and the epic “Altered State”. While “Beneath The Remains” has always been my favorite of the two and right up there with the best they ever put out, there’s no denying “Arise” had some serious muscle to it and it showed in tonight’s performance which proved why this album really pushed Sepultura into the big time among their thrash contemporaries.
“Infected Voice” was a nice surprise in the set and always a favorite of mine from the album but there was still more to be brought to the table yet. “Orgasmatron” was the first of a run of mixed tracks that included covers, jams and more and while they were on the Motorhead theme, “Ace Of Spades” was busted out for the old schoolers with Max ditching his guitar for the mic and getting the crowd to sing even more.
“Troops of Doom” made it’s way in sneakily, bringing the band back even further in history and maybe my mind is still fuzzy from the show but I swear I heard a little of Slayer’s “Raining Blood” thrown into the intro. Fans completely lost it at that point and the pit area once again swelled up and spilled into the sides and barricades, leaving everyone vulnerable to the destruction that was displayed in front of the band who were delighted of course by the eager response. With “Refuse/Resist” also being added to the sweaty mix of things before returning back to where everything started at the top of the show with the two main title tracks mashed together in an onslaught of pure thrash delirium, this show is going to be hard to top among the already brilliant shows we have already witnessed in the short 3 months of the year.
With 3 iconic Sepultura albums now out of the way, one can only wonder what will come next from the Cavalera brothers. In the meantime, for those lucky to be on the radar for this tour, grab your dancing shoes and brace your necks as this is going to kick your ass as it did with Freo!
PHOTO GALLERY
Photos by Tammie Molotov – Molotov Enterprises & Photography
TOUR DATES
Tuesday 19 March – The Gov, Adelaide
Thursday 21 March – 170 Russell, Melbourne
Friday 22 March – The Valley Drive In, Brisbane
Saturday 23 March – Metro Theatre, Sydney
Sunday 24 March – The Basement, Canberra
Tickets – https://tickets.destroyalllines.com
