Brazilian metal veterans Sepultura return with another new album that once again furthers the ever growing evolution of a band that is now approaching 40 years. That’s a long time in anyone’s book but Sepultura have seemingly managed to keep things interesting all the way through including their latest effort.
Theres’s probably no need to go into details of the band’s history as the name is pretty much synonymous with metal, both in thrash and in more modern alternative metal styles. Their new album “Quadra” is not conceptual in lyrical content but more musically speaking where the album can be divided into 4 parts essentially, however going through each track it becomes more evident that the album has 2 major parts that can be broken into halves so to speak but the distinction between those quad parts may take a little while to really sink in.
Starting off with the lead single “Isolation“, the band launch into a thrash piece, a scathing attack fueled by ferocious guitars, Eloy’s brilliant drum parts and Derrick’s seemingly flawless voice that doesn’t appear to have lost any resonance or quality in the 20 plus years he has been singing for Sepultura. “Means To An End” jumps into mid-tempo territory and while it’s almost typical Sepultura type stuff if you consider 30 years as typical, there’s an energy here that hasn’t waivered at all.
Andreas Kisser starts off the next track in “Last Time” with a little guitar intro before launching into brutal passages and an even higher dose of energy. The faster tempos and the orchestral parts added gives a fair bit of dynamics as the band go off on their now signature off the cuff jams before coming back around to the heavier stuff again. More of that trademark tribal sound can be heard in “Capital Enslavement” but like “Chaos A.D.” there’s plenty of those riffs to keep it very headbanging worthy.
A sort of tribute to one of the greats in “Ali” is another heavy hitter and one of the many shining moments on “Quadra”, challenging yet engaging as it switches gears at every corner. The prog side of Sepultura starts to come through here which also signals the change in the album’s style as we hit near the halfway point. I’ve always thought Sepultura do this style very well and clearly are not relegated to just the thrash stuff of the 80’s.
The album continues to move forward and incorporates even more sounds, production and stylistic manoeuvres with tracks like “Raging Void” with it’s atmospheric chorus sections, “Guardians Of Earth” where long intros, tribal-esque passageways and fantasy driven elements orchestrate into a bit of a musical endeavour. This side of the band has been more prevalent over the years of course and here the band mix it in along with the more metal sides of the band.
One of the highlights here is the instrumental piece “The Pentagram” and it’s a showcase of how tight Sepultura really are these days. Interweaving like a maniac through a freeway, it’s a brilliant piece of work that highlights the many sides of the band. The final 2 tracks bring more atmospheric touches to the table including the closer which features an unnamed guest vocalist which I’m sure will come to light very soon, but if you are good at picking voices then this may sound familiar.
“Quadra” is just another great album by the metal veterans who just seem to get stronger and stronger as the years go on. Despite all the naysayers who seem stuck on a past that is further away now than ever before, Sepultura continue to deliver the goods in only their way and whether people want to step out of their cosy shells and see this band for what it is or remember the band for what it was is their choice but musically they are just on point every time and “Quadra” is proof of that.
8/10
TRACKLIST
Isolation
Means To An End
Last Time
Capital Enslavement
Ali
Raging Void
Guardians Of Earth
The Pentagram
Autem
Quadra
Agony Of Defeat
Fear, Pain, Suffering, Chaos
