02-27 One last Sepultura drummer 12-08 Sepultura call it quits 12-22 Sepultura reveal new single 11-09 Sepultura release new single 11-16 Sepultura is the Enemy.
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From their humble beginnings in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, Sepultura went on to become the most successful Brazilian heavymetalband inhistory. Over a ten-year period, the bandgrew from strength to strength, transforming itself from a primitivedeathmetal ensemble into oneof the leading creative trendsetters of the international aggressive musicscene. Unfortunately,abitter internal crisis almost destroyed theband, and Sepultura struggled to recover their previous momentum.Hailing from Brazil's third largest city, Belo Horizonte, Sepultura (which means "grave" in Portuguese) were formed in the mid-' ...read more
From their humble beginnings in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, Sepultura went on to become the most successful Brazilian heavymetalband inhistory. Over a ten-year period, the bandgrew from strength to strength, transforming itself from a primitivedeathmetal ensemble into oneof the leading creative trendsetters of the international aggressive musicscene. Unfortunately,abitter internal crisis almost destroyed theband, and Sepultura struggled to recover their previous momentum.Hailing from Brazil's third largest city, Belo Horizonte, Sepultura (which means "grave" in Portuguese) were formed in the mid-'80s -- a timewhen that country was beginning toemerge from a 20-year military dictatorship. Max Cavalera(vocals/guitar),Igor Cavalera (drums), PauloJr. (bass), and Jairo T. (lead guitar) had a hard time even finding rock &rollalbums, andespecially "socially unacceptable" genres such asheavy metal and punk. Their early influences were Iron Maiden,Metallica,and Slayer (literally the first threerecords purchased by Max on avisit to the "big city" São Paulo), but the bandsoonprogressed toward a death metal sound, inspired by emerging bands such as PossessedandDeath. Their driveanddetermination (they sang in English from day one) more than made up for their geographic isolation andinexperience,andthough they were only in theirteens and still learning how to play their instruments, the band quicklyevolvedintounderground contenders. After landing a deal with independent Cogumelo Records, Sepulturarecorded four songsfor a splitLP with fellowBrazilians Overdose. Reissued on CD and named for its first track, 1985's Bestial Devastation was self-producedand recorded in justtwo days-- and it shows. Recorded with minimal time and money in August 1986, their first full-lengthalbum, Morbid Visions, showed littleimprovement, but contained theirfirst hit, "Troops of Doom," which attracted somemediaattention and convinced the band to relocate to SãoPaulo (Brazil's largest city and financial capital) in order tofurthertheircareer. They also replaced guitarist Jairo T. with São Paulo nativeAndreas Kisser, whose greater musical ability wouldhelptake the entire band to the next level.In 1987, Sepultura's technical proficiency finally caught up with their creative vision, and their second full-length albumforCogumelo,Schizophrenia, displayed an incredibleevolution in terms of production and performance. It also became aminorcritical sensation acrossEurope and America, drawing the attention of Roadrunner Records, whichpromptly releasedthealbum worldwide and signed the band to along-term contract. No longer restrained within Brazilian borders, the bandsetabout composing 1989's Beneaththe Remains, the first of fouralbums which would solidify Sepultura's position as perhapsthemost important heavy metal band of the '90s. Recorded in Rio de Janeirounder theguidance of leading death metalproducerScott Burns, Beneath the Remains was an immediate critical and commercial success, andthe band's ferociousperformanceson thesubsequent European tour (which saw them systematically blowing headlining German thrashersSodom offstage)further cemented Sepultura's reputation. The band also filmedits first video, for the single "Inner Self," and finishedtheyeartour with a triumphant set of shows in its homeland.After obtaining new management and relocating to Phoenix, Arizona, Sepultura entered Tampa's Morrisound Studioswithproducer Burns torecord 1991's highly acclaimed Arisealbum. First single "Dead Embryonic Cells" proved to beanotherresounding hit, and the title track wouldgain even more attention when its video was banned by MTV Americadue toitsapocalyptic religious imagery. The world tour that followedelevated the album to platinum sales worldwide (a figurerarelyachieved by bands of such extreme nature)and, in a strange twist, foundsinger Max Cavalera marrying band managerGloriaBujnowski, who was almost twice his age. Such was the band's success that itslabel,Roadrunner, obtained a co-distributiondeal with Epic Records for its next recording, 1993's Chaos A.D.. By incorporating social issues(especially relatingto Brazil)into theirlyrics, as well as displaying some of their punk and hardcore influences for the first time, the albumwasanotherworldwide smash thanks to singles like "Territory" and"Refuse/Resist." After touring for over a year, the membersofSepulturatook a well-deserved break before starting work on their most ambitious album yet, 1996's Roots. TheintroductionofnativeBrazilian percussion and musical styles into their trademark down-tuned guitars and increasingly sociopolitical themesresultedin ahighly unique recordwhich could be loosely described as heavy metal world music. Roots marked Sepultura'screativepeak, and the band'scontinual rise to ever-greater fame seemed guaranteeduntil a family tragedy set off a series ofeventswhich would break up the band.Just hours before taking the stage at England's Monsters of Rock festival, the band discovered that the teenage sonofmanager (and singerMax's wife) Gloria had been killed ina car accident. A shocked Sepultura took the stage as a triowhileMax and Gloria boarded the first planeback to America. Only a few months later, the band confronted Maxaboutseveringties with Gloria and finding new management. Stillrecovering from the recent trauma of a death in his extendedfamily, Maxviewed this as a huge betrayal and leftthe band amid much badblood and acrimony. As the band's creative leader,manyexpected his departure to spell the end of Sepultura, but the band announced that itwouldcarry on and soon beganlookingfor a replacement.After a long search, Sepultura recruited Cleveland native Derrick Green as their new singer and began laying down tracksfor1998's Against.Though it retained much of theintensity and diversity of its predecessor (including a collaborationwithJapan's Kodo percussion ensemble onthe track "Kamaitachi"), the album lacked the unique spark whichhad characterizedtheband's prior work. It also sold only half as manycopies as Cavalera's first album with his new band, Soulfly, clearlyshowingwith whom fan loyalty remained.Undaunted, Sepultura returnedin early 2001 with Nation. The album followed inthefootsteps of its predecessor, despite better reviews and a more seasoned Green onvocals. Inorder to reach out to itsslowlyshrinking fan base, the group released one of its last live shows with Max, Under a Pale Grey Sky, inthe fall of 2002. AnEP ofcovers, Revolusongs,was released in 2003, followed by the full-length Roorback, 2005's Live in São Paulo, and2006'sDanteXXI, and 2009's Clockwork Orange-inspired A-Lex. The following year theband announced they had signed toNuclearBlast,where they would go on to release 2011's Kairos, as well as their 13th studio album, The Mediator Between theHead andHandsMust Bethe Heart, in 2013. « hide |
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