Text by Eduardo Simões
Forty years after their first steps in Belo Horizonte, Sepultura returned to their hometown to inaugurate their new tour, Celebrating Life Through Death World Tour . But the show had a bitter aftertaste: it would be the band's last in Belo Horizonte.
Before fans could digest the euthanasia announced at the end of 2023 , the second bombshell came: drummer Eloy Casagrande left the band , being replaced by Greyson Nekrutman.
I arrived at Arena Hall around 4 PM on March 1st to watch the soundcheck. The band was playing well, but visibly apprehensive.
The audience, who had purchased a special ticket, followed the new drummer's every move. Greyson had five days to learn more than 20 songs from these three great drummers and another five to rehearse with the band. It's not much, far from enough.
Andreas Kisser addressed the audience, highlighting that Greyson was doing an excellent job, but that they were still making some adjustments, since the drum arrangements for Sepultura's songs are not easy. They really aren't.
After the soundcheck, the gates opened and the venue quickly filled with people.
The opening band Eminence took the stage promptly at 7 pm, with the excellent “Burn it Again”. The sound was loud, clear, and incredibly heavy.
The band has a rich history with numerous international tours, including playing with Sepultura several times in Europe. And this experience is evident in the show: everyone is at ease, playing with confidence.
The drummer posted a drum cam of the same song at that address.
Of course, not everything is perfect: the band forgot to call me to ask for setlist suggestions, and my favorite song of theirs, "Minds Apart," wasn't played. Let's hope they don't make the same mistake when they play on April 27th in São Paulo at the Summer Breeze Festival.
In any case, Eminence certainly gained many fans.
Sepultura took the stage at 9:12 PM with a three-song set from the classic Chaos A.D., to the delight of the audience. The band is alive, strong, and sharp. For as long as they want to stay that way.
The stage was very well thought out, with screens that alternated between the band's logo, videos with the theme of the songs being performed, and images of the musicians. Even having played at all the major festivals in the world, I dare say they've never had such a beautiful stage. But the most important thing was always the music, and it was being performed very well.
The complex "Guardians of Earth" was played live for the first time in Belo Horizonte, with all its dramatic flair.
Greyson's responsibility was no small feat, given Sepultura's tradition of excellent drummers: Iggor Cavalera remains one of the most creative in the world, Jean Dolabella a precise multi-instrumentalist, and Eloy Casagrande, well, no praise is too exaggerated when speaking of his musical ability. But, whatever the size of the problem, it was duly managed by the fantastic Greyson.
The other musicians also deserve praise. Derrick Green creates extremely intelligent vocal lines and executes them with ease without ever losing his voice or becoming hoarse. Paulo Xisto plays with exceptional precision and a unique style that, unfortunately, has not yet received due recognition in Brazil – after the Rock in Rio show in Las Vegas, the bassist received praise from none other than Steve Vai . Andreas Kisser has always avoided the clichés so common among guitarists, creating his own aggressive style with dissonant notes. But what is most impressive is that he manages to incorporate influences from progressive rock, classical music, and even MPB (Brazilian Popular Music) into Sepultura's music. He is one of the most complete musicians in Brazil, and this is independent of style.
Among the crowd, the renowned physician Dr. Júlio Franco strolled along without much fanfare, wearing a Sepultura t-shirt. He probably would have needed to pose for some photos if people knew he was Sepultura's first guitarist.
After paying homage to the band's various phases, they left the stage with "Arise" and an encore with "Ratamahatta" and "Roots."
It's worth contextualizing what this return home meant for the audience in Minas Gerais. Sepultura started in Belo Horizonte in 1984, playing in small venues. Resilient, they rehearsed every day.
They managed to overcome lineup changes and maintain a loyal audience, playing on the biggest stages and festivals in the world.
Even playing one of the most extreme forms of heavy metal, they achieved the extremely difficult feat of crossover , meaning they managed to sell a product to those who don't normally consume it. In this case, even those who don't normally listen to heavy metal consume the band's music.
In 2017, after more than 30 years of history, they released one of their best albums, the impeccable Machine Messiah . And they maintained that quality on their next album, the excellent Quadra .
That's what the five thousand fans who sold out the tickets celebrated at the Arena Hall in Belo Horizonte. Music, history, and overcoming challenges. Not rumors or gossip.
And they were treated to a show worthy of this history. I hope that Otávio Juliano, who was present at the BH show, takes advantage of this tour to make a second documentary about the band.
One negative aspect: yet another band that makes the unacceptable mistake of not consulting me about the setlist. A very common mistake, unfortunately. As a result, they didn't play "Machine Messiah," "Desperate Cry," "Iceberg Dances," "Mass Hypnosis," and… Well, to satisfy this longtime fan, they would need a setlist of at least 4 hours.
Backstage, Greyson took photos with everyone on the technical crew. We talked about everything that was happening, and I asked him which song he considered the most difficult. Diplomatically, he said that "they all had their challenges." Someone insisted on asking about "Arise," and he said, "It's very fast, but 'Escape to the Void' is much more difficult."
I wish Eloy Casagrande the best of luck in his new project. I hope that he, like everyone who has been in Sepultura, continues to make good music.
We don't know exactly what will happen to Sepultura after this tour. Slayer , for example, even though they officially "ended" in 2018, will be doing some shows this year , supposedly at the insistence of Tom Araya .
We shouldn't put pressure on Sepultura right now. The decision couldn't have been easy, and all the pros and cons were certainly considered and weighed. And after 40 years of good service, they deserve the rest they want and need. But I certainly hope they have a good chat with Tom Araya's wife.
The tour is produced by 30e and tickets for the shows in São Paulo are available on the Eventim website.
Burial at Arena Hall – 03/01/2024
Mechanical sound. Police (Titãs)
- Intro
- Refuse/Resist
- Territory
- Slave New World
- Phantom Self
- Dusted
- Attitude
- Kairos
- Means to an End
- Cut-Throat
- Guardians of Earth
- Mind War
- False
- Choke
- Escape to the Void
- Kaiowas
- Burial
- Biotech Is Godzilla
- Agony of Defeat
- Troops of Doom
- Arise
BIS
- Ratamahatta
- Roots Bloody Roots
Mechanical sound. Easy Lover (Philip Bailey)
*This text was written by a Wikimate and does not necessarily represent the opinions of the site's authors.
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