Everything about Sepultura totally explained
Thrash metalGroove metal
| Years_active = 1984–present
| Label = Cogumelo Records
Roadrunner RecordsSPV RecordsNew Renaissance Records
| Associated_acts =
Cavalera ConspiracyNailbombSarcófagoSoulfly
| Current_members =
Derrick GreenAndreas KisserPaulo Jr.Jean Dolabella |
Past_members =
Wagner LamounierMax CavaleraIgor CavaleraJairo Guedes
}}
Sepultura is a
Brazilian
thrash metal band, formed in 1984.
Their name means "grave" in
Portuguese, which they chose after
Max Cavalera, one of the founding members, was translating the lyrics of the
Motörhead song "Dancing on Your Grave" from their
Another Perfect Day album.
Biography
Sepultura was formed in 1984 at
Belo Horizonte, the capital city of
Minas Gerais, Brazil. At the core of Sepultura were brothers
Max and
Igor Cavalera, the empoverished sons of
model Vânia and Graciliano, a well-to-do Italian
diplomat whose fatal heart attack left his family in financial dire straits. Graciliano's death deeply affected his sons, providing them the impetus to start a band.
Early Cavalera likes included
Van Halen,
Iron Maiden,
Motörhead,
AC/DC,
Judas Priest and
Ozzy Osbourne's solo career. That changed the day they first heard
Venom. Igor said,
From then on the Cavaleras quickly graduated to hearing to
Kreator,
Sodom,
Metallica,
Exodus and
Exciter.
After a revolving door of musicians, Sepultura established a temporary line-up of Max (electric guitar), Igor (drums),
Wagner Lamounier (vocals) and
Paulo Jr. (bass guitar). On March 1985 Lamourier exited Sepultura after an argument with the whole group, and went on to become the frontman of
black metal pioneers
Sarcófago. After Lamounier's departure Max took over the vocal duties, and
Jairo Guedes was invited to join the band as their lead guitarist.
Sepultura signed to Cogumelo Records after a few years of performing. Their first
EP was
Bestial Devastation, a split album with fellow
Brazilians Overdose. Their first LP
Morbid Visions (1986), was initially released in America on
New Renaissance Records, a record label owned by
Ann Boleyn.
New Renaissance Records was heavily criticized by the media for signing and promoting Sepultura. However, eventually "Troops Of Doom" attracted radio airplay. Both albums are nowadays regarded as early milestones in the establishment of
death metal. After
Morbid Visions, Jairo Guedes left the band for another thrash metal venture and was replaced by
São Paulo-based guitarist
Andreas Kisser. Their second full-length album was
Schizophrenia, which was a critical success that led them to being contracted to
Roadrunner Records.
With Roadrunner distributing
Schizophrenia worldwide, Sepultura reached new audiences of metal fans. This was cemented by 1989's
Beneath the Remains, which was hailed by
Terrorizer magazine as one of the all-time top 20
thrash albums, as well as a gaining a placing in their all-time top 40 death metal records. It was followed by a long European and American tour. Their first US show was
October 31,
1989 at the Ritz in New York City, opening for
King Diamond. By the time they released 1991's
Arise, Sepultura were located in
Phoenix, Arizona and had become one of the most critically-praised metal bands of the time, in spite of a lack of mainstream success.
That changed with
Chaos A.D. (1993), which saw a departure from their previous death/thrash style, now mixing it with
industrial and
hardcore punk elements. The album helped form the groove metal genre and saw Sepultura achieve recognition beyond the thrash metal community. They continued with this on 1996's
Roots, in which the band further innovated by experimenting with elements of the music of Brazil's indigenous peoples and traditional thrash, with a slower, downtuned metal sound. The title track is probably the band's best-known song,"Roots Bloody Roots" and often a staple at live shows.
In parallel, in 1994, Max and Igor, aided by Alex Newport of Fudge Tunnel, recorded a more industrial LP,
Point Blank, under the name
Nailbomb. Nailbomb played a full live set only once, and the performance was released as
Proud to Commit Commercial Suicide. Nailbomb also played selected tracks live on Sepultura's 1994 tour with guests Fudge Tunnel.
In 1996, Sepultura played on the
Ozzfest main stage alongside
Ozzy Osbourne,
Slayer,
Danzig,
Biohazard, and
Fear Factory.
Departure of Max and a new singer
At the height of Sepultura's fame however a series of events broke the band apart. Just after the release of
Roots, Sepultura decided to fire their manager, Gloria, Max Cavalera's wife.
It was rumoured that there was some intra-band tension throughout the latter half of 1996, and at the end of a successful tour of Britain later that year, at
Brixton Academy on 16th December 1996, the band told Max they wouldn't renew Gloria's management contract. Max Cavalera left the band, and subsequently formed a new one,
Soulfly. The others announced that they'd continue under the Sepultura name and were searching for a replacement.
A recording of Max's last show with the band was later released as a live album, 2002's
Under A Pale Grey Sky by their former record label
Roadrunner Records, against the wishes of the band.
Derrick Green from
Cleveland wound up filling the frontman spot, and the band released
Against in 1998.
Against was commercially less successful than its two predecessors, as was the follow-up
Nation. These releases saw Sepultura move away from their previous approach of the
thrash metal sound - a process already in motion in such releases as
Roots, and aided by Max's departure. Subsequent releases have had a positive effect in returning praise to the band, but album sales still remain low.
After recording
Revolusongs, an
EP of covers in 2002, the band released the album
Roorback in 2003, which garnered many positive reviews.
In November 2005 the live Double-
DVD and Double-
CD Live in São Paulo was released. This was the first official live album from the band.
The release of 'Live In São Paulo' marked the first involvement of the new 'Sepularmy' street team in promotion of the bands music. The Sepularmy is unrelated to the bands record label SPV and its members are motivated purely by the desire to share the bands music and message around the world.
A new album, called
Dante XXI was released on
March 14,
2006. It is based around
Dante's
The Divine Comedy. This album has been considered to be the band's best effort with Derrick Green and also carries some thrash influence. A music-video for the song "Convicted in Life" was released.
In a recent interview in
Revolver Magazine, Max Cavalera stated that Igor and himself would reunite with the original lineup. There are also rumors that the newly reunited Sepultura would play on the main stage at
Ozzfest 2007. However Andreas Kisser stated that there would be no reunion in 2007.
Andreas also stated that the band is planning a new studio album release for 2008, being the first without any Cavalera member. In January 2008 the band released a new music-video for the song "Ostia" from the "Dante XXI" album. As stated on their Myspace page, the new album will be another concept album, based on "
A Clockwork Orange."
Sepularmy
The Sepularmy was set up in 2005 by Sepultura fans to help promote the band. In the past, the band had suffered from poor promotion from various record labels. After the split from Roadrunner Records, the band suffered a loss in popularity, and as a result, got less exposure.
Their aim is to help spread the music and message of Sepultura, and to promote the band in various ways. Methods include producing flyers that fans can print out and distribute in local venues and music shops, and posting on
Internet forums to help reach potential fans.
In Popular Culture
- The music video for "Chaos A.D." is shown briefly in the music video for an Alice Cooper Cover, "No More Mr. Nice Guy" by Megadeth.
- The music video for "Arise" appears in the 1994 movie, Reality Bites.
- The songs "Desperate Cry" and "Inner Self" are featured in the soundtrack for .
- Sepultura's Roots poster appears in the movie Meet the Parents (2000) with Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller (on the wall in the room of Denny Byrnes).
- The international gaming clan Regnum-Irae, founded in 2000, took its name from a Sepultura song.
- The song The Waste (remix of Kamaitachi featuring Mike Patton) is featured on the Freddy Vs Jason soundtrack.
Discography
Studio albums
Morbid Visions (1986)
Schizophrenia (1987)
Beneath the Remains (1989)
Arise (1991)
Chaos A.D. (1993)
Roots (1996)
Against (1998)
Nation (2001)
Roorback (2003)
Dante XXI (2006)
Footnotes
Further Information
Get more info on 'Sepultura'.
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