December 2024 - Feature Release - The Pit Edition

End of another year and I get to close the year out with the feature release nomination for The Pit.  I have gone with Sepultura's Quadra from 2020,  an album I recently discovered whilst expanding my horizons with some latter day Sepultura releases.  Loking forwards to seeing the banter, comments and reviews for this one.

https://metal.academy/releases/16932

Here's my review:

Brazilian thrash metal gods Sepultura had a life-changing impact on me as a kid. They could literally do no wrong in their early days as far as I’m concerned with their first couple of releases playing a role in defining the early death/thrash sound, their next few taking thrash to heights that no one suspected the movement still had in the tank at the time & their 1993 fifth album “Chaos AD” closely competing with Pantera for the groove metal crown. I can’t deny that “Chaos AD” scared me a little though because, even though it was undeniably a high-quality & universally engaging metal album, I had to admit that it had moved slightly away from my musical sweet spot which saw my defences coming up a bit with Sepultura’s next full-length “Roots”. In fact, I didn’t even end up checking it out in full until only relatively recently. Although I have some time for “Roots”, it wasn’t exactly my bag in terms of style & the exit of Max Cavalera only exacerbated any qualms I may have had with the modern-day Sepultura. I haven’t enjoyed much of what I’ve heard from them in all the years since to be honest but that changed with their 2020 fifteenth album “Quadra” which offered me significant appeal. I haven’t returned to it since giving it a couple of well-received spins at the time of release but I’ve been looking forward to affording it the full-length review it deserves after it was nominated as this month’s The Pit feature release.

There’s a fairly sizeable gap in my knowledge of Sepultura’s back catalogue as I never gave the releases from 1998-2006 a chance after I returned to metal in 2009. Instead, I saw myself progressively checking out each subsequent full-length with a feeling of apathy being the general outcome, so much so that I didn’t even bother with 2017’s “Machine Messiah”. But the buzz around its follow-up “Quadra” saw my intrigue being strong enough to have me throwing my hat in the ring again & I had to admit that I was glad I did too as it saw Sepultura returning with their strongest release since “Chaos AD” in my opinion, perhaps not the potent statement the world was hoping the Brazilians still had in them but a decent enough effort for an old-school act nonetheless. Max’s brother Igor had also moved on by that point, calling time on his childhood band more than a decade earlier in order to work with his brother on their Cavalera Conspiracy project. Bassist Paulo Jr. (aka Paulo Xisto as he’s known here) & guitarist Andreas Kisser were still onboard from the classic Sepultura lineup though so I was a little surprised at just how far “Quadra” saw the band venturing from their classic sound. There seemed to be more ambition on display than we’d heard from Sepultura in a very long time & I had to admire the energy of an artist that had already been around for an impressive 36 years by that point.

As with “Machine Messiah”, Sepultura recorded the “Quadra” album at Fascination Street Studios in Örebro, Sweden with renowned metal producer Jens Bogren who’d accumulated a huge resume of metal credits by that point in time. You can certainly hear the class in the production job here too although I can’t deny that I was a little surprised by just how clean the album sounds. This seemed to be a far more crisp & clinical Sepultura than I could recall encountering in the past & I’m not entirely sure how I feel about that to be honest. I mean, they were always very capable in terms of musicianship but here we see them sporting a production that’s more suited to a progressive metal band than a thrash/groove metal one but perhaps that’s in part due to the brand-new musical direction the band were taking because it was certainly more ambitious than I was expecting too.

The main musical feature of “Quadra” that I wasn’t expecting was the progressive component that is incorporated into a large enough chunk of the record, enough to see me claiming it as a genuinely progressive groove metal record which came as a complete surprise. As with the production, the musicianship & arrangements consistently exude a shiner & more sophisticated edge than I can remember hearing from Sepultura in the past. The regular use of progressive tools like odd time-signatures & symphonic orchestration gives “Quadra” a different look & feel to anything I’ve heard from the Brazilians in the past, so much that it’s taken me some time to come to terms with it. I’ve never been the biggest groove metal fan so I was thankful for a few thrash tunes early in the tracklisting (see “Isolation”, “Last Time” & “Ali”) although a couple of them were admittedly all progged up. Things get even more progressive through the back end of the album though, reminding me quite a bit of Devin Townsend’s more expansive work on several occasions & even heading into symphonic territory a couple of times. There are a number of more traditional groove metal numbers spread across the tracklisting (see “Means to an End”, “Capital Enslavement”, “Raging Void” & “Autem”) & it’s clearly those that I get the least appeal out of, particularly the first two which do very little for me. I definitely prefer it when Sepultura either thrash out like they did back in the day or opt for a more creative & interesting approach. The aggressive vocal delivery of front man Derrick Green is a strong contributor in tying Sepultura to their adopted groove metal sound though & I feel that my Phil Anselmo (Pantera) meets Jaz Coleman (Killing Joke) comparison is pretty much on the money. Young drummer Eloy Casagrande (currently of Slipknot) does an excellent job behind the kit, occasionally even crossing over into blast-beats when things reach their most violent. It’s the lead guitar solos of Kisser that are the real highlight here though & he proves himself to be a wonderful exponent of his craft these days, no longer opting for short bursts of dissonance like he did back in the day. These solos are beautifully crafted examples of melodic yet highly proficient musicality that may not sound like the Sepultura we grew up with but hit my metal spot hard nonetheless & with great force too. His lead tone is nothing short of brilliant here.

While “Quadra” isn’t a masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination, it is the best thing I’ve heard from Sepultura in the last three decades which has gotta count for something. I do have to question whether I want the Brazilians to sound like this though as this record doesn’t sound much like the Sepultura I grew up with. It’s also lacking any genuine classics which was always gonna see it struggling to see me considering for my higher scores. I’m not sure I can see myself reaching for “Quadra” again in the future but it has opened me up to the idea of exploring 2021’s “Sepulquarta” album at some stage which I hadn’t considered up until now. I’d suggest that groove metal nuts will get a bit more out of “Quadra” than I do but I’m pleased that I gave it a crack nonetheless.

For fans of Machine Head, Pantera & Devin Townsend.

3.5/5

I've done my review, here's its review summary:

The 80s thrash tsunami occurred mostly in the US, the UK, and Germany, but one band from Brazil has propelled that country into the scene. Sepultura brought Brazilian thrash metal forward with albums Beneath the Remains and Arise. Though longtime thrash fans were turned off by their switch to groove metal in Chaos A.D. and the more Korn-ish nu metal of Roots. After that, frontman Max Cavalera quit the band, followed by his brother drummer Igor a decade later. The band has continued to stay active, all the way up to this year (as of my review), when they started a farewell tour that will last until 2026. More often than not, when a thrash band tries to relive their 80s era of destruction and mayhem, it doesn't reach the same glory as that era. However, the thrash sound in the band's possible final album before retiring has been given more modern depth, and whether or not you've only heard one of Max Cavalera's other projects like Nailbomb or Soulfly beforehand, you can't resist the tribal heaviness of this band now led by top-notch vocalist Derrick Green. Bassist Paulo Jr. and guitarist Andreas Kisser have kept the band going throughout their history, heating things up with the riffing and shredding. And we have the rocket-powered drumming of Eloy Casagrande, who didn't stick around for the farewell tour. Quadra is an album of 4 different 3-track sections that practically pay tribute to their different eras. In my full review, I've named them after 4 of the classical elements; the "Thrash Fire", the "Groove Earth", the "Progressive Water", and the "Melodic Air". Of course, each section doesn't strictly follow its respective sound. The "Thrash Fire" section can bring in some groove for a thrash/groove blend similar to The Haunted. The "Groove Earth" section can go progressive at times. The "Progressive Water" section is more than just that, as I consider a couple highlights each an epic progressive groove/thrash fest. The "Melodic Air" section has two melodic heavy metal/hard rock tracks that are stylistically untouched, nor does their sound bleed into the other sections while makes this one the odd section out. Anyone who has enjoyed Sepultura since before their move out of thrash 30 years ago will find something to love, and those who came here for progressive energy and/or earthly groove will be in luck. This blend of thrash and groove is similar to Slayer's final album Repentless, only lightyears better and more progressive. I think Quadra can win back earlier Sepultura fans while also bring newcomers who have spent time with music from bands like Machine Head and Gojira. The possible final offering from these Brazilian thrash masters shall be worth it for any metalhead!

4.5/5

Searching through groove metal over the past twelve months or so has churned up a mixed bag of releases. Crossing into core, death metal and of course thrash metal, the journey has been one that has broadened my horizons from my personal (and seemingly insular) belief that the genre consisted of Pantera and (early) Machine Head as its brief contribution to the metal world before it was consumed by the arrival of nu metal. Hitting a search on Metal Academy for releases in the genre up to 2020 pulls fifteen pages of results containing household names such as Anthrax, Overkill, Decapitated, Lamb of God as well as at least three bands containing one or more of the Cavalera brothers.

By the time Quadra was released, both Max and Igor were no longer in Sepultura. Andreas Kisser and Paulo Xisto were the only long-standing members left (although I often smirk at Paulo’s status under that banner given, he played nothing on Schizophrenia, Beneath the Remains or Arise). With the now familiar voice of Derrick Green fronting the band and Eloy Casagrande starting his third album on the drum stool, Quadra had a stable line up and this shows in abundance on the record for me. Kisser was always lauded as a great guitarist back in the day and I never really got onboard with that sentiment if I am honest. Yet on Quadra I find his work is consistent and versatile. That slightly detuned solo on Capital Enslavement could have really been butchered I sense, but despite it risking teetering on the brink of plain amateur, Kisser carries it off nicely. Likewise, his riffing maybe a little too familiar, resulting in some sense of there being a lack of variation across the riff and rhythm sections of Quadra, but it is entertaining enough when the vocals and song structures add the necessary depth to the album that is at times lacking.

The above having been said, Quadra may not be my favourite Sepultura release. But having heard everything up to an including Chaos A.D. on a consistent basis over the years, Quadra is the most interesting release from the band to my ears. The thrash metal elements are sparse, and the groove metal takes more of a centre stage. This is no bad thing. Based on my groove metal exploration to date, I would say Quadra is one of the better releases I have heard. Within these progressive structures there is no loss of the urgency I would seek in the tempo of the record. The orchestration of tracks like Guardians of the Earth are done against an obvious metal backdrop and blend well. The crowning glory of the album is without question for me the well-balanced, Agony of Defeat. Here the choir arrangement is professionally done to add depth to the tack, giving it a sense of the epic. Bestial Devastation fans need not apply.

I prefer this record to Roots, an album that whenever I have attempted to delve into has resulted in some horrible combination of confusion and disappointment. Indeed, I would go as far as to say that I prefer Quadra to pretty much anything Max and Igor have put out since they departed the band. If, like me, you had assumed Sepultura’s better releases where behind them after 1993 then you would be mistaken. This is not Arise or Beneath the Remains, it is something else altogether, and whilst it will never trump those two it is still a very strong release based on its own merits.

4/5

Nice review Vinny. Feel free to vote in the two Hall of Judgement polls that are currently running to decide where “Quadra” should best fit within the genre-tree spectrum.

I've never really listened to much Sepultura. I've listened to most of the albums from the classic period, and while I've liked some, I've never really revisited them. They're certainly one of the oddest groups, going from near death metal to nu metal sellouts is one heck of a career trejectory. I haven't heard anything since Roots or so, but people love these guys again, so clearly they did something right.
What surprised me when I first listened to this album was how much it sounded like modern Testament, which forced me to ask the question, who did it first? I mean, Testament did start off like Metallica before getting heavier, so I took a moment to check. The answer's complex, since I think Testament hit on the exact package first, but vocally they only thing they really stole, as such, was the way the vocals here sounded. It's very clearly an influence, since both are gruff, deep guys who frequently do near growls.
As an album, it's pretty good, feeling like a mix of their best moments. Songs tend to blend more sell-outy parts with harsher bits. Normally, that's not really a combination that I think works, usually the style differences seem awkwardly sewn together. But these guys make it work, which I find amusing since I gave up on them because they were getting crappy because of some elements. Here they blend the two pretty well, sometimes even in the same song. It comes off as unique, like if it weren't them you'd get something incredibly mediocre.
What I was surprised at was the occasional bits of prog leanings that sneak in. Never an entire song or anything, but a strong undercurrent. Even some of the requisite tribal music is thrown in. That said, a lot of times it feels less like a genuine attempt at expanding and more like someone got really into listening to Joe Satriani during the recording of this album. Sometimes it seems like passages are copied note for note.
I ultimately enjoyed this, as the negatives generally seem minor. I daresay this might even end up being my favorite Sepultura album.

4/5