Sepultura
Live @ Circolo Magnolia, Segrate (MI) 21.07.15

And they're thirty! Actually, even a few more. If last year Sepultura, eternally traveling the globe, made a stop in the Bel Paese to promote their latest album "The Mediator Between Head and Hands Must Be the Heart", an album with a Wertmüller-like title, well received by fans and critics, this time the occasion is the thirtieth anniversary of the band.

A lot of water has passed under the bridge since the Cavalera brothers put together a precarious little band with some friends in the mid-1980s. Plenty of dramas, infinite feuds truly worthy of a Brazilian soap opera, and occasionally, some masterpieces. After losing Max Cavalera first and then his brother Igor, against all odds, the group seems to be experiencing a second youth, constantly on tour, participating in internationally significant events (Wacken, Hellfest), and releasing studio work that receives positive feedback. Since "Dante XXI," ten years ago, it was noticeable how the Brazilians were veering back toward a rather raw thrash sound, partially abandoning the series of experiments that had characterized their sound for years. Albums like the subsequent "A-lex" and "Kairos" have confirmed that Andreas Kisser and his cohorts are alive and well, despite those who declared them finished long ago. The great classics of the late '80s and early '90s are, by necessity, unattainable, but nowadays, who would ask Slayer for a new "South of Heaven" or Metallica for a new "Ride the Lightning"? Those works need to be contextualized, keeping in mind the time they were written, considering them the result of a specific historical period, and it would be wise to stop using them as a benchmark for everything that came afterward.

While the oceanic crowds of the golden years are now a memory, it's undeniable that live, the four cariocas still put on a great show, still led, as for almost twenty years now, by the gigantic Derrick Green and an Andreas Kisser now the full-fledged leader of the lineup. The rhythm section remains composed of the unwavering Paulo Jr., who has been thrashing his bass since he was sixteen, and the excellent Eloy Casagrande, one of the best drummers of the younger generation.

"The Vatican" kicks off the show, immediately followed by "Kairos", offering a taste of the great work the Brazilians have done in recent years. Despite their long career, the most popular albums inevitably remain the trio formed by "Arise," "Chaos AD," and "Roots," which were extensively raided throughout the evening. "Propaganda" always has a great pull, and it's a pleasure to hear "Breed Apart" and "Cut-Throats" again, just to remember the influence an album like "Roots" had on the entire nu-metal scene two decades ago. The more recent repertoire also draws from "Dante XXI," an album that revitalized the band's acclaim, with the performance of "Convicted in Life," while "Roorback" brings back "Apes of God," a track that continues to make appearances in the Brazilians' setlists. The new "Sepultura Under My Skin," written for the band's thirtieth anniversary, then gives way to "Policia" and "Orgasmatron", making a comeback after ages, covers ever-present in early '90s concerts, surely delighting those who long passed their forties, quite a few in attendance. While it's regrettable that much recent material is not performed to make room for the usual classics, it's a pleasure to hear tracks truly from the band's prehistory, revived for this tour, like "From the Past Comes the Storms", from that gem of violence "Schizophrenia," "Primitive Future," and even "Bestial Devastation," straight from their very first gritty 1985 EP. The hardcore of "Choke" reminds us of one of the best moments from "Against," while an album like "Nation," which back then surprised with its interesting melodic solutions, is skipped entirely: a pity, because a nugget like "Revolt" or a piece like "Who Must Die?" live, at the time, made their mark.

The grand finale, as per tradition, entrusted to the inevitable "Roots Bloody Roots," concludes a lovely evening that, despite the celebration, wasn't steeped in nostalgia but showed a band, still remarkable after years of militancy, revisiting their entire career, from their earliest recordings to the big productions of their golden days, not neglecting their more recent work. And on this note, a lengthy discussion could be had about how many groups, especially those who've long passed the twenty-year career mark, seem now enslaved by their greatest hits, almost as if leaving out, just once, a few songs played countless times is a mortal sin. Surely those who spend money on tickets also want to hear the historic tracks, but sometimes it would be nice to have a bit of courage and decide to permanently exclude songs perhaps played too often, to highlight more recent material or, as was the case throughout the evening, even old gems that hadn't appeared on the setlist in some time.

That aside, it was undoubtedly an enjoyable evening, yet another confirmation of the excellent health of the Brazilian ensemble, cohesive and strong in their offering. Events like this, for instance, once again ward off any notion of "reunions" with former singers, individuals who, unfortunately, seem to spend more time (over)talking with music journalists than in the studio trying to make sense of a career that, for the last ten years, seems to have neither head nor tail. Sometimes it's time to put aside nostalgia for the good old days and try to look forward: if you can still do it together, great; otherwise, it's time to move on alone.

• Derrick Green, vocals and percussion
• Andreas Kisser, guitar and backing vocals
• Paulo Jr., bass
• Eloy Casagrande, drums

1. The Vatican
2. Kairos
3. Propaganda
4. Breed Apart
5. Inner Self
6. Dead Embryonic Cells
7. Convicted in Life
8. Choke
9. Cut-Throat
10. Apes of God
11. Sepultura Under My Skin
12. From the Past Comes the Storms
13. Polícia (Titãs cover)
14. Orgasmatron (Motörhead cover)
15. Territory
16. Arise
17. Refuse/Resist
18. The Curse/Bestial Devastation
19. Primitive Future
20. Biotech Is Godzilla
21. Ratamahatta
22. Roots Bloody Roots