Live: Sepultura

5th February

Ritz

8/10

“We are the real Sepultura!” growled front man Derrick Green before kicking off the set with the first track from their new album, Trauma of War. After over fifteen years with Sepultura, Green has certainly put his mark on the band, his formidable stature and authentic sound brutally bringing the Brazilian metalheads into their thirtieth decade.

Sepultura gigs always have the power to bring together both “the oldies” as Green referred to them and the new generation of metal fans, their unique combination of thrash and Brazilian melody entrancing many. The mixture of both songs from the past ten years, particularly those from their new album The Mediator Between Head and Hands Must Be the Heart, and those from the Cavalera era, pleased all those who ventured out on the cold and windy Manchester night. But there is no doubt that the likes of ‘Arise’ and ‘Refuse! Resist!’ achieved the biggest cheers of the night, the classic tracks triggering the largest and fiercest mosh-pits of the evening, fans chanting the lyrics with dedication.

Always musically flawless, guitarist Andreas Kisser, one of the members who has been in the band from the start, gave a truly vivacious performance. As he threw out his plectrums at the end of the night, the screams from the crowd were fierce, all desperate to get a piece of the Brazilian guitar God. Bassist Paulo Jr. and drummer Eloy Casagrande gave equally skilful performances, and Derrick himself even ventured to the side of the stage to play drums during the classic Ramahatta. Ending with the almighty Roots Bloody Roots, Sepultura proved on this night that they are just as big and just as brutal as ever. Fans will be waiting in anticipation to see what the Brazilians come up with next.