“A conscious and planned death”: the metal band Sepultura separates after 40 years of career

“After four decades filled with ups and downs, after visiting 80 countries and countless different cultures, we had the chance to become Brazil's messenger to the world,” Sepultura members said in a statement on the 8th. December. The group announces the end of its career thus: “Sepultura has reached the end of the road and has chosen to leave through a conscious and planned death.”

Created in 1984 in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, by brothers Max and Igor Cavalera, Sepultura very quickly became one of the most influential trash, death and groove metal bands in the late 1980s. Already known on the scene Brazilian, where they toured in beautiful venues and sold thousands of records between 1987 and 1989, Sepultura quickly turned to North America. In 1989, the group gave their first concert in the United States, opening for King Diamond. The images from the show will be used for the band's first music video, for the song Inner Self, and will help increase its popularity. Their third album sold more than 600,000 copies. Beneath the Remains is the first to be recorded in English. It is considered one of the most influential albums in thrash metal.

From 1991 to 1996, the group released three albums. In 1993, Chaos A.D reached number 32 on the Billboard 200 and won “Best Metal Album” at the MTV Video Music Awards. Released in 1996, Roots reached number 27 on the Billboard 200.

A group accustomed to separations

In 1985, the metal group faced a first separation, with the departure of Wagner Lamounier, the group's singer, who slammed the door after an artistic disagreement. In 1987, guitarist Jairo Guedez made the decision to move away from the music scene after Sepultura's first tour. In 1996, Max Cavalera, one of the two founding brothers, suddenly decided to leave the group. About ten years later, Igor decides to leave too. The two brothers joined together to form a new group in 2007: Cavalera Conspiracy. Paulo Jr. remains the group's only original member. In search of a new singer, Derrick Green is recruited.

At the beginning of the 2000s, Sepultura released three albums which were not as successful as the previous ones. But in 2019, the group finished in style with their fifteenth and final album Quadra, which is seen by critics as one of their best albums since the 1990s.

Before stepping away from the spotlight, Sepultura is planning a farewell world tour for 18 months which will begin on March 1, 2024 with 15 dates in South America. A stop is planned at the Zénith in Paris on October 30, 2024. Tickets are on sale from 51 euros.