Review by Simon Russell-White
Photos by Sarah Gilpin Photography
Tonight the line of die-hard metal fans stretched down Costin Street to Water Street in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley. This patient army of fans whose wears alone tells the deep history of a band whose very existence plays/ played a significant role in paving the way for what we all continue to adore—the mightily infectious genre of heavy metal music!
It’s hard to fathom what is in store tonight, it feels surreal yet when entering The Tivoli, the energy is palpable, everyone is excited and more than ready to party, as this is the last ever Sepultura show we’ll see here in Australia, those words alone, will take some getting used to.
There was the line to gain entry to The Tivoli, then there was the merch line, this stretching for more than half the downstairs perimeter, the dedication to snag one last pieces or pieces of merchandise and/ or memorabilia was in full swing and I heard on the grape vine that almost all of the merch was completely sold out!!
To kick off the night, we had Brisbane deathmetal/hardcore legends Descent open, not only the night of music, but the mosh pit too. I tell you, with the bounce these dudes have it’s impossible to stand still! I didn’t catch the track name, but I do know it was before their insane track Tempest; this song I cannot name was a beast live and I look forward to stumbling across it online and having that “AHH HA” moment with myself and then sharing it with some like-minded individuals.
Righto, where do I even start with the headliners?!
Over the PA screams Black Sabbath’s War Pigs as a tribute to our ‘Prince of Darkness’, Ozzy Fucking Osborne, in the middle of the venue, where I planted myself earlier, the sing along was so loud/ pretty darn pitch perfect that the audio itself was being drowned out. Straight after, to keep tradition and to satisfy and tantalise our Brazilian brothers and sisters, Policia by Titas soon followed!
A fitting start to what will be a 2-hour onslaught of back catalogue faves of Sepultura fury!
The title track from 1989’s Beneath the Remains kicks in like a mule on heat and God damn did it kick hard! Like he has done so for almost 30 years, Derrick Green (vocals/ percussion) holds his own on these classic tracks, as Inner Self and Desperate Cry soon follow his intensity never lets up, if anything he and the boys are only getting started.
I loved the way the set moved from old school classic Sepultura thrash to later tracks that deliver a more groove beat down, Kairos and Means to an End being examples of this!
Bringing a youthful and drop-dead tightness to what will be the final chapter of Sepultura is the one and only Greyson Nekrutman (drums), this kid is 23, yes 23!!!! I was excited to see Greyson play live again as I’d previously seen him with Suicidal Tendencies a few years back, I simply cannot comprehend how fluent he is behind the kit, this kid is a talent for the ages!
A personal attraction to Sepultura is the percussion, and as serious amount of large floor toms make their way to the stage, along with die-hard fans and crew, Kaiowas quenches the thirst for a good solid live tribal assault.
This entire set was a treat within itself, hearing tracks such as Attitude, Choke and Dead Embryonic Cells mid set cutting the air in every good way possible was something to behold and honestly, it’s just so cool to witness Paulo Jr. (bass/ backing vocals) and Andreas Kisser (guitars/ backing vocals) rock out so hard, with the joys of playing still well and truly intact.
All the obvious tracks get this long time ‘Sep’ fan in the deep feels, but as far as translation live goes, a later track from 2020’s Qaudra owned me. Agony of Defeat is a masterful piece and tonight the repeated lines “I’m trapped dealing with the outside, let me out” and the chorus line “Search for a reason, hope dying slowly” simply took me, this being due to a time in my life in late 2020 where my own life almost slipped away, a time where “hope dying slowly” took on multiple personal meanings.
Okay, for the last part of the review I’m going to keep it simple…. I’m going to let the remaining set list do the talking. Get a load of this;
Orgasmatron – Motorhead cover for the late Phil Campbell, and of course Lemmy Kilmister.
Troops of Doom
Territory
Refuse/Resist
Arise
Drum solo, which was insane, thank you Greyson.
Ratamahatta
Roots Bloody Roots, where fever pitch was achieved!
Need I say more?
Perhaps a couple more things, thank you for the years Sepultura, and for releasing one last EP which is due out in April entitled The Cloud of Unknowing.
Oh, and a quadruple live vinyl is in construction at present, which will feature the best live recordings from this Celebrating Life Through Death tour and according to Derrick, there will be a song from the Brisbane show on it!
That’s how good this show was friends!
