LIVE REVIEW: Sepultura @ Electric Brixton, London

If you’re after an evening with veterans of the metal scene, who’ve each influenced scores of bands in their own right, Electric Brixton has you covered. Arguably, headliners SEPULTURA have been overlooked by many since the departure of the Cavalera brothers, especially Max. The fact it’s still talked about just goes to show the enduring influence of those early albums, but unfairly overshadows a band who’ve remained consistent even with no original members left. 

Before that, though, openers CROWBAR bludgeon the gathering crowd into submission with their heaving sludge. “We are CROWBAR from New Orleans – and we’re gonna kick your ass,” Kirk Windstein announces before they launch into Conquering and an equally demolishing High Rate Extinction. His iconic, glass-gargling bellow is as biting as ever, the riffs just as deliriously heavy as record, if not more so. Despite the early doors, there’s a sizeable crowd gathered for them, further proof of their veteran status and the esteem they’re held in by many. It might not be music to pit to, but there’s a good crowd of people with more than a few necks getting an early workout in. 

Rating: 8/10

They’re followed by thrash stalwarts SACRED REICH who helped lead the thrash insurgency many moons ago, but never quite reached the heights of their peers. They make full use of that, blaring THIN LIZZY‘s The Boys Are Back In Town over the PA before taking the stage before delivering a set heavy on 2019’s Awakening. They’re very clearly an 80s thrash band as both their sound and audience attest. That’s no bad thing; they’ve been around this long by being consistent, even if they have flown under the radar in recent years. But with storming thrash cuts like The American Way and the more recent Divide And Conquer, they might not have many tricks but it’s more than enough. 

Rating: 7/10

Following the theme of interesting choices, SEPULTURA opt to play War Pigs before they start, the entire venue bellowing along in its opening minutes. Pounding toms with dramatic synths herald the band’s arrival, the crowd roaring their approval. They waste no time, a blistering Isolation from latest album Quadra before the clocks turn back to 1993 for Territory, which summons the expected bouncing crowd and pits. “One more territory!” simply does not age and the crowd almost threaten to drown out Derrick Green himself. Speaking of, Green is imperious as ever; towering over his bandmates and stalking the stage, he commands the crowd with ease. 

SEPULTURA are perhaps best known for their inclusion of tribal drumming into songs and by that measure, the inclusion of Kairos in tonight’s setlist does not disappoint, with clapping and whoops from the gathered masses. Unsurprisingly, the loudest cheers are reserved for cuts like Territory and Roots Bloody Roots given their status as helping to pioneer groove metal and as simply titanic songs from the drumwork to their anthemic, earworm chorus lines. All things considered, and even with the fact much of their later work can get overlooked, SEPULTURA are groove metal titans and put on a masterclass that makes it look all too easy. 

Rating: 9/10

Check out our photo gallery of the night’s action in London from Farrah Kathleen here: 

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