Formation, Bestial Devastation and Morbid Visions (1984–1986) Sepultura was formed in 1984 in
Belo Horizonte Graciliano's passing deeply affected his sons, inspiring them to form a band after Max heard
Black Sabbath's 1972 album
Vol. 4 the very same day. They chose the name Sepultura, the Portuguese word for "grave", when Max translated the lyrics of the
Motörhead song "Dancing on Your Grave". The brothers' early influences included
Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath,
Deep Purple,
Van Halen,
Iron Maiden, Motörhead,
AC/DC,
Judas Priest,
Ozzy Osbourne,
V8,
Terveet Kädet,
Rattus, and
Discharge. Their listening habits changed after they were introduced to
Venom. As Igor Cavalera put it: '' album, and in the booklets of their first four studio albums. The Cavalera brothers started listening to more extreme metal bands such as
Hellhammer,
Celtic Frost,
Kreator,
Sodom,
Slayer,
Megadeth,
Exodus, and
Exciter. They were also influenced by Brazilian metal bands like
Stress,
Sagrado Inferno, and
Dorsal Atlântica. By 1984, they had dropped out of school. Lamounier departed in March 1985 and became the leader of pioneering Brazilian
black metal band
Sarcófago. Max took over the vocal duties and
Jairo Guedz joined the band as lead guitarist. After a year of performing, Sepultura signed with
Cogumelo Records in 1985. Later that year, they released
Bestial Devastation, a split EP with Brazilian band Overdose. It was recorded and self-produced in just two days. The band recorded their first full-length album,
Morbid Visions, in August 1986. Released that November, the album contained their first hit, "Troops of Doom", which gained some media attention. The band relocated to São Paulo. They released their second studio album, and debut with Kisser,
Schizophrenia, in October of that year. The album reflected a change towards a thrash metal-oriented sound while retaining the death metal elements of
Morbid Visions.
Schizophrenia displayed improved production and performance, becoming a minor critical sensation and sought-after import in Europe and North America. The band sent tapes to the United States that made radio playlists during a time when they were struggling to book shows as club owners were wary of their style. Max Cavalera later recalled to
Revolver magazine, "We were finally going to get a real label, real producer, real studio. Things were happening...and it was up to us to write the best material possible. And I think that charged everybody up and we went into the jam room with an attitude of let's not fuck around. This is our shot. You only get so many shots in this life, and you gotta make it count." Sepultura's third studio album,
Beneath the Remains, was released in April 1989. The album was recorded towards the end of 1988 in a rustic studio in Rio de Janeiro. The band communicated through translators with American producer
Scott Burns. It was an immediate success and became known as a classic on the order of Slayer's
Reign in Blood. as well as gaining a place in their all-time top 40 death metal records.
AllMusic gave the album 4.5 stars out of 5 and said, "The complete absence of filler here makes this one of the most essential death/thrash metal albums of all time." A long European and American tour furthered the band's reputation, although they were still very limited English speakers. Sepultura's first live dates outside of Brazil included opening for
Sodom on their
Agent Orange tour in Europe. Sepultura's first U.S. show followed, held on October 31, 1989 at
the Ritz in New York City, opening for
King Diamond. The band filmed its first music video for the song "Inner Self", which received considerable airplay on
MTV's
Headbangers Ball, giving Sepultura their first exposure in North America. Touring in support of
Beneath the Remains continued throughout most of 1990, including three shows in Brazil with
Napalm Death, European dates with
Mordred, and a North American tour with
Obituary and
Sadus. They also played with several other bands, including Slayer,
Testament,
Motörhead,
Kreator,
White Zombie,
Type O Negative, and
Fudge Tunnel, and alongside
Alice in Chains, Sepultura supported
Ozzy Osbourne on the latter's
tour for
No More Tears.
Chaos A.D., Nailbomb and Roots (1993–1996) Sepultura's fifth album,
Chaos A.D., was released in September 1993. Supported by the singles "
Refuse/Resist", "
Territory", and "
Slave New World", it was their only album to be released in North America by
Epic Records, and the first of two albums to be
certified gold by the
RIAA. It marked a departure from the death metal sound of the band's previous works, adding elements of
groove metal,
industrial,
hardcore punk, AllMusic gave the album 4.5 stars out of 5 and wrote that, "
Chaos A.D. ranks as one of the greatest heavy metal albums of all time", while
Ultimate Guitar claimed it to be the album that "elevated Sepultura to even greater heights" and called it "an integral part of the decade's so-called 'groove metal' boom movement." The band embarked on a year-and-a-half-long tour in support of
Chaos A.D., headlining a European run with
Paradise Lost, followed by a North American tour with
Fudge Tunnel,
Fear Factory, and
Clutch. opened for the
Ramones in South America and toured Australia and New Zealand with
Sacred Reich. By the time the
Chaos A.D. tour ended in November 1994, Also in 1994, Max and Igor formed
Nailbomb with Alex Newport of Fudge Tunnel. They released an industrial-oriented album,
Point Blank, the same year. The group performed its only live concert for nearly two decades at
Dynamo Open Air in 1995, which was released as a live album,
Proud to Commit Commercial Suicide. Nailbomb disbanded shortly afterward. Sepultura's sound continued changing with their sixth album,
Roots, released in February 1996. The band experimented with Brazil's indigenous music, and adopted a slower, down-tuned sound. The album was hailed as a modern-day heavy metal classic and a major influence on the then-nascent
nu metal scene. AllMusic gave it a rating of 4.5 stars out of 5 and said, "
Roots consolidates Sepultura's position as perhaps the most distinctive, original heavy metal band of the 1990s." Also in 1996, Sepultura performed "War (Guerra)" for the AIDS benefit album
Silencio=Muerte: Red Hot + Latin, produced by the
Red Hot Organization.
Departure of Max Cavalera, arrival of Derrick Green and Against (1996–2000) In August 1996, Sepultura played on the Castle Donington
Monsters of Rock main stage with
Kiss,
Ozzy Osbourne,
Paradise Lost,
Type O Negative,
Biohazard, and
Fear Factory. The band performed as a three-piece with Andreas Kisser on lead vocals after Max Cavalera left the concert site earlier in the day upon learning of his stepson Dana Wells' death in a car accident. After Wells' funeral, Max returned and continued to tour with Sepultura. A few months after Wells' death, the band met with Max and said they wanted to fire their manager Gloria Bujnowski, Max's wife and Dana's mother, and find new management. Their reasoning was that Bujnowski was giving Max preferential treatment while neglecting the rest of the band. Max, still coming to terms with Wells' death, felt betrayed and quit the band. Max's split with Sepultura was publicly announced in January 1997, citing his differences with the remaining members of the band and their refusal to renew a management contract with Bujnowski as factors. has been the singer of Sepultura since 1997, when he replaced
Max Cavalera, who had left the band in January of that year. Following Cavalera's departure, the remaining members remained a three-piece for eight months and worked on new material, with Kisser on vocals. In November 1997, the band announced that they were searching for a new vocalist. Among those who auditioned were
Chuck Billy of
Testament,
Phil Demmel of
Machine Head and
Vio-lence, Marc Grewe of
Morgoth, Jorge Rosado of
Merauder, and a then-unknown singer
Jason "Gong" Jones. American musician
Derrick Green was selected as the new frontman. The first album with the new lineup was
Against, released in October 1998. The album was critically and commercially less successful than previous albums and sold considerably fewer copies than the
self-titled debut album by Max Cavalera's then-new band
Soulfly. In a retrospective review, AllMusic gave the album 3 stars out of 5, stating that "there are enough flashes of the old Sepultura brilliance to suggest that great things are still to come."
Nation and Roorback (2001–2005) Sepultura's eighth album,
Nation (2001), sold poorly. It would be their last with Roadrunner Records. AllMusic gave the album 3 stars out of 5 and said, "As Green scrapes the lining of his vocal chords through the brash, impassioned tracks, he's singing about more than just 'one nation, Sepulnation'; he's suggesting something bigger, something worth shouting about and fighting for." In an interview, Derrick Green said, "Every song will be related to the idea of building this nation. We will have our own flags, our own anthem." Max Cavalera's final live show with Sepultura,
Under a Pale Grey Sky, was released in 2002 as a live album by Roadrunner Records. After recording an EP of covers,
Revolusongs (2002), the band released their ninth studio album,
Roorback, in 2003. Despite receiving greater critical acclaim than its predecessors, sales remained low. It was their first album with
SPV Records. AllMusic gave the album 4 stars out of 5 and said, "If there are still any lingering doubts about the Green/Sepultura match, 2003's excellent
Roorback should put them to rest for good. Green is passionate and focused throughout the album — he has no problem going that extra mile — and the writing is consistently strong." In 2005, the band played in the annual
Dubai Desert Rock Festival. In November of that year, a live double
DVD/double
CD,
Live in São Paulo, was released. This was the first official live album by the band.
Dante XXI, departure of Igor Cavalera, and A-Lex (2006–2010) Sepultura's tenth studio album,
Dante XXI, was released on March 14, 2006. It is a
concept album based on
Dante Alighieri's
The Divine Comedy. Music videos were released for the songs "Convicted in Life" and "Ostia". AllMusic gave the album 3.5 stars out of 5 and said that, "Overall,
Dante XXI is easily one of Sepultura's strongest releases to feature Green on vocals." In a 2007 interview with
Revolver magazine, Max Cavalera stated that he and Igor, both of whom had recently reconciled after a near decade-long feud, would reunite with the original Sepultura lineup. There were rumors that the reunited lineup would play on the main stage at
Ozzfest 2007. However, Kisser clarified that there would be no reunion. Instead, Igor Cavalera left Sepultura after the release of
Dante XXI and was replaced by Brazilian drummer
Jean Dolabella, leaving the band without any original members. After leaving Sepultura, Igor and Max formed
Cavalera Conspiracy. The band was a featured musical guest at the
Latin Grammy Awards of 2008 on November 13. They performed a cover of "
The Girl from Ipanema", and "We've Lost You" from the album
A-Lex. The 9th annual
Latin Grammy Awards ceremony was held at the
Toyota Center in
Houston,
Texas and aired on
Univision. Sepultura also appeared in a successful ad campaign for
Volkswagen motors commercial that aired nationally throughout Brazil in 2008. The spot said that "it's the first time you've seen Sepultura like this. And a Sedan like this one too". The Volkswagen TV spot shows Sepultura playing
bossa nova, as opposed to its heavy metal style, to say that "you never saw something like this, as you never saw a car like the new Voyage." Sepultura released
A-Lex on January 26, 2009. This was the first Sepultura album to include neither Cavalera brother, with bassist Paulo Jr. as the sole remaining member from the band's debut album.
A-Lex is a concept album based on the book
A Clockwork Orange. The album was recorded at Trama Studios in São Paulo, Brazil, and produced by Stanley Soares. AllMusic gave the album 4 stars out of 5 and said, "Personnel changes can have a very negative effect on a band, but Sepultura have maintained their vitality all these years – and that vitality is alive and well on the superb
A-Lex." In the same year, Andreas Kisser contributed his recipe for "
Churrasco in
Soy Sauce" to
Hellbent for Cooking: The Heavy Metal Cookbook, stating that he prefers his meat "medium-rare". Sepultura supported
Metallica on January 30 and 31, 2010, at the
Morumbi Stadium in
São Paulo. The two concerts were attended by 100,000 people. The band filmed a concert DVD in 2010. Sepultura played at Kucukciftlik Park,
Istanbul, on April 27, 2010. On August 8, 2010, they played at the
Hevy Music Festival near
Folkestone.
Kairos and The Mediator Between Head and Hands Must Be the Heart (2010–2015) in 2014. Casagrande was the drummer of Sepultura from 2011 to 2024. On July 6, 2010, it was announced that Sepultura signed with
Nuclear Blast Records, and would release their first album for the label in 2011. The band confirmed there would be no reunion of the classic lineup. By the end of 2010, the band began writing new material and entered the studio to record their 12th album with producer
Roy Z. On March 1, 2011, Sepultura completed recording the album, titled
Kairos and released in June 2011. The album includes cover versions of
Ministry's "
Just One Fix" and
the Prodigy's "
Firestarter", available as bonus tracks on various special-edition releases. Sepultura played on the Kairos World Tour and at
Wacken Open Air 2011. Drummer Jean Dolabella left the band and was replaced by
Eloy Casagrande in November 2011, who had previously played in
Gloria and
Andre Matos' solo band. In November and December 2011, Sepultura participated in the Thrashfest Classics tour alongside thrash metal bands like
Exodus,
Destruction,
Heathen, and
Mortal Sin. In May 2012, guitarist
Andreas Kisser told
Metal Underground that Sepultura would soon "start working on something new with Eloy" and see if they could "get ready for new music early next year." In an interview at England's
Bloodstock Open Air on August 10, 2012, Kisser revealed that Sepultura would be filming a live DVD with the French percussive group
Les Tambours du Bronx. He also revealed that the band was "already thinking about new ideas" for their next album and would "have something new going on" in 2013. On December 10, 2012, producer
Ross Robinson, who produced Sepultura's
Roots album, tweeted: "Oh, didn't mention.. Spoke to Andreas, it's on. My vision, smoke
Roots", suggesting he would be producing the band's next album. This was later confirmed, as well as an announcement that it would be co-produced by
Steve Evetts. Original
Slayer drummer
Dave Lombardo made a guest appearance on the album. On January 25, 2013, it was announced that author Jason Korolenko was working on
Relentless – 30 Years of Sepultura, which is described in a press release as "the only book-length biography to cover the band's entire 30-year career."
Relentless was published on October 8, 2014, in Poland under the title
Brazylijska Furia, and the English language edition was published via Rocket 88 on December 4, 2014. The Brazilian edition, titled
Relentless – 30 Anos de Sepultura, was scheduled for publication via Benvira in early 2015. The French language edition of
Relentless was published in France on October 19, 2015. On July 19, 2013, it was revealed that the title of the band's thirteenth album was
The Mediator Between Head and Hands Must Be the Heart. In September 2013, they performed at
Rock in Rio with Brazilian rock/
MPB artist
Zé Ramalho – this lineup was named "Zépultura", a portmanteau of both artists' names.
Machine Messiah and Quadra (2016–2023) After more than two years of touring in support of
The Mediator Between Head and Hands Must Be the Heart, Sepultura entered the studio in mid-2016 to begin recording their fourteenth studio album, with
Jens Bogren as the producer. The resulting album,
Machine Messiah, was released on January 13, 2017. Sepultura promoted the album with a series of world tours, including supporting
Kreator on their
Gods of Violence tour in Europe in February–March 2017, and along with
Prong, they supported
Testament on the latter's
Brotherhood of the Snake tour in North America in April–May 2017. The band toured Europe in February–March 2018 with
Obscura,
Goatwhore and
Fit for an Autopsy, and Australia in May with
Death Angel. The first official Sepultura documentary,
Sepultura Endurance, premiered in May 2017 and was released on June 17. Max and Igor declined to be interviewed for the documentary film and refused to allow early material of the band to be used. In an August 2018 interview at
Wacken Open Air, Kisser confirmed that Sepultura had begun the songwriting process of their fifteenth studio album, and stated later that month that it would not be released before 2020. The band began recording the album, again with producer Bogren, in August 2019 for a tentative February 2020 release. In October 2019, during their performance at
Rock in Rio 8, the band announced the name and revealed the cover for their fifteenth studio album,
Quadra. They debuted lead single "Isolation", also the opening track for the album. On November 8, they released the studio version of "Isolation" and announced that
Quadra would be released on February 7, 2020. Due to the
COVID-19 pandemic, Sepultura was not able to tour or play any shows in support of
Quadra for over two years after its release. They played their first show in two years at Circo Voador in
Rio de Janeiro on February 12, 2022. The band promoted
Quadra by touring North America with
Sacred Reich,
Crowbar and Art of Shock, and Europe with Sacred Reich and Crowbar; due to COVID-19, the tours had been rescheduled to two years from March and April 2020 and a year from the fall of 2021 respectively. Drummer Bruno Valverde of
Angra filled in for
Eloy Casagrande on the last three dates of the US tour, as the latter could not perform due to a leg injury. Due to a "family emergency", Kisser was temporarily replaced by Jean Patton of Project46 on the summer 2022 European tour; the reason behind this "family emergency" was Kisser's wife Patricia's battle with colon cancer. She died on July 3. The band co-headlined the Klash of the Titans tour in North America with Kreator during the spring of 2023, with Death Angel and
SpiritWorld as supporting acts. Sepultura released a quarantine collaboration album on August 13, 2021, titled
SepulQuarta, including contributions by members of
Megadeth, Testament,
Anthrax,
System of a Down,
Trivium, and Sacred Reich. In a July 2022 interview, frontman
Derrick Green confirmed that Sepultura would begin working on their next studio album after the end of the
Quadra tour, in 2024 at the earliest. Kisser indicated that the band was not expected to release another studio album before at least 2025 or for "a few years".
40th anniversary, farewell tour and The Cloud of Unknowing (2023–present) In August 2023, Kisser revealed that Sepultura would celebrate its 40th anniversary in 2024 with a "special tour" that would not include
Max and
Igor Cavalera, as well as a live album. On December 8, 2023, Sepultura announced that they would embark on a farewell tour in 2024 in celebration of their 40th anniversary, titled Celebrating Life Through Death. When asked about the band "departing via a conscious and planned death on this farewell tour", Kisser explained, "There were a few factors, including the fortieth anniversary. Surviving the pandemic gave us new perspective, and then two years ago my wife passed away from cancer. It made me realise that dying can bring new possibilities for life. Live in the present, there might not be a tomorrow." The first show of the tour took place at the
Arena Hall in Belo Horizonte on March 1, 2024. Kisser has said that he would be open to reuniting with former members of the band (including the Cavalera brothers) for one final show. Although initially open to reuniting with Sepultura, Three days before the farewell tour began, it was announced that Casagrande had quit the band on February 6, 2024, to join "another project", later revealed to be
Slipknot. He later stated that one of the reasons he left Sepultura was because he "didn't want to stop playing drums at the age of 33." In November 2024, Kisser revealed that Sepultura would release an EP with four new songs. In January 2026, the title of the EP was revealed to be
The Cloud of Unknowing; it was released on April 24. ==Musical style and influences==