Sepultura Celebrate 40 Years of Brazilian Metal at Manchester Academy [Photos]

I have to admit that it did come as a bit of a shock to hear that Sepultura’s latest run of dates under the banner of “Sepultura 40” would be their last. It seems I wasn’t the only one saddended that this metal institute were calling it a day with the Manchester Sepultribe turning out en masse for the opening night of their UK leg of their final world tour.

Joining them on a bill which had already merauded its way across Europe were a mix of old and new bands although a ridiculously early evening start saw us miss rising hardcore bruisers Jesus Piece. Friday evening traffic in Manchester meant nearly missing Florida sludgemongers Obituary but thankfully the death metal veterans were just hitting their stride by the time we had got in. Grinding through dank neck snappers like “The Wrong Time” and “Slowly We Rot”, there are some bands whose brutality is absolutely timeless and these Florida maulers are one of them.

The tempo shifts for special guest Jinjer who had plenty of fans around the room. The Ukranian metalcore band might still be a relatively new name on the circuit compared to other bands on this line-up but they deliver a crisp, crunching performance that has plenty here paying attention. Veering from soothing passages to jarring blasts of technical progressive metalcore, Jinjer are a band who are here to make you think. Fronted by Tatiana Shmayluk, Jinjer has a vocalist who has an incredible range and an equally unforgettable stage presence which, when combined with the brutal beauty of their music, creates quite an explosive end result.

At 9pm the lights dim as a packed room waits the arrival of the metal veterans for their final ever gig in Manchester. The tribal drums herald the intro to opener “Refuse/Resist” and when vocal powerhouse Derrick Green roars “Manchester, this is your fucking “Territory”” bodies start to spit over the barrier. “Slave New World” finish off the opening salvo in brutal fashion.

Either side of a grinning Green, Sepultura stalwarts Andreas Kisser and Paulo Jnr. grind their way through a career-spanning set. “Attitude”, “Choke”, “Kaiowas” are just three examples of how the band have continued to push the boundaries of metal with their Brazilian influence with Green, who has been performing some of the classic longer than the Cavalera brothers, spitting them with a venom that doesn’t sound like a band who are ready to quit.

Of course “that argument” will rage on long after the band have rode off into the distance but, for now, witnessing the band power through classics like “Inner Self”, “Escape To The Void” and “Dead Embryonic Cells” the names of former band members were far from the thoughts of these fans. Watching them steamroller through “Arise”, it almost feels like this is a band who are far from finished and are just becoming more savage with time.

Earlier in the evening someone commented that this didn’t feel like the end but more of a celebration of one of the greats. With “Ratamahatta” and “Roots Bloody Roots” bringing Sepultura’s final ever Manchester performance to a riotous finale fans pour into the cold Friday night air grateful for the chance to have celebrated with the metal legends one last time.

Sepultura Set List:

1. Refuse/Resist
2. Territory
3. Slave New World
4. Phantom Self
5. Attitude
6. Means to an End
7. Kairos
8. Guardians of Earth
9. Choke
10. False
11. Escape to the Void
12. Kaiowas
13. Dead Embryonic Cells
14. Agony of Defeat
15. Orgasmatron
16. Inner Self
17. Arise
18. Ratamahatta
19. Roots Bloody Roots

Sepultura (w/ Jinjer, Obituary) @ Manchester Academy (Manchester, UK) on November 8th, 2024

30 photos