Sepultura / The Academy / Manchester

Nov 12

Nov 12 Sepultura / The Academy / Manchester

A long trip up the A1, M18 and A628, but a trip that just had to be made, to catch Sepultura for the final time on their “Celebrating Life Trough Death” tour. Unfortunately a combination of early doors (5pm) Friday night Manchester traffic, and administrative issues with the accreditation, meant I missed out on the first set from hardcore / metalcore artist Jesus Piece. Such a shame, as I caught Jesus Piece live almost a year ago at the intimate Exchange venue in Bristol, and the show was incredible. Full on hardcore energy from start to finish.

So first up, are American death metal legends Obituary. Formed in Tampa, Florida back in 1984 and initially called Executioner, they are considered by many to be a central group in the development of the death metal genre. Obituary has released eleven studio albums. The current lineup consists of John Tardy (vocals), Donald Tardy (drums), Trevor Peres (guitar), Terry Butler (bass) and Ken Andrews (guitar). The Tardy brothers and Trevor Peres being the only constant members.

They start the set with the instrumental track Redneck Stomp sets the scene with it’s power and energy. Obituary have a skill for delivering crushingly good grooves with technical skill and its manifest in tracks like Deadly Intentions and Chopped In Half. The crowd are loving every note, it’s a tribute to the strength of the line up tat Obituary are only the second band of four ! Their reputation for brutal crushing metal ensures a full house from the outset and the energy levels are through the roof, with a steady stream of surfers over the heads of the crowd and into the pit.

Highlight for me was The Wrong Time taken form the album “Dying of Everything” a powerhouse of a track with a beefy central guitar riff which hurls the song forward, whilst John Tardy provides the obligatory (and excellently delivered) howls and growls.

They close the set with one of my favourite Obituary tracks Slowly We Rot, death metal at its utterly most brilliant, leaving the crowd begging for more.

Obituary show no signs of slowing down, and go to show that their firebrand style of death metal is still as good and relevant today, as its always been.

Setlist

Redneck Stomp

Threatening Skies

By the Light

The Wrong Time

Deadly Intentions

Chopped in Half / Turned Inside Out

Solid State

War

Dying of Everything

Slowly We Rot

A quick changeround and up next are Jinjer. Formed in 2008 in the Eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk, formed in 2008, but none of the original band members remain. New vocalist Tatiana Shmayluk and guitarist Roman Ibramkhalilov joined in 2009 and they have since added Eugene Abdukhanov on bass, and drummer Vladislav Ulasevich. They released their most recent album “Wallflowers” in 2021, but a new fifth album entitled “Duél” is in the works slated for a February 2025 release.

Jinjer shake things up, and starting with Sit Stay Roll Over deliver a set of precise intricate material, interspersed with moments of harsh heaviness. Tatiana has a fantastic voice, able to switch effortlessly from beautiful tonal delivery of delicate melodic sections to raw guttural growling and everything in between, evidenced superbly in the track Retrospection, a gorgeous anthem of a song about family - the ones who raised us, who sacrificed everything for the sake of our happiness no matter what the costs, even despite our own thankless and ingratitude towards them. Its dymanic and switches effortlessly from quiet moments of reflection to brutal riffing in an instant. Just stunning.

There is some impressive technical ability on display too, each element complimenting the others, in balance as evidenced in fan favourite such as Teacher, Teacher! and Colossus.

For me, the highlights were later in the set, with exceptional versions of Someone's Daughter and Kafka, the interplay between guitar and bass the highlight over which Tatiana’s vocals drape elegantly. What strikes is how relaxed and at ease they are, Tatiana freely interacting with the crowd throughout. Buy the time the set ends with Rogue, Jinjer have delivered something very special indeed.

Setlist

Sit Stay Roll Over

Ape

Fast Draw

Retrospection

Teacher, Teacher!

Colossus

Someone's Daughter

Kafka

Copycat

Perennial

Rogue

It’s hard to imagine that its been 40 years since Sepultura wefe formed in the Brazilian city of Belo Horizonte by the brothers Max and Igor Cavalera. They released their debut “Morbid Visions” in 1986 and in all, Sepultura have released fifteen studio albums to date. Over the years they’ve gone through a number of line up changes, not least with Max Cavalera leaving in 1996 followed by his brother Igor in 2006. This left bassist Paulo Jr. and guitarist Andreas Kisser, who were joined by Derrick Green on vocals (who replaced Max in 1997), and drummer Greyson Nekrutman, in March 2024.

Bridging Death Metal, Thrash and Groove Metal, and adding their own unique sound of South American beats, Sepultura have becomes an iconic band.

The atmosphere is electric as the intro starts, the lights dim and they step out. They dive right in with the powerful anthem that is Refuse/Resist, a hard hitting anti-police anthem, which immediately has everyone bouncing. The setlist is a tour through their career with classic tracks like Slave New World and Territory which references the conflict between Israel and Palestine, which sadly remains just as relevant today as it did when written. These popular tracks see a wave of bodies surfing over to the barrier, sitting well alongside more recent numbers such as Kairos and Guardians of Earth. Linking everything is that unique latin influenced drum beat driving everything along at breakneck speed.

From the 1993 album “Chaos A.D.”, one of their most powerful and political albums, we get Means To An End, and with lyrics such as ‘A fear of a foreign invader. Delusions that are killing the truth. A desperate way to gain the faith. Emotions controlling the will. It will make no difference, it’s the era we live. Each side bare witness to lies’ it highlights how government and media use fear and propaganda to preserve the status quo in society.

Half way through the set, there is a wonderful moment, with a tribute to another legendary band, as they deliver a stunning version of Motorhead’s classic hit Orgasmatron. Derrick is on outstanding form as he bounces round the stage, spitting out the vocals with aplomb, with a broad grin across his face, loving every moment.

By the time we get to the end of the set and Arise, the atmosphere is just electric. Sepultura return for a two song encore, and what could be better, than Ratamahatta, the track that for me, sums up their sound so perfectly that blends metal with their own cultural beats and vie so so perfectly, followed by their biggest ever hit in Roots Bloody Roots.

The atmosphere felt like it had changed. The crowd were lapping up every second of the experience, and there is an electricity in the air, but listening to these big hits for one last time, the reality hits you that this is it…. A farewell to the UK crowd. Everyone is chanting along, just living the moment, soaking in every second.

There is a sense of belonging, fans and band as one as they salute us one final time before leaving the stage. Its hard to contemplate that, that’s it, Sepultura won’t be back, but boy… what a rollercoaster of a ride its been, and they go out with a performance that will live long in the memory for all those lucky enough to experience it.

Thank you Sepultura for the memories.

Setlist

Refuse/Resist

Territory

Slave New World

Phantom Self

Attitude

Means to an End

Kairos

Guardians of Earth

Choke

False