The legendary Brazilian metal band Sepultura will end its four decade career with a global "Celebrating Life Through Death" tour set to begin in March 2024. The band announced the decision on Dec. 8.
Dates in Europe and South America have already been confirmed. More will be announced soon.
Dates have already been confirmed in South America and Europe. More will be announced soon.
"Sepultura has reached the end of the road and has chosen to depart via a conscious and planned death," the band's message says. "Throughout the next 18 months we will celebrate 40 years of existence together along with our loyal fans on a farewell tour across the entire globe. It will be a celebration of the past and the present for one final time."
During the tour, the band will be recording 40 live tracks in 40 different cities for an upcoming compilation album.
Sepultura will be supported by Jinjer, Obituary and Jesus Piece for their European dates. The openers for the other legs of the trip have not been announced yet.
The group's statement also reflected on the band's storied career: "We've visited 80 countries, immersed ourselves in countless cultures, and proudly served as Brazil's musical ambassadors to the world."
Sepultura thanked their "demanding and intelligent" fans for their "praise and criticism" over the years. "Without you, none of this would have been possible. The album and this tour are for you."
The group framed the decision to break up as a personal choice: "Euthanasia, the right to a dignified death. The right to choose to live free and to choose when you die!"
The band will record 40 live tracks in 40 different cities for an upcoming compilation album.
Sepultura was formed in the Brazilian city of Belo Horizonte in 1984. The group's early years were centered around frontman and guitarist Max Cavalera. The band's earliest releases fused death metal and thrash metal into a precise sound reminiscent of German bands like Sodom and Kreator.
The group switched up its approach after releasing the seminal death metal album Arise in 1991. Chaos A.D. featured a groovier, less technical approach that previewed the nu metal movement which was about to explode in the US. Their next record Roots from 1996 is one of the most well-regarded albums from that genre.
Max left Sepultura that year and formed Soulfly in 1997. His brother Igor, who played the drums in Sepultura, departed the band in 2006. The brothers still play together in the Cavalera Conspiracy. Sepultura's bassist Paulo Xisto Pinto is now the only original member. Lead guitarist Andres Kisser has been with the group since 1987. The current lineup also includes vocalist Derrick Green and drummer Eloy Casagrande.
Their most recent album Sepulquarta was released in 2021.
Sepultura was formed in Belo Horizonte in 1984.
Fans supported the band's retirement in the comments below an Instagram post announcing the decision. "Dignity and hard work till the end. Thank you for the inspiration," one person said in Portuguese. "Congratulations for all the history and for ending so respectfully, you will be greatly missed," another fan said in the language.
But many of the group's Anglophone fans said they stopped paying attention after Max departed the group.
"Begging and pleading everybody saying 'Sepultura broke up in 1996' to shut the f–k up for once," one person said on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
The group's early albums were a mix of thrash and death metal. They later became an important part of the nu metal genre.
