Sepultura- Mechanic Messiah (2017) Review

Sepultura- Mechanic Messiah (2017) Review

By: Ghost Writer

Sepultura is a long-time favorite band of mine, the band that came out of nowhere and put Brazilian metal on the map (along with the equally great and legendary, but more underground Sarcogafo), I was particularly delighted with records like the classic Beneath the Remains, (their early recordings like Bestial Devastation or Morbid Visions were satisfactory but messy recordings) a hugely pulverizing output and the intense Arise, which displayed a more ambitious band blossoming beneath this primitive demolition team, Chaos A.D. became their commercial apex, with very successful tours and over exposed videos, I always felt that after Arise, Sepultura lost its focus, they were definitely evolving and trying to conciliate their underground roots with a more experimental and their association with the rising, sometimes annoying Nu Metal trend, Roots successfully solved their creative differences, but tensions surfaced and tore apart the band, losing singer, vocalist and leader Max Cavalera, for many bands a potentially lethal blow, but for the tough Brazilian band it was a matter of adapting to change and evolve as Darwin theorized, the result was an almost new career with new members and the chance to regain their focus.

Machine Messiah is Sepultura's 14th album, in a way it follows the experimental path the band started to walk on albums like Dante XXI, A-Lex y Kairos, the opening title track perfectly showcases guitarist Andreas Kisser neoclassical influences along Derrick Green's phenomenally versatile vocals on a painfully slow and soulful dirge like theme, that may remain some of the dark masters Alice In Chains, a mandatory references when it comes to dark and depressing surges, drummer Eloy Casagrande is able to showcase his devastating drumming skills on the hardcore I Am the Enemy, a brutal track displaying the classic Sepultura sound from begging to the end, even Kisser wah wah wailing remind us as time of the frenzied soloing from Slayer, one of Sepultura's early influences, while on Phantom Self the band goes fully on their experimental side, fusing Roots like tribal percussion with middle eastern, almost proggy foreboding keyboards and Kisser rabid riffing on this truly epic piece.

For Iceberg Dances the band brings out the best of them, a tune gloriously full of complex arrangements and mind blowing tempo changes, the band performing as if their lives depended on it, it's a powerful tour the force focusing mainly on the instrumental dexterity of each of their members, engaging in a totally amusing duel of musical might almost landing on the classical, truly unbelievable, Kisser out of this world playing on this one, just like on the whirlwind track named Silent Violence featuring the commanding presence and performance of Green, quickly followed by the hyper aggressive razor sharp riffs of Kisser on the neck breaking Vandals Nest.

Last but never least there is the dementia of Cyber God, another slow burning dirge that allows the band to build a powerful detailed piece with ear grabbing arrangements that perfectly closes an amazing album from these amazing heavy band that still refuses to be easily pigeonholed, a bunch of metal iconoclasts who play both brutally and intellectually, Machine Messiah easily stand ad one of the best metal albums coming this turbulent year from a band that keeps bringing the best of them with each release.