Sepultura – Gig Review 20th May @ Capitol, Perth WA
Sepultura
Capitol, WA
May 20th, 2018
Support: Death Angel and Temptest Rising
After many, many years, reigning all the way from Brazil, the legendary Sepultura finally returned to the west coast of our country. It’s been a great year or so after also recently witnessing Max Cavalera and brother Igor Cavalera perform ‘Roots’ in its entirety at the Astor Theatre (our review here). This time, though, it was a contemporary glance at the embodiment of Sepultura in 2018, and proof that they’re still at the top of their game; read our review here.
A mix of younger and older punters flooded into the venue, lining up early ahead of a big night at Capitol. Perth metalers Tempest Rising snagged the local support slot for the evening and had some fun on stage delivering their ever-evolving ensemble. With a healthy mix of screams and cleans, the band has become strongly reminiscent of Disturbed, with a vast vocal range, backed by consistently crisp riffs and drums.
Another band that has been absent from our shores for a decent few years now is Death Angel. Coming out all the way from the San Francisco Bay Area, the heavy metal titans launched on stage, wearing classic outfits that screamed leather, sleeveless, and rugged. From power metal vocals to thrash metal verses, Death Angel showed that they’ve still got it after so many decades in the game. Front man Mark Osegueda was full of energy and channelling the excitement of the crowd. The vocalist assured fans that we all have a lot to celebrate, not only winding up the Australian tour in Perth but the mere fact that metal is still very much alive and breathing, thanks to hardcore fans who keep it going. Each of the band members were riffing to their eyeballs, staring at eager punters in the crowd, encouraging them to move, scream and go ballistic. The band made a world debut by playing the track ‘Hatred United / United Hate’ from their latest album ‘The Evil Divide’ (which they’ve done before), but this time with Sepultura’s Andreas Kisser joining them on stage for the very first time, due to his guest spot on the recorded version of the song. The jam was incredible to watch, and of course, fans went berserk for an early sighting of the legendary guitarist. Death Angel truly delivered a metal show that not many of their brethren can still achieve to the same calibre.
It was a cold night in Perth and the crowd were ready to warm right back up for the headliners of the evening. When Sepultura finally entered the stage, punters swarmed forward and prepared themselves for the brutality that ensuing. The band graced the stage with a presence that was like no other; sheer confidence bolstered vocalist Derrick Green who roared into the microphone the moment the first tones could be heard. Of course, guitarist Andreas Kisser was just getting warmed up with Death Angel and immersed himself in matrimony with his guitar.
The sound was enormous and the crowd were responding accordingly. A supersized drum was set up for Green at the front of the stage. Mid-track he would join drummer Eloy Casagrande by banging with his hands and enhancing the South American flavour of the band. Dark red and green stage lights persuaded the mood of the evening, flashing brightly in unison to the musical tempo.
Between the bangers from albums ‘Kairos’ and their latest release ‘Machine Messiah’, Sepultura perfectly intertwined some of their greatest tracks into the set, and naturally leaving the best ‘til last. Circle pits were consistently rife and exactly what you’d expect at a show of this magnitude. Closing with signature tracks ‘Refuse/Resist’, ‘Ratamahatta’ and ‘Roots Bloody Roots’, I feel like I can speak everyone in saying it felt very complete, especially after catching the Cavalera brothers live recently, and it was delivered in a way that was both, exactly what was expected, yet also surprisingly impressive.
Gig Review by Ricky Aarons @rickysaul90
