As Sepultura takes the Hellfest stage, the realization gradually sets in that this is the band's final French appearance. One last show remains, scheduled for São Paulo later this year, after which the name will be retired. Of course, the group bears only a passing resemblance to the lineup that exploded onto the international scene four decades ago, and the departure of Max Cavalera in 1996 remains one of heavy metal's great schisms. Yet history did not stop there. Derrick Green has now fronted the band for nearly thirty years, much longer than his predecessor, and together with guitarist Andreas Kisser, bassist Paulo Xisto Jr. and drummer Grayson Nekrutman, they are Sepultura. With the end now in sight, taking them for granted would be a mistake.
The set is short, frustratingly so. For a farewell of this magnitude, one naturally dreams of hearing "Territory," "Dead Embryonic Cells," "Escape to the Void" or even later-period material such as "Means to an End." Such are the limitations of the festival format. Still, France gets the opportunity to say goodbye to one of the defining metal bands of its era. Their influence extends far beyond thrash metal. Without Sepultura, modern groove metal would sound different, and many of today's folk-metal and cross-cultural metal acts, from Bloodywood to The Hu and even Babymetal, might never have existed in their current form. Entire generations of extreme music owe them a debt.
Which makes the band's chosen epitaph particularly fitting. In announcing their farewell, Sepultura spoke of "celebrating life through death." That philosophy has always been embedded in the music itself. Even at its most furious, Sepultura was never nihilistic. There was always rhythm, community and, ultimately, joy beneath the aggression. As the final notes fade across Hellfest, and as we stand amidst the wreckage of a crowd all but annihilated by their apocalyptic performance, the mood is not one of mourning but of gratitude. Four decades after changing the landscape of heavy music, Sepultura takes its leave the same way it built its reputation: loudly, proudly and with its inner ferocity very much intact. And as we survey the battlefield beneath the remains, who knows? Perhaps one day, in one form or another, when the calling becomes too loud to ignore, under a pale grey sky, they shall arise.
TesseracT @ Main Stage 2 (Photos, setlist)
Point Mort @ Warzone (Photo)
Queensrÿche @ Main Stage 1 (Photos, review, setlist)
Stoned Jesus @ Valley Stage (Photos, review, setlist)
Bloodywood @ Main Stage 2 (Photos, setlist)
Accept @ Main Stage 1 (Photos, review, setlist)
Sepultura @ Main Stage 2 (Photos, review, setlist)
Helloween @ Main Stage 1 (Photos, review, setlist)
Opeth @ Main Stage 2 (Photos, review, setlist)
Iron Maiden @ Main Stage 1 (Photos, review, setlist)
DAY FOUR
Scour @ Temple Stage (Photos, review, setlist)
Eyehategod @ Valley Stage (Photos, review)
Six Feet Under @ Altar Stage (Photos, review, setlist)
Corrosion Of Conformity @ Valley Stage (Photos, review)
Possessed @ Altar Stage (Photos, setlist)
Agnostic Front @ Warzone - (Photos, setlist)
Acid Bath @Valley Stage (Photos, review, setlist)
Marduk @ Altar Stage (Photos, setlist)
Napalm Death @ Altar Stage (Photos, review, setlist)
Down @ Valley Stage (Photos, review, setlist)