Sepultura – Kairos

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After the highly public departure of drummer Igor Cavalera and the release of the much-maligned A-Lex, Brazilian thrash stalwarts Sepultura were in terrible need of a swift kick in the pants. While still a highly imperfect record, Kairos could still be that kick. The death metal and thrash that have been absent from Sepultura’s sound for two decades have made a return, and while they’re more modern and less visceral than they were on classics like Arise and Beneath The Remains, at least they’re present. And as if the presence of death and thrash weren’t enough, we also fortunately lose much of the tribal beats and hardcore gang vocals that had replaced them. Even the cover of Ministry‘s Just One Fix mostly works here. This isn’t necessarily a better album than 2006′s Dante XXI – the other good Sepultura album post-1991 – but it’s far more Sepultura. Highlights like Relentless and Kairos couldn’t have appeared on Schizophrenia, but they’re a hell of a lot closer to it than Ratamahatta.

Written by Brad Sanders
More: 2011, Albums, Quick.Play Reviews, Thrash Metal, Sepultura