SEPULTURA

SepulQuarta

NUCLEAR BLAST

South America’s metal standard-bearers bring out the big guns and misfire

WHEN COVID-19 NECESSITATED the era of livestreaming, metal bands quickly got creative to make their virtual gigs outshine the rest. Code Orange effectively resurrected the MTV Unplugged format, while Lamb Of God barrelled through albums in full and Trivium unearthed rarities on Twitch. Sepultura, concurrently, debuted SepulQuarta: a Youtube series during which the idols played one of their up-to-35-year-old ragers in isolation, with prestigious guests joining.

After sustaining the concept for more than a year, the grooves sound no more pummelling for having David Ellefson as second bassist, and you’d never guess Scott Ian was on from the audio alone. Testament’s Alex Skolnick, Death Angel’s Rob Cavestany and Periphery’s Mark Holcomb all suffer similarly, blending into their surroundings.