Before any of the metal conneisuers / metal snobs say anything and have their doubts about Sepultura and the line up changes that occurred over the years, just keep an open mind and read about what was definitely one of the best shows in Oslo, Norway this year. Sepultura playing in Oslo was such a big deal , even Shagrath (lead singer of Norways biggest black metal band, Dimmu Borgir) was present in the audience that night.
I am one of those people who grew up listening to Sepultura since their inception in 1984 and I was also the one who introduced the on stage at their 1st show in the USA with the new singer, Derrick Green , in 1999. Derrick has definitely gone above and beyond the call of duty when filling the shoes of Max Cavalera, and believe me, the pressure to measure up to Max’s vocals must have been tremendous and stressful on his part. When I first saw Sepultura perform without Max Cavalera, I have to say I was even a bit reluctant. but to my surprise, Derrick Green did just as good as Max did. In fact, there are many other fans that share the same opinion as I do when I say that Derrick Green comes across more energetic on stage and more passionate than ever!!
When I arrived at the venue, Rockefeller, I arrived a bit early around 5pm and decided to say hi to everyone . When I got there, the line was already halfway around the block of the venue . When I arrived upstairs to the dressing room, there were already a few enthusiastic fans that made a lovely welcome gift for Sepultura ..it was the Norweigan Sepultura army..they painted the Sepultura logo over a Norweigan flag..it was so cool and unique I had to get a photo of it! The overall spirit amongst the band before the show was very good; so I knew beforehand that this show would be one of the better ones.
I decided to watch the show from the soundboard that night. It was by far the best seat in the house. The stage was completely dark and all you could hear were the drums which were so powerful, all of a sudden when Andreas Kisser came on stage, the audience came to life and as soon as the stage lit up completely and Derrick came out lashing out those vocals , everyone in the venue came to life!!
Lead singer Derrick Green rules the stage with such a huge presence and confident vibe. He totally connects with the audience and the audience seemed to completely connect with him. Slamming right into “Refuse/Resist” just kicked it into overdrive and had the audience chanting the lyrics word for word right back at the band. Guitarist Andreas Kisser has such star presence and the crowd just seems to gravitate towards him. He urges the audience on and everyone caves into his commanding presence. The energy of the band and the audience was nothing short of electrifying. I’ve seen a lot of great shows but not many where I could literally feel the energy this intensely. . This was an audience that was pumped to the extreme to see this band and this was a band that was giving 110%.
Sepultura’s song set list was very much an anthology of a long and now legendary career that has boasted some of the greatest metal ever made .The band managed to slip in some really great classics and again had the audience in sync with the band and singing every word right back at them.
The band closed out a high voltage set with “Roots” which left a bunch of melted faces. It seems rare that I see smiles at metal shows, but there wasn’t a single face that didn’t look like it had just seen an amazing show. Sepultura is another great example of how some bands don’t grow old, they grow classic. A friend once told me, ” a good band is a band that will still be around 20 years from now and doing it as good as they did in their youth.” Well, I’d say that even with their line up changes and rocky history, Sepultura has secured their place as not just a classic band or a good band but as a great classic metal band. Their best years still seem to lie ahead!!!
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