SEPULTURA Announces Last-Ever Concert

After more than four decades of bringing heavy music to the world's biggest stages, Brazilian/American metallers SEPULTURA have announced the final show of their career. The historic performance will take place on November 7, 2026 at the Mercado Livre Arena Pacaembu in São Paulo, Brazil, marking the end of one of the most influential journeys in the history of heavy metal worldwide.

The choice of the Mercado Livre Arena Pacaembu holds special meaning for the band. The venue has been part of SEPULTURA's history since the early 1990s, especially because of the iconic concert held at Praça Charles Miller, in front of the stadium, which helped establish the band's strength in Brazil. Decades later, SEPULTURA returns to the same place to close its story, where part of that legacy was also built.

More than a farewell concert, the night is being conceived as a grand celebration of SEPULTURA's history, bringing together different generations, eras and artists who have become part of the band's journey over the past 40 years. The idea is to transform the final show into a unique moment of tribute, connection and celebration of Brazilian heavy music and its global impact.

Among the international acts already confirmed is METAL ALLEGIANCE, featuring some of the most respected musicians in the global metal scene, including Mike Portnoy of DREAM THEATER, Alex Skolnick and Chuck Billy of TESTAMENT, Phil Demmel, formerly of MACHINE HEAD, Troy Sanders of MASTODON, and bassist/founder Mark Menghi.

The lineup will also feature confirmed appearances by KRISIUN, one of the world's most respected death metal bands, and American thrash metal band SACRED REICH. Additional special guests will be announced soon.

Former members and musicians connected to SEPULTURA's history over the decades are also expected to join the celebration, including Jean Dolabella and Jairo Guedz, the latter of whom preceded SEPULTURA guitarist Andreas Kisser in the band's lineup.

Formed in Belo Horizonte in 1984, SEPULTURA helped redefine the boundaries of heavy metal and became the most internationally recognized Brazilian rock band of all time. Through landmark albums such as "Beneath The Remains", "Arise", "Chaos A.D." and "Roots", the band influenced generations and opened doors for Brazilian heavy music worldwide.

Throughout its career, SEPULTURA performed at some of the world's most important festivals, including Rock In Rio, Lollapalooza, Wacken Open Air, Hellfest and Download, building a legacy that transcends metal and has a permanent place in music history.

SEPULTURA's final show at the Mercado Livre Arena Pacaembu promises to be a historic, emotional and unforgettable night, a farewell befitting the band's importance to both Brazilian culture and the global heavy metal scene.

In a recent interview with Jaimunji of Metal On Tap, Kisser was asked if he would rule out a reunion show for SEPULTURA a few years after the completion of the band's ongoing "farewell" tour. He responded in part: "Dude, I don't rule anything out. It's irrelevant to say if [the retirement is] gonna be forever or we gonna be back. The important thing is that we're gonna stop now. We need that rest, because we organize everything around that. We need our time — we need time to look in a different direction.

"SEPULTURA is not gonna die," he continued. "I mean, MOTÖRHEAD is more alive than... Unfortunately, we don't have the touring, but MOTÖRHEAD will be together with us forever. So we're gonna explore different territories and stuff. And the future, we're gonna deal [with it] when it comes. I mean, possibilities are always open. I don't think we have the power to do eight farewell tours, but who knows? [Laughs] I mean, you see [other bands who announced farewell tours before and then came back or kept touring, like] SCORPIONS, you see Ozzy [Osbourne], you see KISS and MÖTLEY CRÜE and SLAYER and stuff. It's okay to rest and to go out a little bit. It's very healthy, because it shows that art is not really connected to any stereotype of what you should be in the eyes of others."

Andreas also talked about SEPULTURA's previous announcement that it was putting together a live album commemorating its last run of shows. The band is recording 40 songs in 40 different cities for what Andreas and his bandmates said would be a "massive compilation of our best, most energetic moments on stage."

"Yeah, we're still making [it]," Kisser said about the live album. "We're still going places, recording. We have the new [SEPULTURA] EP that we are performing live as well, the new songs, et cetera. But this is something for next year. We'd like to stop everything we're doing here, enjoy what we doing, the shows and everything. But we are recording, every show since [drummer] Greyson [Nekrutman] joined the band [in early 2024]. And we have a lot of material. And it's gonna be an amazing project. We like to take our time as well to do something really special, like vinyl, like old-school KISS 'Alive II' type of vibe, with the photos and stuff like that. Very organic and going to the opposite direction of showing everything on the Internet."

Andreas continued: "I remember listening to live albums like MOTÖRHEAD or [IRON] MAIDEN or KISS and just imagining with the headphones being in the concert. And not even imagine to be on stage, but just there, because in Brazil we didn't have shows and concerts. I mean, imagination, it's such a powerful tool to create atmospheres and to fulfill and pursue your dreams. I was only imagining, and that stuff drove me to be where I am today. So I think we like to try to bring a little bit of that vibe back, since vinyl is back with full power. Who knew? I mean, vinyl was dead, completely, this thing of the past, and now it's back with full power in times of artificial intelligence. So that's a hope. This is something organic and human and more connected to something real."

SEPULTURA kicked off its farewell tour on March 1, 2024 at Arena Hall in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. The sold-out show marked the band's debut performance with Nekrutman, who previously played with SUICIDAL TENDENCIES.

SEPULTURA announced previous drummer Eloy Casagrande's departure on February 27, 2024, explaining in a statement that he was leaving to join "another project", with Eloy later confirming that he was the new drummer of SLIPKNOT.

The news of Eloy's exit from SEPULTURA came just two months after the band announced it would celebrate its 40th anniversary in 2024 by embarking on a "farewell tour" which would cover the entire globe.

In SEPULTURA's statement, the remaining bandmembers expressed their shock over Casagrande's departure, saying they were "taken by surprise" that their now-former drummer would "abandon everything related to SEPULTURA" less than a month prior to the start of the tour.

The final North American leg of SEPULTURA's "Celebrating Life Through Death" tour features support from thrash legends EXODUS, hardcore heavyweights BIOHAZARD, and newcomers TRIBAL GAZE. The trek kicked off on April 29 in Montclair, New Jersey and is visiting major cities across the U.S. and Canada, before concluding on May 29 at The Wiltern in Los Angeles.