SEPULTURA: 'Kairos' Artwork Unveiled

Brazilian/American thrashers SEPULTURA will release their new album, "Kairos" (an ancient Greek word signifying a time in between, a moment of undetermined period of time in which something special happens) on June 24 in Europe and July 12 in North America via Nuclear Blast Records. The artwork for the CD was created by Erich Sayers, a Los Angeles-based freelance digital artist and photographer whom SEPULTURA first met at the band's recent concert at the House Of Blues in West Hollywood, California.

Commented Sayers: "I started by researching 'Kairos' for images and meaning as soon as the band gave me the title.

"'Kairos' is about time, the actions we take, and the positive or negative repercussions that follow. I knew the image would have wings. I also knew I would somehow need to represent time, but in a way that is timeless.

"Speaking with Andreas [Kisser, guitar], he had an idea for a gel skull. I was uncertain how I would make that happen, but I did and it is unique.

"Actions and their repercussions are represented by the arms, transitioning from the strong healthy arm on top and the decrepit hand below. The background is made from a couple of photos I took on a recent trip to Morocco. They give the composition a mystical quality.

"It was an honor for me to work with SEPULTURA. I am a longtime fan of this legendary band."

Added Kisser: "We were very lucky choosing the artist to design the cover of 'Kairos'. His name is Erich Sayers and we met him backstage at a SEPULTURA concert in Los Angeles last January. He left us his card and when we checked his website we were very impressed by his awesome work. I explained to him the concept of 'Kairos' and he fastly captured what we wanted, sending us ideas in that same week. He's a very talented guy who knew how to draw the concept of the album.

"The cover is different from all the other covers we did in the past but it's 'old school' at the same time, like the album itself. We're very happy with the result."

SEPULTURA's new CD was recorded at Trama Studios in So Paulo, Brazil with producer Roy Z. (JUDAS PRIEST, HALFORD, BRUCE DICKINSON, HELLOWEEN). 13 tracks were laid down during the sessions, including cover versions of MINISTRY's "Just One Fix" and THE PRODIGY's "Firestarter".

"Kairos" track listing:

01. Spectrum
02. Kairos
03. Relentless
(2011)
04. Just One Fix (MINISTRY cover)
05. Dialog
06. Mask
(1433)
07. Seethe
08. Born Strong
09.Embrace The Storm
(5772)
10. No One Will Stand
11. Structure Violence (Azzes)
(4648)

"Kairos" deluxe edition track listing:

01. Spectrum
02. Kairos
03. Relentless
(2011)
04. Just One Fix (MINISTRY cover)
05. Dialog
06. Mask
(1433)
07. Seethe
08. Born Strong
09. Embrace The Storm
(5772)
10. No One Will Stand
11. Structure Violence (AZZES)
(4648)

Bonus tracks:

12. Firestarter (THE PRODIGY cover)
13. Point Of No Return

* Plus bonus making-of DVD

In a recent interview with BLABBERMOUTH.NET, Kisser was asked how the band came up with the "Kairos" title. "The whole theme of the album is the concept of the time, and the title reflects that it's like one concept of time which is not chronological, from one to two; it's like a an instant in time, it's a special time of change," he replied, before adding, "Everyone's life is written by [their] choices you have many 'kairos' moments, like if you go [from] point A [to point] B [to point] C, you are driven by your choices or your guidance; you have to go either one way or the other. And that's the kind of time we talked about not about aging or getting old or going back [in time]; it's just [about those important] moments that can change everything. . .We thought about [that in regards to] SEPULTURA itself 26 years of history and the moment where we are now; why we're here; why we're doing this album and why we have what we have; the changes we have inside and outside the band. It's a collection of 'kairos' [moments] that [got us] here. It's being inspired by our own biography, but mostly [focusing] on what SEPULTURA is today."

On the topic of the songwriting process for SEPULTURA's new CD, Andreas said, "[We] really [wanted to] keep [the album] short. One of the characteristics of the old albums [was that they didn't have a lot of songs on them] like 'Arise' had nine songs, and 'Master Of Puppets' had nine or eight so our idea was to have ten songs, and really [make them as good as possible], maybe add parts and think a little bit more about the riffs instead of just throwing songs out there one after the other. 'Cause with [2006's] 'Dante XXI' and 'A-Lex', it was kind of that way... especially with 'A-Lex', since it was our first album with Jean Dolabella on drums, just working with him, writing with him for the first time, it was more like a big jam. But this one, we stopped and thought more about the whole concept and we focused on being more creative in the end. After using books [as the basis of the lyrical concepts on] our past albums, and the experience of doing that, we limited ourselves [this time around] to be more creative. I think it really helps when you have a goal and focus, and it worked great on this album."

When asked about SEPULTURA's decision to work with Roy Z this time around, Kisser said, "The idea [for the new album] was really to put SEPULTURA on stage in the studio and having a producer that is [also a performing artist himself], it helps a lot [in capturing that live energy] in the [recording studio]. The album was practically recorded live; that was the idea initially to try to be as live as possible and more than 50 percent of first takes [is what we kept on the record]. It sounds really live and we're very happy with the chemistry we had with Roy in the studio. He really liked the idea of trying this raw approach. He didn't know the studio very well in So Paulo, but he learned [as we went along]. We didn't have too much time for pre-production [either], but everything worked out really perfectly. We were ready to record and he was very quick and smart in finding ways to [capture] the sound [we were looking for]. It was fun to record guitars with him, using different pedals and amps and stuff, and [he had] nice ideas to build really cool solos. So it was great; he was really the perfect guy for us [to work with] at this moment. . . In the end, the result is amazing; we're very happy. I think it's one of the best SEPULTURA albums that we ever did the whole vibe and the sound and the lyrics and the songs and the style. I'm very confident that we created something really special with this one."

Photo below by Estevam Romera