SEPULTURA To Release 'The Cloud Of Unknowing' EP

Brazilian/American metallers SEPULTURA have set "The Cloud Of Unknowing" as the title of their final EP. The VIP package for the final North American leg of the band's "Celebrating Life Through Death" tour includes, among other things, an exclusive vinyl for "The Cloud Of Unknowing" EP.

Last year, SEPULTURA guitarist Andreas Kisser spoke about plans to release new music with the SEPULTURA's current touring drummer, 23-year-old Greyson Nekrutman, who officially replaced the group's longtime drummer Eloy Casagrande in February 2024. He said at the time:  "We recorded four new songs with Greyson on drums. I don't think nobody knows that, but there we go. We have four new songs, and we have the intention, next year, to release an EP, just to celebrate this momentum. It's original songs that we worked [out]. It's already recorded and everything, and we're taking our time, really, to see where it's gonna be the good time to do it."

Regarding how the new SEPULTURA material came about, Andreas said: "It was very spontaneous. We had a situation that we played the 70000 Tons Of Metal [cruise in January 2025] and we stayed in Miami. 'We have this studio. We have a few ideas. Okay, let's do it.' [Laughs] And it was great. No pressure from labels, no due date… But it's great… We did it in our time with no rush… And it's great. Because of the farewell [tour] idea, we can do that as well, to plan something like that, or not plan something like that, plan as less that we can to really to challenge ourselves artistically to work something like that."

Asked if SEPULTURA's decision to embark on a two-and-a-half-year farewell tour was motivated in any way by his desire to explore other styles of music away from extreme metal, Andreas said:  "I never felt kind of locked in the SEPULTURA world to write [in a specific style]. We were always very fearless to do whatever we want. I mean, 'Nation' is a very different album, 'A-Lex', all those albums that were inspired by books and stuff. It is, I think, more of the routine of being in a band like SEPULTURA. 40 years — 40 years, man. Have you ever done something for 40 years, like your job? Think about it. [Laughs] It's an amazing achievement inside the entertainment business to have such a band for so long, and ups and downs, to have a following. Every time we were doing albums, we were playing, we had a deal with the record label, regardless of the formation, regardless of the time we were. We played for 10 people, then we were back to play big places and stuff. It's a beautiful history. It's a beautiful history of art and life. And I was kind of feeling to get in that mode of doing another album, doing another tour, it's kind of too predictable. I mean, an artist has to be not in the comfort zone. If you're there, you're fucked, because you're going to lose touch with reality. You're gonna start living in this bubble of what SEPULTURA should be. There's no 'should'. There's a new SEPULTURA every day. We can do anything we want, musically wise, because we conquered that. SEPULTURA is this. It is not thrash metal. It's not heavy metal. It's not dark metal. It's not Brazilian metal. It's SEPULTURA metal. That's why we have a name, right? [Laughs] Otherwise, why have a name? This is SEPULTURA. That's what we are — very free. We're not scared or to take risks. Art is risks. If you do something new, you're gonna take risks. There's no other way. And that's where you learn, with your mistakes or with your errors and your everything. But it's great to stop in a great momentum without fighting, without an external factor breaking up this band. It's our own terms. We chose that very peacefully, a conscious decision. We took two years talking about working out, preparing this, and now we enjoying ourselves. It's amazing. And why not? I mean, it's a privilege to have that, to have that possibility, to stop while we can or to stop in this momentum. And then the future is the future. Let's see. [Laughs]"

Kisser also once again spoke about what SEPULTURA's final concert might look like. He said: "The idea is to do it around October 2026 in São Paulo, Brazil. A big SEPUL-fest type of show, a party with bands that are important. And as a part of SEPULTURA's history, we like to invite every member that was a part of SEPULTURA, including the Cavalera brothers [Max and Igor], to be a part of the concert, to play, to jam. I mean, it's totally irrelevant to discuss the past, who is right, who is wrong. We're never gonna get to a point — we're gonna have two different views of it, and that's fine. This is irrelevant. Let's jam for the fans, to ourselves, to our families [who had] never seen us together. But not only them — Jairo [Guedz], Eloy Casagrande, Jean Patton and Roy Mayorga, musicians that were a part of SEPULTURA in very specific and important moments that kept SEPULTURA flowing and going regardless of our problems and our challenges that we had. So hopefully that will happen. They are gonna be invited. If you wanna be a part of this party, you are welcome. If not, that's fine."

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 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 will 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.

SEPULTURA is putting together a live album commemorating its last run of shows. The band is recording 40 songs in 40 different cities for what will be a "massive compilation of our best, most energetic moments on stage," according to a statement released by SEPULTURA in December 2023.

The final North American leg of SEPULTURA's "Celebrating Life Through Death" tour will feature support from thrash legends EXODUS, hardcore heavyweights BIOHAZARD, and newcomers TRIBAL GAZE. The trek will kick off on April 29 in Montclair, New Jersey and will visit major cities across the U.S. and Canada, including Montreal, Detroit, Chicago, Denver, and Los Angeles, before concluding on May 29 at The Wiltern in Los Angeles. Along the way, SEPULTURA will also perform at major festivals, including Welcome To Rockville and Sonic Temple.

Photo credit: Edu Defferrari