SEPULTURA

A remarkable 42 years after forming in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, SEPULTURA are hurtling rapidly towards their final curtain call. Currently in the midst of a farewell tour that may or may not conclude at the end of 2026, these legendary standard bearers for southern hemisphere heaviness are marking the end of a grueling but fruitful career with this four-song EP. In truth, it is a little surprising that "The Cloud of Unknowing" will be their last creative statement. Their last studio album, "Quadra", emerged in 2020 and received some of the most enthusiastic reviews that the band have garnered since that radical change of lineup in the late '90s and the arrival of frontman Derrick Green. A wildly eclectic and adventurous record, "Quadra" seemed to imply that SEPULTURA still had no shortage of brilliant ideas at their disposal, and so it seems unfortunate that they could not muster a whole album's worth of material for their final statement. But whether due to a general sense of fatigue or simply because fulfilling their commitments on the Celebrating Life Through Death tour has become their primary focus, "The Cloud of Unknowing" looks destined to be the last dose of new SEPULTURA music that fans will ever get. Taking into consideration the career that the Brazilians have enjoyed, and the phenomenal number of live shows and recordings that they have contributed to their legacy over the years, it would probably be churlish and mean-spirited to demand anything more. So here we are. Four songs and 18 and a half minutes. The end of the road. Stop moaning. All good things must come to an end.

The somewhat better news is that "The Cloud of Unknowing" continues the excellent form that SEPULTURA have been in for the last decade. Both "Machine Messiah" and "Quadra" showcased a subtly expanded sound and atmospheric remit, with results that retained essential links with the band's thrash metal past while venturing into fresh territory. The same approach is evident here, with four songs that represent the more diverse array of inspirations that have been explored since Green's recruitment. But it begins with a well-aimed elbow to the bridge of the nose: "All Souls Rising" stabs and slashes at full velocity, veers off on a perverse, orchestral tangent, and then brings the deathly hammer down with a full-bore assault that is as brutal and uncompromising as anything SEPULTURA have recorded since "Arise". New drummer Greyson Nekrutman acquits himself brilliantly, Andreas Kisser peels off a flurry of jaw-dropping riffs, and Derrick Green's vocals have rarely been so intense or as extreme. It may lack the hooks and easily digested grooves that informed their early classics, but "All Souls Rising" is top-tier and genuinely thrilling.

Next, "Beyond The Dream" drifts purposefully into dark ballad territory, albeit with plenty of power and cranked-up heaviness. Bittersweet and gently sinister, it packs an immense emotional punch and features one of the best solos Kisser has penned in a long time, as classic metal and scowling subversion collide in a tasteful squall of grandeur. "Sacred Books" is different again: a grinding, angular and impossibly muscular collage of riffs, roars and unexpected embellishments (nice piano solo!),it is deeper cut than crowd-pleaser, and all the more fascinating as a result. But it's the closing, six-minute tour de force of "The Place" that hits the bullseye with the most venom. Drenched in foreboding ambience and showcasing SEPULTURA at their most fervently progressive, it's an episodic march through several key aspects of the band's sound, touching upon wildly inventive riffing, classy passages of restraint, and a final explosion of finely honed aggro that confirms that even in their dying throes, this band have a hunger for new ideas and a laudable disdain for the obvious.

While we can acknowledge that a four-song EP is a slightly disappointing way to conclude an illustrious, four-decade career, it is equally worth noting that SEPULTURA are still a fearsome force for heavy metal greatness, and "The Cloud of Unknowing" is strong enough to be regarded as more than a footnote in the band's catalogue. A full album would have been great, but you really can't have everything. Where would you put it?