SEPULTURA — Kairos (review)

Album · 2011 · Groove Metal

3.5/5 · 2011-07-03
Diogenes

As much as we yearn for the golden days of metal, the 80s are long gone, and most of the old guard in thrash have either disbanded or changed their sound considerably. Which is fine, by all means; it’s nearly impossible to keep releasing material that’s consistent in style and consistent in quality at the same time. I’m always a bit hesitant when a band claims that they’re “going back to their roots”. This means that either they are giving in to the popular opinion that older=better (I always thought this was stupid), or they got tired of progressing, which is equally as bad; and either way, there’s no guarantee that turning back the clock will even yield anything worthwhile. Look at what happened when Metallica and Anthrax tried going back to their 80s sounds, or when Korn went back to their roots three times. So, you can imagine how I felt when the hype surrounding Kairos was that Sepultura recorded a thrash metal album for the first time in forever.

After listening to Kairos, I have some good news and I have some bad news. The bad news is that Sepultura did not release an all-out thrash album. The good news is that Sepultura did not release an all-out thrash album.

…Wait, what?

Erm, let me clarify. Yep, Sepultura has once again given us an album in the vein of their past few releases: solid, groovy metal with a hardcore edge. I consider this a good thing, since I am one of the few people that are big fans of modern Sepultura. If you aren’t, then you can stop reading this review, since there are only a few songs on this album that you may like. For those who are still with me, let’s get into the music, huh?

The first half of the album is your traditional 2000s Sepultura. Spectrum (when it gets going, which might seem like a while) and the title track are straightforward songs written around half-thrash, half-groove riffs that might remind old time fans of Chaos A.D. Nothing spectacular, really. Relentless is the first really good track on the album, with plenty of headbangy parts and a great change around 2 minutes in that might seem out of place, but serves quite effectively underneath Andreas Kisser’s wailing leads.

The next three tracks, however, are utterly forgettable. 2011 is one of the four short interludes on the album, which don’t seem to do anything other than add another track on the back of the CD case. I’m sure it fits in with the album concept (whatever it is), but frankly, Sepultura developed a bad habit with these things on Dante XXI, and I’m disappointed to see them continuing it 5 years later. The Ministry cover, Just One Fix, sounded like a fun idea, but it really seems out of place here and would be better suited for the end of the album rather than the middle. Dialog is a 5 minute track that has 2 and a half minutes of good riffing and soloing, but the other half is boring and feels uninspired.

This is the point where I said to myself, “okay, here we go again,” and resigned to the fact that this album really didn’t offer anything new compared to what Sepultura has been playing for the past thirteen years. However, what changes the band did make come alive on the second half of the album. Mask and Seethe (although separated by another pointless interlude) are fast, energetic, and dare I say…thrashy. They set the tone for the second half of the album that contains far more thrash elements than the first, which almost makes me wonder if Kairos couldn’t have been cut down a little bit. Born Strong is an excellent track, with a breakdown which is, again, reminiscent of Chaos A.D. But by far the best song on Kairos is No One Will Stand. Yes, it’s THRASH! Pure thrash. With thrash riffs, and thrash drums! Wowzers! Unfortunately, the momentum is slowed down with a song that has some weird electronic effect and tribal sounds (I know it’s Sepultura, but they sound out of place here), but it’s not bad enough to put a damper on the high I got from listening to the second half of this album.

The other aspects of the album give us more of the same. The production is fine, with that sludgy 2000s Sepultura guitar tone dripping out of the mix like nectar. Derrick Green gives another strong performance on vocals, his hardcore barking and muffled growling defining yet another good-but-not-great modern Sepultura album. Jean Dolabella proves that he’s a competent drummer, solid but not much more than that. He does seem to give the band a certain youthful energy, however, which is good; have you seen Paulo Jr. these days?

So no, Kairos is not a return to Sepultura’s Roots (GET IT?!??!?!?!?!?!). But seriously, it isn’t. When I think of Sepultura playing thrash metal, I think of their three-album stretch which featured a dizzying assault of riffs that I don’t think will ever be topped. Yes, there are riffs here, but there aren’t enough. Andreas had the right idea, he just needed to keep going and, uh…maybe get rid of those interludes? Oh well. Needless to say, Kairos isn’t a bad release at all. It stacks up just fine with the rest of the Derrick Green era of Sepultura, and maybe a bit better. Make sure you listen to it with the mindset that it is not 1989 anymore, and you might just be pleasantly surprised.