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An album that is mostly bark without the bite, but still oddly infectious.-
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| Sepultura: Kairos |
Groove Metal, Hardcore
Nuclear Blast Records
July 12th, 2011
- Spectrum - 4:03
- Kairos - 3:37
- Relentless - 3:36
- 2011 - 0:30
- Just One Fix (Ministry cover) - 3:33
- Dialog - 4:57
- Mask - 4:31
- 1433 - 0:31
- Seethe - 2:27
- Born Strong - 4:40
- Embrace the Storm - 3:32
- 5772 - 0:29
- No One Will Stand - 3:17
- Structure Violence (Azzes) - 5:39
- 4648 - 0:29
Deluxe Edition:
- Firestarter (Prodigy cover) - 4:37
- Point of No Return - 3:16
- Bonus DVD
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| Links |
| Review Information |
Release length: 53:44
Review posted on June 10th, 2011
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| | Overall Score: 8/10 |
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| Discography |
Discography covers all information available up to day of review and is updated if future albums are reviewed. |
| Full-Length(s): |
Morbid Visions (1986) • Schizophrenia (1987) • Beneath the Remains (1989) • Arise (1991) • Chaos A.D. (1993) • Roots (1996)
Against (1998) • Nation (2001) • Roorback (2003) • Dante XXI (2006) • A-Lex (2009) • Kairos (2011)
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| EP(s): |
Bestial Devastation (1991) • Third World Posse (1992) • Refuse/Resist (1993) • Natural Born Blasters (1996)
Procreation of the Wicked (1997) • Revolusongs (2002)
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| Split(s): |
Bestial Devastation/Século XX (1985) • Sepultura/Atom Seed (1991) • Sepultura/Prong (1994)
Roadrunner 25th Anniversary Special Edition Sampler (2005)
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| Single(s): |
Under Siege (Regnum Irae) (1991) • Desperate Cry (1991) • Arise (1991) • Dead Embryonic Cells (1991) • Refuse/Resist (1993)
Territory (1993) • Slave New World (1994) • Roots Bloody Roots (1996) • Ratamahatta (1996) • Attitude (1996) • Choke (1998)
Against (1999) • Tribus (1999) • Nation Promo (2001) • Coquinho (2008)
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| Demo(s): |
Rehearsal (1986)
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| Compilation(s): |
The Roots of Sepultura (1996) • B-Sides (1997) • Blood-Rooted (1997) • Roadrunner Records 25th Anniversary Series: Roots (2005)
The Best Of... (2006)
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| Live CD(s): |
Under a Pale Grey Sky (2002) • Live in São Paulo (2005)
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| DVD(s): |
Under Siege (Live at Barcelona) (VHS) (1992) • Third World Chaos (VHS) (1995) • We Are What We Are (VHS) (1996) • Chaos (2002)
Live in São Paulo (2005)
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| Review |
What is there left to possibly say about Sepultura? This has been a widely influential group throughout their entire existence, and has dealt with a number of changes throughout the line-up, perhaps none as damning as the departure of Max Cavalera. Since that, and the group's changing to a more Groove meets Hardcore sound, the fans have been creeping along with each release as if walking on eggshells. Despite all that, Sepultura pulled through, but with the release of A-Lex in 2009, many felt the band had reached the end of their career. This meant that the band had to come together and really pull out a strong enough effort to remind people that they were once a highly influential Metal group. And, with the release of their 2011 full-length album Kairos, their twelfth full-length album, the group reminds us all of this once again with simple, repetitive headbanging mosh-friendly assaults.
Kairos becomes a bag of mixed emotions. This album is full of songs that will immediately have you throwing your horns to the sky, headbanging along to the aggressive Groove filled riffs full of Hardcore attitude, looking to start a mosh. But, with that, the problem becomes that the songs may be aggressive, but it's like the snarling dog behind the fence that tries to intimidate you. On your first listen, the album sounds like it's readying to leap up and rip your face off. "Spectrum" and "Kairos" chug along with those heavy Groove riffs, and they are pretty aggressive, but the main issue here becomes that the music feels lacking, as if it's robotic and can often lead nowhere. This is the case with "Spectrum", as the whole song just feels like the band focused solely on one section of a song and drew it out horribly, though that section is still pretty strong and enough to have you headbanging along. The same with "Kairos", except that the song just feels a little lacking in energy compared to a more powerful vocal performance. Luckily, this doesn't seem to be the case with each song, as "Relentless" does find the band making progress thorugh the songs and shows some more energy in the music, adding to some overall intensity that greatly dwarfs the previous two tracks, though again the band seems to focus on one specific Groove section at the start, and it never seems to change outside of during the guitar solo, but even then that same pattern can still be found in the drumming. But, again, this song leaves you wanting to start a mosh, or at the very least start headbanging in the most enthusiastic manner.
It actually becomes a bit pointless to try to look at each song on the album and try to point out any unique traits to them, as they all essentially have the same vibe to them. Most of the songs here are along the lines of mid-tempo tracks with chugging Hardcore riffs in a Groove foundation with rough, abrasive vocals that grind away at you with every aggressive shout that comes your way. The only real differences that exist are that some tracks, like "Relentless", do have a little more energy to the music and don't come off as just there to be there, like "Kairos" has after a while, but then you also have songs like "Dialog", which go at a slower tempo that matches the lack of energy and more aggressive nature of the music well through the obvious changes in aggression in the guitars. "Seethe" is another song that you can take notice to for it's somewhat darker vibe compared to the rest, and that stems from the earlier deeper spoken word parts of the song, though it's not the first track to do that with the vocals either, which does impact on the repetition issue. However, with it's more aggressive attack on the listener that doesn't just bare it's fangs and not leap, the repetitive element of the track can be looked over. "Born Strong" also feels this way, though it doesn't feel like it repeats as much, and isn't as dark.
There also exist a number of random interludes throughout the album, if you can even call them that. These less then or equal to thirty second tracks don't necessarily do much for the songs. After every third track, one of these are presented, and are mostly just filler. "2011" sounds like twenty eight seconds of a sound check at a concert, "1433" actually comes off as the silence prior to a band going on stage with the recording in the crowd with fans talking while they await the music to start, and "5772" comes off as the introduction music that the band is playing on stage with sounds of people moving about at times. The only thing that can really be taken from these little interludes is that the music does seem to gradually becomes more aggressive and in-your-face with each chunk of songs that follow. The set after "5772" is definitely more energetic and intense compared to the first three tracks on this album. "No One Will Stand" stands out in particular with it's more violent atmosphere through faster music that pummels away at the listener right from the start. The speed of this song is something that is greatly lacking on this entire release, leaving only a few other songs to push the speed boundaries apparently set, and come nowhere near close to the fury presented in this track. "Structure Violence (Azzes)" is also a more unique offering in this pair, as the song has a pretty heavy foundation from the start, taking on a more Neurosis approach to the song writing and performance, building up the music's intensity slowly from start to finish through the use of Progressive means, additions noise through distortion, and a stronger tribal influence that aids the song's building to a climax that ends in a manner that feels suitable to the song, but not as epic as it really should be, especially since "4648" is another pointless no-action recording from what sounds like the crowd waiting for a band to perform.
| Deluxe Edition (Audio Only): |
(Please note that this editions includes a bonus DVD, but I have only been provided the bonus tracks to this edition. I will not be giving this edition a score, nor will these two songs be taken into consideration until the DVD itself can be viewed.)
The first bonus track offered is a cover of the song "Firestarter", originally by Prodigy. This isn't the first cover, as "Just One Fix" is a Ministry cover, which is done quite well and becomes a very infectious track with a strong Sepultura signature sound to it that works with the more Hardcore sound the group gives it. So, going into the "Firestarter" cover, the listener will be quite stoked the second the introduction chords kick in, and an energetic performance from Sepultura is captures that rattles the foundation of the entire album. While this track packs the punch that this album really needs, especially after the last two tracks, it leaves the listener happy to have hit such a high impact conclusion, but also a bit drawn back in the simple fact that the most energetic, impressive, and exhilerating track off the entire album is meerly an unacknowledged (in the track listing at least) cover song. This leads into "The Point of No Return", which isn't the most impressive track, even by the standards laid out through the entire Kairos album, but it sounds like signature Sepultura, and is at least done well with a decent amount of energy to it. |
It seems no matter how many times you sit down and listen to this album, and regardless of what you think with the simpler, more repetitive Groove approach to the music, it's almost impossible to hate this album. Kairos is just aggressive enough, and has just enough impact with most of the songs, that it becomes hard to put down because it's just the right amount of intensity for any mood you're in. This entire album comes off more as a release that is meant to be performed live from start to finish, as these tracks are definitely meant to get the pit riled up right from the start. There's nothing genuinely boring to the music, even when the music itself feels like the band was a bit bored performing it. And, despite how many gripes you may have, you'll always find another positive element of the album to counter it. However you look at it, Kairos by Sepultura is an album that packs just the right impact to leave you wanting more, even if you're already full from the rather repetitive Groove ideas and constant mid-pace tempos that make up practically every track on this release.
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Digital review copy of this release provided by:
Nuclear Blast Records.
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