For 35 years now, the Brazilian legend Sepultura have been revered worldwide. Albums such as Arise (1991), Chaos A.D. (1993) and Roots (1996) have had indisputable impact to the global metal scene. Right after its release Beneath the Remains (1989) was one of the first LPs I've ever bought, but the enthusiasm faded over the years and I wasn't following the Derrick Green era closely. All of that is changing since the very good 2017's Machine Messiah album was released.
Therefore I had quite high expectations for Quadra, the fifteenth studio album by the band. Spoiler alert, the expectations were met. The band had the wise decision to not only follow the steps set with Machine Messiah but also to pushed it even further. As it was with the predecessor, they went to Sweden to work with producer Jens Bogren. Without loosing their thrash roots, the band led by Andreas Kisser took risks and incorporated a modern metal sound. More importantly they went further and added even more progressiveness. Andreas explained that the concept of the album is based on Quadrivium, which are the four arts (arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy). Quadra is the Portuguese word for a sports court, but it also relates to "quatro" which is Portuguese word for "four". Based on this concept the album is construed as a vinyl double album: 12-tracks divided into four sides of three musically similar songs in each.
The A side being thrash metal songs, based on the classic Sepultura sound. These 3 songs sound almost like Pantera, they are thrashy but still very groovy. Throughout the album Green's voice reminds me of a top-form Anselmo. The drummer, Eloy Casagrande delivered some amazing drumming in this record. I mean previously it was already very good, but the band and he himself pushed the boundaries even further. For example the drum fills during the intro and then the instrumental interlude of "Means To An End" are just phenomenal. On this side we are exposed to his speed and voracious beat. The other highlight is Andreas Kisser superb guitar work. Not only the solos and riffs but also the small details like those Roots-like guitar moments in "Means To An End". Despite this side being the most thrash, we also get to hear some subtle choirs.
The B side gets even groovier. The tribal percussion of "Capital Enslavement" makes this clear. These 3 songs are inspired by the groove-percussion oriented sound the band famously explored in Roots and recently in songs like "Phantom Self". But here the band also explored some orchestral arrangements. On this side the band shows their groove and slower tempo songs, specially "Raging Void".
The C side has songs inspired by the instrumental "Iceberg Dances" which is my favorite track from Machine Messiah, but only "The Pentagram" is an instrumental track on this side. However, the other two two songs have lots of instrumental minutes. Do I get a Mastodon/Machine Head vibe on "Guardians Of Earth"? In any case it's an amazing song. The intro with acoustic guitars, the choir, the melodic guitar solo, it's all fantastic!
Finally the D side, which kicks off with the short acoustic guitar instrumental title track, features slow-paced and melodic tracks, similar to the song "Machine Messiah". The longest track "Agony Of Defeat" features an intro with clean singing, choirs and a Eastern vibe that all cuminate with a slow build up. The album closer "Fear; Pain; Chaos; Suffering" (featuring Emmily Barreto from the Brazilian rock band Far From Alaska) is certainly different but I can only praise the band for taking this kind of risk.
I gotta say I don't have much to complain here, Quadra is Sepultura's best album since Roots. If I push myself to critique the album, I would say I don't hear the bass much, so the mix is sub optimal. With that aside, it's a remarkable disc. An experimental album pushing the band forward at this point in their career is certainly an achievement. I also love the album concept and construction, I'm certainly getting it in vinyl as it was conceptualized!
SCORE: 84/100
Genre: Progressive Thrash Metal
Released by Nuclear Blast Records on February 7th, 2020
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Rating System
96 - 100 Perfect
88 - 95 Excellent
84 - 87 Great
80 - 83 Very Good
75 - 79 Good
69 - 74 Mixed
58 - 68 Bad
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