SepulturaQuadra

Quadra is the fifteenth album from legendary thrash metal band Sepultura.

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It goes to show, that even after thirty five rugged years, the Brazilian four-piece grows stronger yet, and in the current state of the world, has even more reasons to create their iconic brand of politicised thrash metal. Not for the apathetic or indifferent, even at album number fifteen, Quadra is a triumph.

Although ostensibly ‘divided’ into four parts, keeping with the quadratic theme, the overall unity of the album is remarkably poetic. Quadra flows from its huge, heavy thrash opening sequence, through a series of innovative tracks that embody Sepultura’s longstanding affinity with tribal rhythms.

This is serious and sophisticated political critique, and musically a perfect quadripartite of power, beauty, anger, and yearning.

Capital Enslavement unites this timeless, primal sound with burning contemporary issues. Raging Void is a track to behold, firing on all fronts with a powerhouse vocal onslaught from Derrick Green, guitarist Andreas Kisser sliding seamlessly between thundering riffs and intricate melodic embellishment, and showcasing one of the most addictive rhythm sections in thrash metal.

Of course one has to note the prominence of exquisitely beautiful classical guitar on Quadra. The opening of Guardians of Earth is passionately sublime before swelling into one of the most lyrically profound tracks on the album. Kisser really flexes his acoustic prowess on the instrumental title track Quadra; brief but transcendent. Sepultura aren’t afraid to innovate, as the closing tracks of Quadra show. Green’s clean vocals on Agony Of Defeat cut deep, as orchestration and robust drumming from Eloy Casagrande ignite the song into another dimension. Closing with a grim version of the four-part theme, Fear; Pain; Chaos; Suffering introduces Emily Barreto’s vocals alongside Green to leave the listener with a profoundly unsettled sensation.

Sepultura are riding a massive swell of creative force. If it felt that Machine Messiah and The Mediator Between The Head and Hands Must Be The Heart were strong albums but still dancing around the edges of a definitive message, with Quadra they have struck at its heart. This is serious and sophisticated political critique, and musically a perfect quadripartite of power, beauty, anger, and yearning.

STANDOUT TRACKS: Raging Void, Guardians Of Earth, Agony Of Defeat
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