Sunday 23 February 2020

Album Review: SEPULTURA - Quadra



01. Isolation
02. Means To An End
03. Last Time
04. Capital Enslavement
05. Ali
06. Raging Void
07. Guardians Of Earth
08. The Pentagram
09. Autem
10. Quadra
11. Agony Of Defeat
12. Fear; Pain; Chaos; Suffering

After hearing two songs from this record at the tail end of last year, I knew Quadra was going to be something special. It's predecessor Machine Messiah was a most impressive beast (read my review here), but I'm pleased to say that this new one is even better.

Real Sepultura fans have been bored to tears with the endless "No-Cavaleras No Sepultura" bullshit that has been going on for what feels like forever, as it detracts from the amazing line-up they have now. Nostalgia can be a poisonous thing. The truth is that Sepultura have put out some fantastic albums over the last few years, and to ignore them is to miss out on one of the best Thrash bands in the world.

Quadra is everything I hoped it would be and a little more. I'll cut to the chase. For me, this is easily the best Derrick Green-era Sepultura album to date.

Opener Isolation is a Thrash masterpiece, displaying some Prog influences, but managing to retain that classic Sepultura sound at the same time. Means To An End is another personal favourite, as it is brutally heavy but has a 'bounce factor' that I'm sure will make it an awesome track to hear live. Capital Enslavement starts with some tribal drumming and chanting, sounding like something from the Roots album, before tearing into an upbeat, high-energy riff. I love Sepultura's Hardcore influence, and that track is a great example of it working perfectly with their signature sound.

Picking other favourites is difficult because the whole record is great, but I'd currently go with Guardians Of The Earth, and the epic and emotive Agony Of Defeat.

Quadra is one of the best albums released under the Sepultura name. It stands up to the classics musically, and although it obviously can't compete in terms of historical significance or nostalgia, I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that time will be very kind to this record. There will be teenage Metal fans discovering Sepultura for the first time through Quadra who will be inspired to start their own bands or just simply play the damn thing to death until it holds a special place in their hearts in the same way Chaos A.D does in mine. In short, Quadra is an absolute triumph.

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