Under a Pale Grey Sky

Max Cavalera's gutteral vocal performance on fearsome death-metal oldies like "Necromancer" and "Troops of Doom" makes his later work with Soulfly look like the work of a man going through the motions. And the formula of traditional Brazilian influences and formative rap-metal displayed on "Roots Bloody Roots" sounds totally masterful, even though the last five years have seen a cavalcade of inferior acts lining up to rip it off. Thankfully, crowd noise is low in the mix, save for the moments when Cavalera steps up to urge his audience to greater madness. "From our tribe to your tribe...let's go fuggin' apesheeet!" he bellows urgently before "Ratamahatta" and the howls say "job done".

It seems that Sepultura as we once knew them truly are dead, but this makes an awesome farewell. --Louis Pattison