For whatever reason, the departure of Max began Sepultura's downward spiral towards irrelevance. While their earlier catalogue can still be held with high pantheon-like regards, their music has arguably taken a nosedive while Max's bread and butter, Soulfly, has cruised on along nicely. (Even though a considerable number of Sepultura songs have made it into the band's live set) It would be dangerous to say that the band has shared a similar fall from grace as Metallica, but the later still manages to bask in some kind of glory. It wasn't until I came across THIS ARTICLE that I found a solution to the great Sepultura Reunion questions: Don't do it!
"SOULFLY has had so many different formations," says Sepultura axeman Adreas Kisser, "so you lose kind of a characteristic sound there. Of course, Max and his vocals is what it is. I mean, he's been writing the same stuff over and over again. And in that sense, I don't think he has really evolved too much."
And this is where we say, "Hey! That sounds hypocritical!" As I wrote in my review for Sepultura's latest folly, Kairos, Sepultura hasn't written anything new, exciting or otherwise in quite a long time either. Dare I say that they haven't put out a solid album since Roots? An album which could also arguably serve as the foundation and jump-off point for Soulfly.
Derrick Green, Max's replacement in the band, has not gotten his due justice. Although he's been a member of Brazil's famed metal export longer than Max, he has not helped the band's efforts. While there may be a movement of fans that side with Green and support his efforts, it's very clear that the band relies on pre-Green efforts to keep a float. For the past 14 years the band has not been able to make a musical impact.
Go on Youtube; search through your music collection; listen to post-Max Sepultura, and then go listen to Soulfly. Both bands are lost. They are both riding on the success of what once was, when Sepultura wrote classic, ground breaking jams.
"When working with different musicians all the time, it's kind of hard to have a characteristic sound or try to do something original." Says Kisser. While Soulfly may have a rotating door of musical support it has been made clear from day one that Soulfly is Max's band. And at least there seems to bee some kind of effort in the Soulfly camp to do something different. Kisser's point may be valid, but it seems rather contradictory. Sepultura, with a different frontman and now a different drummer, have failed to do anything with a lasting impact (and for whatever I feel as if I hold my breath with each new release, hoping to exhale in celebration). With the release of each new album, Sepultura sounds more and more tired, playing through a dirge of uninspired riffs. Soulfly (whose music I haven't been a fan of since I was 16, when it at least sounded like a good Sepultura knockoff) sounds like rehashed nümetal and -core riffs. How either have managed to succeed is beyond me. Mr. Kisser, what you have said is true for both bands, and you're in denial.
With that said, what good would a reunion do for anyone? Between Soulfly and the Cavalera Conspiracy Max has gone in a direction far from anything resembling Sepultura past or present. What good would reuniting to play some old jams and recreating something that hasn't existed for quite some time? And judging by the caliber of songwriting of either band, would anyone really want a reunited Sepultura to make new music?
Putting aside the gossip, hearsay and ill will; a reunion of the classic lineup of Sepultura would hardly provide salvation for anyone. Dwelling on the same things for 14 years, or merely having to live with the fact that fans will never be happy, is an uphill battle of Sisyphus-like proportions. Even if there was a reunion, they'd probably just play songs off Roots and Chaos A.D. anyway.
No comments:
Post a Comment