Released By : Nuclear Blast
Genre : Groove Metal, Thrash Metal
Links : www.sepultura.br
Tracklist:
01. Spectrum
02. Kairos
03. Relentless
04. 2011
05. Just One Fix
06. Dialog
07. Mask
08. 1433
09. Seethe
10. Born Strong
11. Embrace the Storm
12. 5772
13. No One Will Stand
14. Structure Violence (Azzes)
I really wish I could do a SEPULTURA review without mentioning IGOR and MAX CAVALERA, or comparing the material to that of the band’s glory days, but no matter how hard I tried it seems that it is just impossible. Now don’t get me wrong here, I’ve still been a supporter of the band post-Max days and have enjoyed most of their modern day output but I’ve come to the conclusion after listening to KAIROS that the biggest problem these guys have is that they are to a point now where they should simply change their name. It was one thing to loose Max, and even though the band never fully recovered there was still enough of the bands trademark sound to be able to keep some sort of flow. This album does however prove that they cannot cover the loss of another Cavalera in drum maestro Igor.
It’s true that KAIROS is the band’s second album without Igor, but I think when replacement drummer Jean Dolabella first came into the fold he was trying to make sure that he retained that trademark tribal sound that Igor had. Now it feels like with all of the unfounded reunion rumours and such that SEPULTURA as they are today are trying to prove a point that they are their own unique entity, and along with that Dolabella has steered himself away from the Igor influence and started to lay down his own style. This is where I am struggling though because taken for what it is, KAIROS is a pretty awesome modern groove, death, thrash release and not only does mainstay Andreas Kisser sound like he has finally embraced being the lone guitarist, but Derrick Green also sounds the best he ever has this time around and really comes across as an all-encumbering monster.
Songs like title track KAIROS, SEETHE and MASK are easily amongst the best tunes ever written by the band post-Max and I also realy enjoyed their cover of MINISTRY track JUST ONE FIX, which while doesn’t add much to the stellar original is a great different version that harkens back to an era where metal was metal and that was it. There’s a few filler type moments to be found on the disc though, which can almost be forgiven due to the fact that KAIROS is meant to be some sort of concept album. Apparently the word KAIROS loosely represents all of this times on your life when you are at a crossroad and have to make a choice that could change your future path and that is what the album is all about.
So is KAIROS a good album?…short answer would definitely be yes, but is it worthy of the SEPULTURA name though?….probably not really. I guess now with the success of Max and Igor’s new beast CAVALERA CONSPIRACY, and the fact that SOULFLY are starting to become a great band means that we can look at this as a three-headed monster that offers up some awesome music regardless of who is in what band at any point in time, but as a SEPULTURA die-hard that grew up worshiping Max Cavalera I must say that I wish Andres Kisser and his new cohorts would just hurry up and change their name to something else, then I think the close-minded among us may give them a decent enough shot to discover that they are actually a pretty kick-ass modern metal machine.
Written By ZeeZee
Rating : 8/10
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