The Brazilian thrash metal band Sepultura are constantly plagued by new-school versus old-school fans bewailing their lack of quality since their founder member Max Cavalera left in 1996. It’s been a tedious debate for 15 years, as the Seps have made perfectly decent albums in that time, usually with an ambitious literary and/or political concept behind the music, making their work thought-provoking, if nothing else.
With Kairos, however, the naysayers’ endless whining is beginning to make a touch more sense. The band seem content to sit in a mid-tempo groove and add the occasional sample, which would be fine if the São Paolo foursome weren’t capable of throwing themselves into the music with enormous speed and aggression, just as they’ve done for almost 30 years. Only one song, No One Will Stand, does the murderously powerful thing for which the band became famous. Sad.
