Sepultura (Portuguese: [ˌsepuwˈtuɾɐ], "grave")[4] is a Brazilian heavy metal band formed in Belo Horizonte in 1984 by brothers Max and Igor Cavalera.

Although Paulo Jr. joined Sepultura shortly after its formation in late 1984 and is the longest serving member, he did not perform on any of the band's studio albums until Chaos A.D..[b] Kisser, who replaced onetime guitarist Jairo Guedz, has appeared on every Sepultura album since Schizophrenia; he also recorded bass guitar until Chaos A.D..[b] Their current lineup consists of Paulo Jr., Kisser, singer Derrick Green (who replaced Max in 1997), and drummer Greyson Nekrutman.

[5] The band was founded by brothers Max and Igor Cavalera, the impoverished sons of Vânia, a model, and Graciliano, a well-to-do Italian diplomat whose fatal heart attack left his family in financial ruin.

[37] The brothers' early influences included Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, and Deep Purple, and heavy metal and hard rock artists of the late 1970s/early 1980s, such as Van Halen, Iron Maiden, Motörhead, AC/DC, Judas Priest, Ozzy Osbourne, and V8, as well as hardcore punk bands Terveet Kädet, Rattus, and Discharge.

"[39]The Cavalera brothers started listening to more extreme metal bands at the time such as Hellhammer, Celtic Frost, Kreator, Sodom, Slayer, Megadeth, Exodus, and Exciter.

The album was recorded towards the end of 1988 in a rustic studio in Rio de Janeiro while the band communicated through translators with American producer Scott Burns.

[51] The band filmed its first video for the song "Inner Self", which received considerable airplay on MTV's Headbangers Ball, giving Sepultura their first exposure in North America.

[54] They also played with several other bands, including Slayer, Testament, Motörhead, Kreator, White Zombie, Type O Negative and Fudge Tunnel, and alongside Alice in Chains, Sepultura supported Ozzy Osbourne on the latter's tour for No More Tears.

In August 1996, Sepultura played on the Castle Donington Monsters of Rock main stage alongside Kiss, Ozzy Osbourne, Paradise Lost, Type O Negative, Biohazard, and Fear Factory.

The band was suddenly a three-piece with Andreas Kisser taking over on lead vocals after Max Cavalera left the concert site earlier in the day upon learning of the death of his stepson Dana Wells in a car accident.

Max, who was still coming to terms with the death of Wells, felt betrayed by his bandmates for wanting to get rid of Bujnowski and abruptly quit the band.

[67] Among those who auditioned were Chuck Billy of Testament, Phil Demmel of Machine Head and Vio-lence, Marc Grewe of Morgoth, Jorge Rosado of Merauder, and a then-unknown Jason "Gong" Jones.

AllMusic gave the album 3 stars out of 5 and said, "As Green scrapes the lining of his vocal chords through the brash, impassioned tracks, he's singing about more than just 'one nation, Sepulnation'; he's suggesting something bigger, something worth shouting about and fighting for."

"[74] In a 2007 interview with Revolver magazine, Max Cavalera stated that he and Igor, both of whom had recently reconciled after a decade-long feud, would reunite with the original Sepultura lineup.

[84] By the end of 2010, the band began writing new material and entered the studio to begin recording their 12th album with producer Roy Z (Judas Priest, Halford, Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson, Helloween and Andre Matos).

In November and December 2011, Sepultura participated the Thrashfest Classics tour alongside thrash metal bands like Exodus, Destruction, Heathen and Mortal Sin.

In May 2012, guitarist Andreas Kisser told Metal Underground that Sepultura would soon "start working on something new with Eloy" and see if they could "get ready for new music early next year".

[90] In an interview at England's Bloodstock Open Air on August 10, 2012, Kisser revealed that Sepultura would be filming a live DVD with the French percussive group Les Tambours du Bronx.

[93] On January 25, 2013, it was announced that author Jason Korolenko was working on Relentless – 30 Years of Sepultura, which is described in a press release as "the only book-length biography to cover the band's entire 30-year career."

[109] In an August 2018 interview at Wacken Open Air, Kisser confirmed that Sepultura had begun the songwriting process of their fifteenth studio album,[110] and stated later that month that it was not expected to be released before 2020.

[117] Drummer Bruno Valverde of Angra was brought to fill in for Eloy Casagrande on the last three dates of the US tour, as the latter could not perform due to a leg injury.

[121] Sepultura released a quarantine collaboration album on August 13, 2021, titled SepulQuarta, which includes contributions by members of Megadeth, Testament, Anthrax, System of a Down, Trivium and Sacred Reich.

[122][123] In a July 2022 interview, frontman Derrick Green confirmed that Sepultura would begin working on their next studio album after the end of the Quadra tour, in 2024 at the earliest.

[1][2][3][134] When asked about the band "departing via a conscious and planned death on this farewell tour", Kisser explained, "There were a few factors, including the fortieth anniversary.

They were also influenced by punk bands such as the Ramones, the Sex Pistols, Terveet Kädet, Rattus, Black Flag, the Dead Kennedys, Kaaos, Discharge, S.O.D., Amebix, Sick of It All, Agnostic Front, the Cro-Mags, Gorilla Biscuits and New Model Army, as well as early U2.

[6] The band's first EP Bestial Devastation and debut album Morbid Visions were influenced by first-wave black metal such as Venom and Celtic Frost.

Roots was partly recorded with the indigenous Xavante tribe in Mato Grosso, and incorporates percussion, rhythms, chanting and lyrical themes inspired by the collaboration.

[151][152][153] Looking back on the band's career arc in a 2016 article on Max and Igor Cavalera's retrospective Return to Roots tour (in commemoration of the album's 20th anniversary), Nashville Scene contributor Saby Reyes-Kulkarni observed that, "Before Chaos A.D., the overwhelming majority of metal had a 'white' feel to it.

"[43] In 1993, Robert Baird of Phoenix New Times wrote that the band played "machine-gun-tempo mayhem" and that the members "love to attack organized religion and repressive government.

"[38] A number of bands have cited Sepultura as an influence, including Slipknot,[155] Korn,[156] Hatebreed, Alien Weaponry, Krisiun, Gojira, Between the Buried and Me, Bullet for My Valentine, Xibalba, Vein, Toxic Holocaust, Children of Bodom,[157] Code Orange, Puya, and Nails.