Sepultura
Special Guests: Jinjer + Obituary + Jesus Piece
Venue: The Barrowlands, Glasgow
Date: 11th November 2024
Review & Photos: Dave Buchanan
The time has come for Brazilian Metal Gods, Sepultura, to hang up their hat after 40 years. And tonight, the “Celebrating Life Through Death” tour lands in Glasgow, at the iconic Barrowland Ballroom. A venue they are more than familiar with, that’s filled to the brim with a crowd lucky enough to witness them one last time.
Jesus Piece
Opening the show, with what is arguably the hardest job of the night, are Philadelphia hardcore unit, Jesus Piece. Not a band (on paper) that this particular gathering might be necessarily looking forward to, but, that didn’t seem to bother Jesus Piece one iota. In fact, I got the feeling that they thrived on the challenge of winning everyone over. And that, they did.
Showing absolutely no mercy from the first note, Jesus Piece put on a 30-minute clinic of hardcore savagery. With only a few older favourites making the set, the band mainly deliver material from their 2023 album, …So Unknown. And it sounds even more ruthless live. Whilst I was a big fan of that release, aside from the eye-wincing snare (sorry, I have chronic pedantic snareitis), I must admit, this is where Jesus Piece inflict the most damage. The energy and execution tonight is just on another level, so much so that it instantly has the crowd on-board. Finishing with one of their oldest tracks, Conjure Life, puts a dissonant exclamation mark on their set, and I’m fairly confident won them a new bunch of fans in the process. 
(4 / 5)
Obituary
Next up are American death metal veterans, Obituary, who I managed to also see last year at The Garage in Glasgow, just after the release of their brilliant album, Dying of Everything. Tonight we are once again shown why Obituary are one of the best at what they do. For a band that formed in the mid-80s, you’d think they’d have piqued a while back, but that’s just not the case. This band seems to only get better with age, and tonight’s performance was another outstanding example of that.
They know how to work a crowd, and the classics are placed strategically throughout the set to keep the momentum going and the fans engaged. We were also treated to some vintage 90s Obituary, with Threatening Skies and By the Light, which they never played on their last UK tour. While newer tracks like The Wrong Time, War & Dying of Everything add even more weight to an already colossal set. The band are so locked-in it’s ridiculous, and John Tardy stalks the stage delivering the trademark growl, we’ve all come to know and love. I know Obituary don’t churn out albums all that quick, but after watching them deliver another bone-crushing set like this one, I don’t believe these guys are nearly done yet. 
(4.5 / 5)
Jinjer
Next came the head-scratcher of the night. Maybe I’ve missed something, but are Jinjer a bigger band than Obituary? The running order seemed a bit out of whack to me, but maybe it was more of a stylistic choice, to separate Obituary and Sepultura, being that they share similar musical DNA. I will also admit up-front that I’m not that au fait with Jinjer’s back catalogue, and what I have heard, I’ve never really been a massive fan of. Seeing them live did definitely give me a new appreciation for the levels this band have, however. From a technical standpoint, this quartet can really play. The basswork and drumming from Eugene Abdukhanov and Vladislav Ulasevich was just incredible to watch, and I couldn’t disagree that musically, Jinjer were probably the tightest and most dexterous sounding band of the night. Tatiana, as a frontwoman and vocalist, is an absolute force to be reckoned with, and her personality on stage came across in a massive way.
To be honest, for the first 5 or 6 songs, I was in. The djentified grooves were heavy, the guitar tone was killer, and Tatiana’s mix of death-like growls and epic cleans gave the tracks plenty of grandeur. Unfortunately, though, I hit a wall. The formula became a little too obvious, and the set did start to feel, to me, like it was becoming a touch predictable. It felt like Jinjer may have opted for a heavier-led set tonight, to compete with the other bands on the bill, and I think some of that unaccounted for contrast could have made this slightly easier to digest for me. On top of that, the set length was just too much. 50-minutes might have been glorious to some ears in the crowd, but for me, it just became exhausting. Technically excellent, but it just wasn’t for me. 
(3 / 5)
Sepultura
It’s hard to believe we’re seeing Sepultura for the very last time. This is such a monumental band, one that shaped my metal pathway, and influenced not only me as a musician, but so many other great bands we now know and love. But there will only ever be one Sepultura, and as Derrick, Andreas, Paulo Jr. and Greyson take the stage in Glasgow one last time, we get to watch them go out on the highest of highs.
There aren’t many bands out there that have a back catalogue as strong as Sepultura, but when you can open your set with three songs as anthemic as Refuse/Resist, Territory and Slave New World, it really puts it into perspective just how impressive their career has been. The Barrowlands takes roughly zero seconds of convincing, and the place erupts into a sea of crowd-surfing limbs, and unified bouncing. But tonight isn’t just about the classics, it’s about the lifespan of Sepultura, and everything they’ve accomplished in their 40 years. And with that, we get choice cuts from Machine Messiah, Quadra, Kairos, Dante XXI, Against, Schizophrenia, even Corrupted from 2003s Roorback! And as much as I would have loved to have also heard them play Spit, Dusted, or Beneath the Remains, the remaining choices they had in store for us, were an absolute treat!
A shortened cover of Orgasmatron leads into what could be the most king-size of endings. The mighty Troops of Doom starts the onslaught, with a slower groove that really benefits the track, giving it more weight than normal. Inner Self then powers-up a horde of hungry crowdsurfers before the speed and brute force of Arise absolutely rips through The Barrowlands like nothing I’ve ever heard before. After a quick breather, the band are back to finish off in style. New drummer, Greyson Nekrutman, delivers a slick, impromptu drum solo that shows he’s playing way beyond his years (how is he only 22?!?!), before the band (and selected fans) get the place bouncing with some tribal drums on Ratamahatta. The curtain closer comes in the form of the 1996 classic, Roots Bloody Roots. And it’s a showstopper for a reason. Green delivers some of the most beastly roars we’ve heard tonight, as the band bring the track to a thunderous end. It’s a bittersweet moment, because I honestly feel like these guys have another 10 years left in them, easy. But if this is the final Scottish performance from Sepultura, then it’s been a pleasure to be a part of it.
Thanks for the memories, guys! 
(5 / 5)
