Sepultura, Exodus, Biohazard, and Tribal Gaze

Sepultura have the kind of origins that one would never believe if it wasn’t true. The band were formed by the brothers Max and Igor Cavalera, sons of a well to do Italian diplomat whose tragic death left his family in financial ruin. However, the very same day that his father died, Max heard Black Sabbath Vol. 4 for the first time. The combination of events sparked an obsession with heavy metal and both brothers conspired to form a band soon after that.

They settled on the name Sepultura, the Portuguese word for “grave”, when Max translated the lyrics to the Motörhead song “Dancing On Your Grave”. However, the final and most crucial influence that the brothers discovered was Newcastle’s very own Venom, considered by many to be the worlds first black metal band. By 1984, both brothers dropped out of school to make the band work, and were signed to Cogumelo Records by 1985.

1986 saw the release of their debut album “Morbid Visions”, whose song “Troops Of Doom” gained the band national attention. The band relocated to the larger city of São Paulo to capitalise and the follow up album, 1987’s “Schizophrenia” did just that. It was the first record to make a name for the band in the United Kingdom and the States due to the radio play it received and critical notices it was getting in the metal press.

Crucially, it secured the band a deal with metal titans Roadrunner Records without the label ever seeing them perform live. Everything was set up in the bands favour, and with 1989’s “Beneath The Remains”, they knocked it out of the park. It was immediately hailed as a classic to rival Slayer’s “Reign In Blood” L.P and was the ticket they needed for their first shows outside of South America. Inside of South America they were massive on a barely comprehendible scale, their set at the 1991 Rock In Rio Festival attracted a reported 100’000 spectators.

After that, the band had a creative run of three albums that most bands in general, let alone metal bands, haven’t been able to touch before or since. “Arise”, “Chaos A.D” and “Roots” were all massively critically acclaimed and sold buckets but, as with all good things, it had to come to an end. Max Cavalera left the band in 1997 with some seriously bad blood left between him and the rest of the band and while the band have continued without him, they’ve never quite reached the acclaim they had while he was still in their ranks. Then again, few bands ever reach that level of acclaim so it’s unfair to compare.

The band are still an unmissable live act, with tracks like “Refuse/Resist”, “Arise” and “Roots Bloody Roots” still able to cause as ungodly a ruckus as they were always able to. Any metal fan would do well to catch them the next chance they get.

With a career behind them that - on and off, with a few breaks - has now spanned more than thirty years, Exodus have proved to have had more longevity than many of their eighties heavy metal contemporaries, even if you have to concede that the lineup has by no means been stable down the years. As things stand, drummer Tom Hunting is the only founding member of the band to still be involved, although he only rejoined as recently as 2007; the rest of the present lineup includes longtime axeman Gary Holt on guitar, Steve Souza - around since 1986 - on vocals, Jack Gibson on bass and Lee Altus on guitar.

The band’s original lead guitarist was Kirk Hammett, now best known for being the longtime lead player in metal titans Metallica; James Hetfield’s men, along with Exodus and Testament, all hail from the Bay Area of California and are considered pioneers of the thrash metal genre. With a career spanning ten full-length records, countless tours and no fewer than five million albums sold, Exodus show no signs of slowing down; their 2014 release ‘Blood In, Blood Out’ met with fine reviews in the metal community and beyond, and was also their highest charting album in twenty-four years.

Storming out of Brooklyn in 1987, Biohazard first made a name for themselves in the thriving New York City hardcore punk scene, playing shows with the likes of Cro-Mags and Agnostic Front. However, the band were always far more open minded and experimental than their NYHC peers. From the very beginning they were taking their blend of thrash metal and hardcore punk and adding influences from hip-hop to it, which got them noticed by Maze Records in 1990. The band signed a deal with them and released their self-titled debut album the same year, and although it still managed to sell a respectable 40’000 copies, it wasn’t promoted as well as it could have been, and the band were soon looking for another label to take them on.

The band arguably hit the jackpot in 1992 when they signed to Roadrunner Records, making them label mates with the likes of Sepultura and Type O Negative. They capitalised with their breakthrough record “Urban Discipline”, a record which sold over a million copies and gave MTV’s heavy metal show Headbanger’s Ball the most played video in their 17 year history in the form of the single “Punishment”. In 1993 the band moved off Roadrunner and signed to Warner Bros., releasing “State Of The World Address” the year after. This record equalled its predecessor’s commercial success, making them the hottest heavy metal band in the world for a period of time.

Ever since then the band have remained stalwarts on the American metal scene, even though they split for two years, reuniting in 2008. While they’ve never quite for the recognition they deserve for being a prototype Nu-Metal band before Korn took it over ground a couple of years after they debuted, they’ve still got legions of devoted followers. This isn’t even to mention how they can still blow the roof of any venue they play as a live act, and to this day, Biohazard come highly recommended.