EP review: Cavalera “Bestial Devastation”
The Cavalera brothers revisit their Sepultura roots on a new EP.
Founding Sepultura members Max Cavalera and his brother Iggor Cavalera have re-recorded “Bestial Devastation”, the Brazilian heavy metal band Sepultura’s debut EP from 1985. So, what’s different in 2023? The production is better. The Cavalera brothers have made good use of studio technology that didn’t exist in 1985. But the raw awesomeness of tracks like “Bestial Devastation”, “Antichrist”, “Necromancer” and “Warriors of Death” is still there. There is also a new never-before-heard track called “Sexta Feira 13”. This is harsh music and it is bloody good. Re-recording classics is always a gamble and one that often does not work. But this one does. The Cavaleras have managed to improve the EP’s production while keeping it real. This isn’t a polished version of what happened in 1985. This is an updated version of the timeless music created back then. The music is equally raw and real now as things were in 1985. It is uncompromising, thrashy death metal-ish music. Full on. In your face. Relentless. Here and there it has excellent Venom vibes. Love it. I don’t really know why certain artists decide to re-record old favourites. I guess sometimes it is about money and sometimes artists may feel they can correct the things that didn’t work on the original. Whatever motivated the Cavalera brothers to do this project, it worked out to the benefit of the listener.
Cavalera’s EP “Bestial Devastation” is out now via Nuclear Blast Records. Cavalera has also re-recorded and released a new version of Sepultura’s 1986 debut full-length album “Morbid Visions”.
