The ‘Roots’ album by Sepultura was released 20 years ago. When I first saw Max’s video talking about an upcoming North American Tour, I got extremely excited! I patiently waited for the day to come, and the anticipation and excitement hit me when I finally got to experience this set live! As soon as I got off of work, I headed to the show.
The tour had an interesting line up. I had never seen any of these bands live before. I did not know what to expect, so I went in with an open mind and enjoyed the show. The first band of the night was a local, supporting a trio known as Of Wolves. They are from Chicago, and played some older songs from their catalog, as well as some new ones. Their vibe was akin to “Max Cavalera punk metal”. The progressive metal band Oni was very interesting and unique. They had a Xylo-synth player, so rare and undoubtedly intriguing. The lead singer, Jake, had an amazing and dynamic vocal range, and great stage presence along with everyone else. I do have to say that I need to give them another listen later, because I was not very into the set. I kept getting distracted by everything that was going up on stage. However, I am not saying this a bad thing, because what they do is unique, and that is what makes a band stand out!
Reggie’s started getting very packed by the time All Hail the Yeti hit the stage, and I knew I was going to dig the set. They gave it their all and poured every ounce of energy into the show. This being my first time seeing them live, I was not disappointed. There was no song I did not like, and they were very cool, humble individuals. The vibe they transmitted through their music and lyrics made me be more into their set. They closed with “Mr. Murder” — a powerful song, whole lyrics I was able to pick up on and sing along with the crowd. There was so much groove and energy in all of their songs. I am looking forward to seeing them return to Chicago!
I have never had the opportunity to see Combichrist perform before, so I was excited to see and hear what they had to offer. They open up their set with “Slakt”, which showed how good they are at incorporating metal into an electronic/industrial sound. I was impressed with the energy they provided to the crowd. As their set went on, I became even more stunned about how diverse of a band they truly were. They were able to keep the crowd alive and energetic through their entire set. As their set came to a close, I was left impressed that they had two drummers! Once again, another band I can’t wait to see in Chicago next time.
This brings us to the part of the night that everyone came together for. The sold-out Chicago crowd started to boil over with anticipation of the return of the Cavalera brothers. They returned to their “roots bloody roots” by playing ‘Roots’ in its entirety, and let me tell you — they did not disappoint. Max and Igor Cavalera were joined on stage by Marc Rizzo on lead guitar and Johnny Chow on bass. They started with the classic track “Roots Bloody Roots”, and the crowd instantly went crazy. Max capitalized on that vibe as they went into “Attitude”. He brought out an instrument called the Berimbau getting the crowd to chant “Can you take it?” As it built up, the crowd began to move and go at each other once the song kicked in. From there, they continued to play the album in order, noticeably skipping over “Jasco” — an obvious omission since it’s a guitar solo that was recorded by now-estranged Sepultura guitarist Andreas Kisser. They also left out “Canyon Jam”. After they completed the album, Max asked Igor to play punk anthem “Policia” (A song by Titas from the album ‘Cabeca Dinossauro’) with only himself, as the other two members stepped off of the stage. The crowd went nuts and sang along with them.
Rizzo and Chow rejoined the two brothers back on stage and broke out with the Celtic Frost classic “Procreation (of the Wicked).” It was brutal and heavy as hell. This brings us to where Max explains to the crowd how Sepultura got the name from a Motörhead song called “Dancing on your Grave” (grave in Portuguese translates to “Sepultura”). They played “Ace of Spades” and also honored Motörhead in the process. This brings us to the end of the night, where the band returned to the stage for an encore of a death metal version of “Roots Bloody Roots”, which kicked up the biggest pit of the night. And when all the smoke cleared, Max and Igor stood center stage, hugged, and took a vow together.
Like I had mentioned before, this tour line-up was very random and interesting. It was a mix of different sounds and genres, and it was absolutely a good time as well as an opportunity to discover new artist. By the end of the night, I was very satisfied with the outcome of the show. Reggie’s is a great venue, and I have never been to a show there where I left disappointed. I am very happy that Max and Iggor shared the 20th anniversary of ‘Roots’ with us, their fans! I am sure a lot of people including myself were happy and fortunate that they did this tour! I never thought I would ever get the chance to see them perform together again — it was a sick time!
