by Former Sepultura drummer Igor Cavalera recently shared his thoughts on the global metal movement and criticized listeners who only focus on older music, in an interview with Louder Sound.
Cavalera’s comments came in response to a question about how it feels that Sepultura are credited with helping spawn the global metal movement.
“That’s what makes me proud; that bands can follow what we did,” Cavalera said. “Not just musically, but in attitude too. That’s the future of music. People who only listen to old stuff are fucking lazy.”
The drummer emphasized Sepultura’s pioneering role in pushing musical boundaries and connecting different cultures through their sound.
“The first time we came out of Brazil, people were like, ‘What the hell is this?’ We were pushing the limits of music,” he continued. “And I still am now. People know me for metal, but this is an experimental noise thing. It’s all about connection. We were connecting Brazil to Japan, to everywhere. I want to keep my antennas open to new things.”
Cavalera’s remarks reflect the band’s long-standing commitment to innovation that has defined their career since the 1980s.
Sepultura’s influence on the global metal scene began early in their career. Atmostfear Entertainment reported that the band had a significant presence in the extreme metal scene from a young stage. Their early demos and live tapes circulated worldwide and helped shape the death and thrash metal genres as they were emerging globally. Their 1987 album Schizophrenia gained wide distribution and a growing international reputation. This showcased their integration into a fast-solidifying global metal network.
The band’s most groundbreaking work came with their exploration of Brazilian cultural elements. Remezcla noted that Sepultura’s Roots album expanded metal’s boundaries by incorporating Brazilian folklore and indigenous rhythms. This demonstrated how metal could merge with cultural roots. This album remains one of their most influential works, inspiring Latin American metal bands to explore their own traditional sounds within metal.
The impact of this cultural fusion extended far beyond Brazil’s borders. The Roots album showed other metal bands worldwide that they could incorporate their own cultural heritage into heavy music without compromising the genre’s intensity. This approach opened new creative possibilities for metal musicians across different continents.
Iggor Cavalera’s current stance against musical complacency aligns with Sepultura’s historical role as boundary-pushers. His criticism of listeners who stick only to older material reflects the same experimental spirit that drove the band to blend thrash metal with indigenous Brazilian percussion and tribal chants decades ago.
The drummer’s ongoing commitment to musical experimentation continues today through his various projects. He maintains the innovative approach that first put Sepultura on the global metal map and influenced countless bands to push their own creative boundaries.
