Jason Korolenko „Brazilian Fury” [book review]

Sepultura is one of the bands of my childhood and probably the second, after Metallica, metal band that I started listening to. Interestingly, my adventure with them began around 2000-2001, but I got to know their albums in a relatively proper order – „Beneath The Remains”, „Arise”, „Chaos A.D.” etc. This happened because during this period, my source of musical education was my cousin sister, who listened to metal and had some old tapes. I got to know the later albums of Sepultura while visiting tape rental shops in libraries in my city. There they mainly had old stuff. Naturally, I have the greatest sentiment towards the old achievements of the Brazilians, and I practically don’t know their new albums, somehow they don’t sit well with me musically. Despite this, I read the book „Brazilian Fury” with great interest, which describes the history of the band from its early beginnings to the present day.

It is clear that the author is a very dedicated fan of Sepultura’s music, and this is reflected not only in the well-thought-out structure of the book and the smooth transition from topic to topic. It is worth noting above all that his descriptions of the albums are very thorough, but also quite subjective. One thing is certain, Jason Korolenko knows all the songs of the Brazilians like the back of his hand.

A interesting technique at the beginning of the book turned out to be outlining a certain historical background – the political and social situation in Brazil in the years when the members of Sepultura began their musical adventure. In comparison with the nature of the later lyrics of this band, certain analogies can be found. It is not surprising that a group from a country plagued by dictatorship focused largely on criticizing the system and authorities. The author also showed some dependencies regarding censorship and its role in inhibiting the development of music in this country.

„Brazilian Fury” is full of interesting anecdotes about the childhood of the musicians. For example, Igor Cavalera collected his first drumming experiences at matches, where his father took him. He played the snare drum to the rhythm of the fans. And the band that had the greatest influence on the musical interests of the young boys from Belo Horizonte was… Queen.

The description of the band’s early beginnings is also interspersed with a series of funny stories. Igor’s first drum kit consisted of a snare drum, a bass drum, and a cymbal on a broomstick, and they used to steal microphones at other bands’ concerts. The book also mentions the significant role of the Cavalera brothers’ mother, who greatly supported them in their new passion, not caring much about the opinions of the neighbors, who considered her a total weirdo. I also enjoyed reading about Max Cavalera’s first flight to New York in order to secure a contract – the musician was, in a sense, a stowaway, and he got on board thanks to the connections of a scam artist.

From the book, it is evident that from their early albums, Sepultura was beloved in their country, and the development as a band was unexpectedly rapid. The frenzy over this band was so great that European labels released their albums on the black market (Shark Records “Schizophrenia”). They also had fans among both the metal and punk subcultures – they also managed to reconcile relations between them. The role of their official fan club turns out to be quite significant, as in several situations it influenced the band’s history. However, the most entertaining stories come from the first European tour with the German band Sodom as the headliner, whose members eventually got offended by the Brazilians because many more people came to see Sepultura and there were situations where before the concert of the evening star, the room filled with hundreds of people thinned out to only a few dozen :).

The book also contains some behind-the-scenes stories. Not everyone knows that Kisser once had rehearsals with Metallica, and the image we know from the Obituary album „Cause Of Death” almost became the cover of „Beneath The Remains”. And the specific sound we know from the intro to „Chaos A.D.” is the beating heart of Max and Gloria Cavalera’s unborn child. The book also clarifies problems with record companies, subsequent divisions within the band, etc.

„I was particularly interested in the matters related to the lyrics of Sepultura, to which the musicians attached great importance from their early achievements. They often revealed themselves as people for whom the fate of others was not indifferent. The band not only reacted to violence at concerts, criticized authorities, police, various scams and corruption, but also in a rather imaginative, metaphorical, and often surprising way created concept albums with very ambitious content („Nation”, „Dante XXI”). Frankly, I never paid much attention to this. The excursions to Brazilian tribes during the „Roots” period, resulting in a significant contribution to the music on this album, are also interestingly described.

This book is certainly not for those craving sensation, controversy, and spicy stories. It is the story of talented enthusiasts who dedicated their lives to music and, aware of their potential, built their brand brick by brick. And although the current image of Sepultura is somewhat different from the period of their greatest glory, they were a band that left a very large mark on the genre called metal.