Written by:	destroyah
Published:	July 25, 2007
Event:	Dante XXI World Tour
Location:	Rock Café, Tallinn, Estonia

Never go drinking with a Frenchman. They only pretend to like wine - as soon as the rest of the pack is feeling relaxed and secure they strike you with lethal cocktails in which almost always rum is the dominant component. Our Korean friends were the first to go, Brits and Canadians as well as the majority of the Estonians followed shortly. I, accompanied by a Swede tried hard to annihilate the onslaught of waves and waves of cola and rum but we were soon forced to retreat to our respective beds, only to be treated with a tender-nervous-system-syndrome-thingy in the morning. So thank you Kevin! You won - now can you please bring me ten million pounds of aspirin.

Of course this is not what I wanted to write about. That particular Friday was fun, albeit devastating. The obvious consequences wouldn't have been a problem hadn't I had a Sepultura gig on Sunday. My funds were running dangerously low, my guts were aching for an expeditionary trip to the outside world and my overall condition was, well - shit. But missing out on Sepultura was not an option. Yes, I know, I know - the Cavalera brothers are long gone but god damn it - no one can say that Derrick sucks and Sepultura haven't produced anything good since '96. All those who claim so should be administered a tender slap on the bottom.

Despite the abundance of metal concerts here and spicy ticket prices Sepultura managed to gather a full house with ease. Still, an hour before the start the venue looked as if you could fit at least one full sized elephant in it. The reason for that was the recently introduced smoking-ban for pubs and clubs. And yes, upon closer investigation a big part of the crowd turned out to be killing time outside Rock Cafe, smoking and drinking cheap liquor while I enviously grasped my clearly over-priced rum and cola (by the time I got inside the feeling of imminent alcohol induced death had passed and I was good to go again). Another side effect of the ban was the overwhelming stench of urine and vomit in the vicinity of the restrooms - facilities that I luckily managed to avoid that night.

There were no warm-up acts and to tell you the truth I was slightly sceptical about how well Sepultura would get the crowd going. It was obviously a false concern as I was forgetting that this particular band was one of the big guns. At twenty-one hours my last doubts were crushed as Sepultura opened with a trademark boom and Green's petrifying scream. Instead, as the show went along I became increasingly concerned about the safety of the audience on the balconies, as Sepultura is a band that makes people jump, especially with their tribal stuff. And there is nothing more irresponsible than a bunch of drunk adults stampeding on wooden floors supported by sticks. Sturdy oak sticks, but still. Then again I guess a little carnage never harmed anyone.

Now, whether you prefer older or newer Sepultura, on stage it really doesn't matter. On there everything is equally awesome. The new drummer lived up to his predecessors and god damn it, I can't stress this enough - the huge silhouette of Derrick Green and his earth-crushing mouthwork is a force to be reckoned with. From the opener "Dark Wood Of Error" to the closing epic "Roots", it was Sepultura's game. With stuff like "Troops Of Doom", "Arise", "Territory" and "Biotech", some brand new songs and classics such as "Refuse/Resist" raining down upon the crowd like bullets, the hour and a half went by way too fast. Which is OK I guess - a good concert is supposed to leave you hungry for more. Besides the unbearable summer heat was certainly taking its toll on those in the pit. To emphasize the overall experience I'll just say this - whenever I have a hangover and I happen to be at a concert, I'll normally just leave after a couple of bands. Not only was I unable to do so with Sepultura but I even walked out of the club feeling like a million dollars.

So, never mind your personal views on Sepultura - if you crave for a monumental live performer and people gone berserk, don't ever question this band's karma or authenticity. It's not about whether they can deliver but rather can you handle it? Cause Sepultura will fuck you up. And I don't mean in an underground extreme grindcore way, no - that is toilet-music. Sepultura has the subtlety of a jackhammer, which is, as you know, always a very nice thing. Now if you excuse me I must go - cause if I am biotech, and biotech I most assuredly am, I must concordedly be Godzilla. So I'll just go and smash buildings and stuff.

Setlist (Manchester 04.07):

Dark Wood
Refuse/Resist
Convicted in life
False
Slave of a new world
Dead Embryonic Cells (full version)
Ostia
Crown Miter
Desperate Cry / Escape to the void
Boycott
Activist
Buried Words
Bullet the Blue Sky
Troops of Doom
Beneath the Remains
Territory
Arise
Kiaowas
Biotech Is Godzilla
Come Back Alive
Roots