Andreas Kisser was asked to name the last riff by a current band that genuinely stopped him. He gave one answer.
The Sepultura guitarist spoke with Paolo Phoenix of “Magenta TV” at Wacken Open Air, months before the band play their final concert.
“Yeah, I think Gojira. Gojira, it’s a band and a guitar work that is very original. In a sense, they build their message around that new element of using the tapping or using that kind of groove. It’s really hard to describe, but I think they brought something new to the guitar riffing and guitar playing, for sure,” Kisser said (as transcribed by Blabbermouth).
Before that, Kisser was asked what he believes makes a riff truly great. His answer discounted technique almost entirely.
“That’s a hard one. Definitely it’s not technical element. It’s something that touches you. For me, it’s riffs like [Iron Maiden‘s] ‘Number Of The Beast‘ or [Metallica‘s] ‘Fight Fire With Fire‘. It’s something that really drives me. It takes me to a different level. Of course, technically you go there and you learn how to play and how to pick and everything, but there’s something else, [not] only [the] technical [aspect]. You feel it was written with truth. You almost feel the Metallica [guys] in the small room working the [‘Fight Fire With Fire‘] riff, James [Hetfield] and Lars [Ulrich] and Kirk [Hammett] and Cliff [Burton] playing that riff for the first time. Can you imagine the excitement? And that’s what we feel, that excitement that you cannot explain.”
Sepultura issued The Cloud Of Unknowing on April 24 through Nuclear Blast, four songs running 16 minutes and 29 seconds. It is the band’s final studio release and their first new material since Quadra in 2020, setting aside the SepulQuarta re-recordings.
It is also the only Sepultura recording to feature drummer Greyson Nekrutman, the 23-year-old American who joined in 2024 with a jazz background behind him.
The EP was tracked at Criteria Studios in North Miami, Florida across January and February 2025, produced by the band with Stanley Soares. The four tracks are “All Souls Rising“, “Beyond The Dream“, “Sacred Books” and “The Place“, the last of which was issued as a single in February.
Derrick Green described that closing song’s subject: “This song deals with immigrants who have come to a place seeking refuge and start a new life.”
Sepultura formed in Belo Horizonte in 1984 and became the most widely known Brazilian rock band there has been, working through Beneath The Remains, Arise, Chaos A.D. and Roots. The band has 14 gold records and has played in more than 80 countries.
The “Celebrating Life Through Death” farewell tour opened March 1, 2024 at Arena Hall in Belo Horizonte, a sold-out night that also marked Nekrutman‘s first show with the band after his time with Suicidal Tendencies.
It ends November 7, 2026 at the Mercado Livre Arena Pacaembu in São Paulo.
Metal Allegiance are on that bill, the rotating collective built around founder and bassist Mark Menghi, with Mike Portnoy of Dream Theater, Alex Skolnick and Chuck Billy of Testament, Phil Demmel, formerly of Machine Head, and Troy Sanders of Mastodon. Brazilian death metal band Krisiun and American thrash outfit Sacred Reich are also confirmed.
Former members are expected to appear, among them drummer Jean Dolabella and guitarist Jairo Guedz, whose time in the band preceded Kisser‘s arrival.
