Single Review – I Am the Enemy by Sepultura (Machine Messsiah)

Brazilian heavy metal band, Sepultura, are due to release a new album through Nuclear Blast on the 13th of January 2017. That album is going to be called Machine Messiah and will officially be the band’s 14th studio album although that statement is definitely one that can be strongly contested by any long term fans of the band. While it is true that a band called Sepultura will have released 14 albums with this next release, really there are two different Sepulturas. One that existed until the end of 1996 and was formed and fronted by heavy metal legend, Max Cavalera and then the one that has existed since, fronted by Derrick Green.

Max’s decision to quit Sepultura was reasonably public and a lot of people, myself included, expected Sepultura to not continue. When they announced a new singer, a lot of people expected a name change and when that didn’t happen, a lot of people were annoyed that the band would continue Max’s legacy without him, none more so than Max. Still, that was a long time ago now and while there is still bad blood there between ex bandmates, Derrick Green has proven to be a strong singer and a solid frontman and while a lot of old fans may not listen anymore, a lot of new fans certainly do. It surprised me to realise that Derrick Green has now been the frontman of Sepultura for over 7 years longer than Max Cavalera was!

To raise interest in the new album, the band have released a new single called I Am the Enemy. The song has actually been played live a few times already but has now been released as a digital single.

I Am the Enemy is a short track at only 2 minutes and 28 seconds long but is a blisteringly heavy blast of a track. It really doesn’t hold back much at all. It is low toned, riff heavy with insane drum beats and is completely played at a ferocious pace. I think the intro, first verse and chorus were already complete by the 30 second mark. As we know though, brutally heavy is welcome but that doesn’t always make it a great song. Starting with a long drawn, out shout from Derrick Green over a pretty simple riff it is the drumming of Jean Dobella that really stands out.

It is loud and relentlessly quick and thrashy. In fact th whole song is quite old school and thrashy. Vocals are strong and spat out at pace in line with the music and any break in vocals brings forward a solo by the talented Andreas Kisser. About half way through the track switches it up completely with a second of silence before bursting into a groove laden rhythm with moments of that tribal feeling so famous with the band of the past. It is really cool and Paulo Xisto Pinto, Jr’s bass is very prominent here. It leads straight into a neat little guitar solo before returning to the thrashy heaviness from the beginning of the track through to closing.

Well, I enjoyed that. It is short but packed full of moments and it is definitely heavy as you like. Andreas had the following to say about the new single –

“The song ‘I Am The Enemy‘ was one of the last songs we worked on before going to Sweden to record the album, it’s really simple and straight forward with a strong influence of the hardcore scene of the 90’s.

The lyrics talk about ourselves as human beings, with concepts and pre-concepts implanted in our heads through education, religion, the environment and all of our own experiences. We are the problem and the solution, do not blame anything or anyone else but yourself, you are your own enemy. Face yourself, rethink your life and then you’ll have a chance to make a better world for yourself.We are playing the song live already and the reaction is being amazing, now you all have the chance to listen to the album version, play it loud!”

A really strong metal song, whatever the band name. I am not sure a 2 minute track is enough to get me really excited for the new album after so much time away from the band but it has definitely got me interested and I will be eagerly looking out for more information in the next couple months.

I Am the Enemy is available now on all the normal streaming sites such as Spotify and Apple Music. Check out the band’s website for more information on the new album and why not give them a like or follow over on their official Facebook page or Twitter? Maybe even pre order the album, available at their label, Nuclear Blast’s, website.

Remember, support your metal or risk losing it!