Kairos (album)

Background and recording

On July 6, 2010, it was announced that Sepultura were signed with Nuclear Blast Records, and would release their first album for the label in 2011. By the end of 2010, the band had begun writing new material and entered the studio to begin recording their twelfth album with producer Roy Z (Judas Priest, Halford, Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson, Helloween). Recording sessions for Kairos took place from December 2010 to March 2011 at Trama Studios in São Paulo, Brazil, the same studio where its 2009 predecessor A-Lex was recorded.

On March 1, 2011, it was announced that Sepultura had completed recording their album, which was tentatively due in May 2011. Days after the album was finished, Sepultura announced on March 4, 2011 that the album would be called Kairos and would be released around that late spring or early summer. Kairos was Sepultura's last album recorded with drummer Jean Dolabella, as he left the band five months after its release.

Concept

Speaking of how the band came up with the Kairos title, Andreas Kisser said:

The whole theme of the album is the concept of the time, and the title reflects that — it's like one concept of time which is not chronological, from one to two; it's like an instant in time, it's a special time of change... Everyone's life is written by [their] choices — you have many 'kairos' moments, like if you go [from] point A [to point] B [to point] C, you are driven by your choices or your guidance; you have to go either one way or the other. And that's the kind of time we talked about — not about aging or getting old or going back [in time]; it's just [about those important] moments that can change everything.

According to the guitarist, the concept had to do with Sepultura's 26-year-old history and the changes inside and outside the band. "It's a collection of 'kairos' that [got us] here. It's being inspired by our own biography, but mostly [focusing] on what Sepultura is today," he added.

Reception

Kairos was well received by music critics and fans. Kairos sold over 2,500 copies in the United States in its first week of release and topped the CMJ Loud Rock chart for three weeks. The album charted in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The band toured Europe, U.S.A, Canada and Brazil for the Kairos World Tour.

The song "Mask" is a downloadable content in the 2012 video game Twisted Metal.

Track listing

All tracks written by Sepultura except where noted.

Personnel