SEPULTURA frontman Derrick Green has opened up about why the Brazilian thrash/groove metal veterans chose to close out their four-decade career with a dedicated, multi-year farewell tour rather than simply fading away or waiting for an ambiguous ending.
"We've been touring now on our farewell tour for over a year... this is the final year now," Green said, reflecting on a run that kicked off March 1, 2024, at Arena Hall in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, and has since carried the band across multiple continents.
Asked why SEPULTURA opted for a defined send-off rather than an open-ended slowdown, Green explained the appeal of leaving on their own terms: "It made more sense to stop on our own accord and to stop on a very high note." The decision, he added, came from wanting to preserve the band's creative peak in fans' memory rather than risk a slow decline.
The farewell run has not been without upheaval. Longtime drummer Eloy Casagrande departed in February 2024 to join SLIPKNOT, a significant loss for a band built partly on his technical, high-velocity playing; Nekrutman has since taken his place behind the kit for the remainder of the tour.
SEPULTURA have used the farewell period to document their legacy as much as to say goodbye, recording 40 songs across 40 cities for a commemorative live compilation that will stand as an audio record of the tour itself. They also released the EP "The Cloud Of Unknowing" via Nuclear Blast Records on April 24, proving the band had no interest in coasting through its final chapter creatively.
The tour's North American leg ran April 29 through May 29, 2026, with support from EXODUS, BIOHAZARD and TRIBAL GAZE — a lineup that underscored SEPULTURA's standing across multiple generations of extreme metal.
Green admitted the emotional weight of the farewell has exceeded his expectations: "I didn't realize how much it would have an impact on me, but it's a lot stronger than I imagined." For a band that helped put Brazilian metal on the global map and shaped both thrash and groove-metal sounds through albums like "Arise" and "Roots," the farewell tour now stands as a two-year victory lap for one of metal's most influential exports.