Check out (relatively) new drummer Eloy Casagrande beat up his drum kit in this live version of the old school classic “Troops of Doom” by Sepultura from the 1986 album “Morbid Visions”.Â
I first heard Brazilian thrash legends Sepultura when I was about 12/13 years old on a Roadrunner Records DVD. It was a mix of different Roadrunner bands, and on it was their video for “Territory”. As soon as I heard it I was hooked. It was so crushingly heavy. I’d heard bands like Slayer and Metallica, but this was different. The percussive temperament and thunderous pounding drums really struck something inside of me. Igor Cavalera soon become one of my favourite drummers. His heavy hitting technique and monstrous pace made me want to smash things and influenced me as drummer massively. The Brazilian vibes were all over Chaos A.D. as well and really brought a nice tribal feel to the record.
Since the glory days of Sep, things have undoubtedly changed. No longer does the band include either Cavalera brother, the band’s sound has also differed and along with it has come various member changes. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, though. Vocalist Derek Green, who has been a member of the Seps for longer than Max, (mental right?) is an absolute beast, his stage presence is truly colossal and his vocals soar over Andreas Kisser’s wall of guitar with brute force. Drummer Eloy Casagrande is also now at the throne of the band. To say Eloy wasn’t born for another 5 years after the song was released is pretty impressive.
His power truly comes through when he’s playing live, the pounding snare drum which Igor was so prolific for is still present but Eloy puts his own stamp on it completely. The technique seems effortless and Eloy really puts a lot in to the song. It’s never easy to learn someone else’s drum parts but to make them your own is another kettle of fish entirely.
Turn this up loud.
