SEPULTURA Frontman DERRICK GREEN: 'The Music Has Kept This Band Alive'

Les Apéros De Christo recently conducted an interview with guitarist Andreas Kisser and vocalist Derrick Green of Brazilian/American metallers SEPULTURA. You can now watch the chat below.

Speaking about SEPULTURA's official documentary, "Sepultura Endurance", which received its world premiere on May 21 at the Regent theater in Los Angeles, Green said: "The movie is primarily based on the history of SEPULTURA, but, really, what's happening during it… Actually, the main base of the film is a show that we did — a thirty-year-anniversary show in São Paulo — so it kind of is taking pieces from that and going back in time to try to figure out why is this band significant today? Its endurance, of staying around, all the changes with being away from family, being on the road, different people in the band, the influence that the band had on different musicians throughout the years, all the changes and everything, but [the band] is still there and still relevant. So you can really that in the film. Even if you're not a metal fan or don't know anything about metal music, that's really the beauty of the film — it's a great story. It's very real and very true, because there's no scripts or anything. We were being recorded for years — it was, like, seven [years or something like that]. It's really the music — the main part of it is, like, wow, the music has kept this band alive. It's something greater than ourselves, something so powerful and very honest and true, and it's beautiful. It's really an honor to be a part of the history of this band."

Added Kisser: "[The documentary is] out in Brazil now in a few theaters — sixty movie theaters around the country— and we're thinking of working to bring the movie to Europe, to the big screen first. And, of course, later we're gonna have the package with a lot of extras — like eight hundred hours of filming that was converted into one hour and forty minutes for the movie. But there's so many more things that the director captured that would be very interesting. And the whole show in São Paulo, the complete set and everything."

"Sepultura Endurance" shows the journey from SEPULTURA's humble rural beginnings to decades spent on the international stage, giving an in-depth look into how the band continues to thrive in a changing metal landscape. Crammed full of rare archival footage, and featuring interviews with legends like Lars Ulrich (METALLICA) and Scott Ian (ANTHRAX),and younger artists influenced by SEPULTURA, like SLIPKNOT's Corey Taylor, "Sepultura Endurance" is the definitive document of the band's myths, struggles and heart.

"I'm very happy and excited that the SEPULTURA movie is finally done," commented Kisser. "It is an amazing achievement from the director Otávio Juliano and the producer Luciana Ferraz from the Interface Films. Otavio followed the band on the road, on the studio and collected amazing statements from many people who are or were a part of this fantastic history. 'Sepultura Endurance' shows a story of this Brazilian band who conquered the world, suffered the ups and downs of a unique career that are still going strong. He filmed the historical show we did in Sao Paulo in 2015 for the celebrations of the thirtieth-year-anniversary tour and that's the central line of the whole history, our music! Through the music, we tell this story. We invite you to enter this time machine and explore the SepulHistory with no dramas or sensationalism."

Otávio Juliano stated: "I had been filming the band SEPULTURA for the better part of 2010-2016, a time of tension and triumph for the band celebrating thirty years. Nothing has been off limits. The band gave me complete access, every door was open, I was never asked to leave.

"'Endurance' is an honest portrait of SEPULTURA: part concert film, part testimonial to the power of music, part intimate insider hang and great archival footage. Ultimately, the film is a testament to the endurance required to make a documentary for almost seven years, taking itself 800 hours of footage to complete. When you're filming cinéma vérité style, you're following the story as it's unfolding and you don't know the destination. 'Sepultura Endurance' has been a great journey."

According to Folha De S. Paulo, former SEPULTURA members Max and Igor Cavalera denied permission to the makers of "Sepultura Endurance" to use the group's early music in the film. Juliano told the Brazilian news outlet that he could not even use footage of early SEPULTURA songs being performed by the current version of the band, which includes Green and drummer Eloy Casagrande alongside two members of SEPULTURA's "classic" lineup, Kisser and Paulo Xisto Pinto Jr. (bass).