Sepultura was from the beginning a black/death band - far from what they are playing today. The members had "cool" aliases :) . Max Possessed, Igor Skull crusher, Destructor (Paulo Jr) and Tormentor (Jairo T) was the terrifying crew. They arose in Belo Horizonte, the 3rd biggest city in Brazil the year of 1984. It was brothers Max and Igor Cavalera who formed the group. At the end of 1986 their current lead guitarist, Jairo T, left the band and Andreas Kisser joined instead.Jairo T. got involved in another metal band called The Mist in 1989.

The word Sepultura is Portuguese for "grave". A Motorhead song is the reason behind the name. Max used to translate English lyrics to Portuguese and as he did "Dancing On Your Grave" by Motorhead, he thought it would be a good name for the band.

Their first recordings, the EP Bestial Devastation (released 1985) and LP Morbid Visions (released 1986) was under the small Brazilian label Cogumelo. After the second full-length LP, Schizophrenia (also under Cogumelo),
Roadrunner Records signed he band. The "breakthrough" album, Beneath The Remains, was recorded with well-known producer Scott Burns - released in 1989 this was Sepulturas first step to worldwide success.

Arise and Chaos A.D was the next musical creations of the band. Those two albums put Sepultura as one of the leading thrash metal groups in the world. Touring constantly all around the world they've played with artists like Ozzy, the Sex Pistols, Guns & Roses, Ministry and KISS.

None of the band members still live in Brazil but their homeland still has a great impact on their music. The latest album, Roots, is a trip into tribal sounds combined with heavy thrash and the result is songs like Ratamahatta, Roots Bloody Roots,Cut-throat and Born Stubborn.