Four songs as a farewell: Brazil’s metal icons will release their last studio recording on April 24 via Nuclear Blast Records. It also marks the first studio material featuring drummer Greyson Nekrutman.

Four decades, 15 studio albums, 14 gold records, and performances in more than 80 countries: Sepultura have left deep marks on the history of heavy metal. Now, this chapter is approaching its end. In the midst of their ongoing “Celebrating Life Through Death” farewell tour, the Brazilians have revealed the details of their final studio release. “The Cloud Of Unknowing” will be released on April 24, 2026 as an EP via Nuclear Blast Records, marking the closing statement of a career that began in Belo Horizonte in 1984.

Four Tracks Between Ferocity and Depth

The EP comprises four new tracks:

1. All Souls Rising
2. Beyond the Dream
3. Sacred Books
4. The Place

The advance single “The Place” in particular offers insight into the EP’s thematic direction. Vocalist Derrick Green describes the song as an exploration of the immigrant experience, about people arriving at a new place seeking refuge, only to be drawn into a false sense of security and relentless propaganda. The inner transformation, according to Green, begins with the escape from self-hatred and lashing out at those who believed in the same ideas. Lyrically, the song mirrors the musical transitions of the track itself: from disappointment to anger.

The Title: 14th Century Mysticism

The choice of EP title is far from coincidental. “The Cloud of Unknowing” is the name of an anonymous mystical text from the late 14th century, written in Middle English. The work’s central message: God cannot be grasped through reason or intellect, but only through love. The seeker is called to set aside their knowledge and intellectual faculties, entering instead a “cloud of unknowing” where the divine presence can be experienced beyond human understanding.

For a band like Sepultura, who have always drawn on literary and philosophical references (think of the Burgess-inspired “A-Lex” or the politically charged “Nation”), this title is a fitting choice. It reflects the state the band itself finds itself in: at the end of a 40-year journey stands the uncertain, the letting go of the familiar, the leap into the void. This is a farewell that does not rest in false security but embraces the unknown.

Greyson Nekrutman: The Youngest Piece of the Sepultura Puzzle

“The Cloud Of Unknowing” is also the first studio material featuring drummer Greyson Nekrutman behind the kit. The then 21-year-old American joined the band in February 2024 after Eloy Casagrande left the group just days before the start of the farewell tour and without prior warning, in order to join Slipknot.

Nekrutman, born in 2002, is a drummer with an unusual profile. Raised in jazz and big band circles, influenced by legends like Buddy Rich, Sonny Payne, and Art Blakey, he brought an entirely different musical background than his predecessors. He previously played with Suicidal Tendencies and built a name for himself through virtuosic drum videos on social media. Bassist Paulo Jr. described the collaboration as enriching and encouraged the young drummer to bring his own style rather than conforming to conventional metal approaches.

Guitarist Andreas Kisser revealed last year that the four songs came together spontaneously during the tour. The creative process was organic and unplanned, very much in the spirit of a band philosophy that has always kept Sepultura away from rigid genre boundaries.

A Farewell Tour That Seems Endless

The EP drops right in the middle of the final tour cycles. Sepultura are currently on the Australian leg of the “Celebrating Life Through Death” tour. Following that, the final North American dates begin in late April (with Exodus, Biohazard, and Tribal Gaze as support), before the last European run kicks off in the summer.

Four headline shows are confirmed for Germany: Wurzburg (Posthalle, June 14), Saarbrucken (Garage, June 17), Oberhausen (Turbinenhalle, June 23), and Potsdam (Waschhaus, June 24). On top of that, festival appearances at Wacken Open Air (July 29) and other major European festivals including Nova Rock, Hellfest, Graspop, Copenhell, and Bloodstock are on the schedule. The very last European concert is set for August 9 at Dublin’s 3Arena, with Biohazard, Malevolence, Sacred Reich, and Crypta as special guests.

The absolute finale is planned for October 2026 in Sao Paulo, where Kisser intends to organize a grand “Sepul-Fest” with numerous guest musicians. He has also extended invitations to the Cavalera brothers, Max and Igor, who left Sepultura in 1996 and 2006, respectively. Whether this historic onstage reunion will actually materialize remains to be seen.

More Than Just Four Songs

“The Cloud Of Unknowing” will be available in various vinyl editions: Oxblood, Transparent Petrol (Nuclear Blast exclusive), Crystal Clear, and Transparent Red (both band exclusives). All LP versions include a CD of the EP in a card wallet.

Alongside the EP, the band is working on a live album that aims to compile 40 songs recorded in 40 different cities across the farewell tour. An ambitious project designed to document the geographic and musical breadth of Sepultura’s goodbye.

Verdict

Four songs may not seem like much on paper. But as the final creative statement from a band that has helped shape the metal universe across four decades, they carry significant weight. “The Cloud Of Unknowing” is neither an afterthought nor a contractual obligation. It is a deliberate closing chapter, born on a tour that Sepultura themselves have described as a “conscious and planned death.”

Whether the EP lives up to that ambition can only be judged on April 24. “The Place” as a lead single at least suggests that Sepultura intend to close the book not with a whimper, but with a roar.

“The Cloud Of Unknowing” is out April 24, 2026 via Nuclear Blast Records.