Just over 4,000 metalheads descended on Dublin’s 3Arena on Sunday night for a celebration of heavy music, mosh pits and pure, unfiltered aggression as Brazilian metal legends Sepultura brought their Celebrating Life Through Death Tour back to the capital.
With a formidable supporting line-up of Crypta, Sacred Reich, Bloodbath and Biohazard, there was little danger of the crowd being left waiting for the action to begin. The four bands, appearing in that order, each brought their own distinctive brand of heaviness to the stage, steadily raising the temperature inside the arena.
Crypta, Sacred Reich and Bloodbath warmed things up nicely, giving the early arrivals plenty to get their teeth into. By the time Biohazard took the stage, however, the atmosphere had shifted up several gears. Almost immediately, bodies began streaming over the barrier as crowd surfing kicked into full swing, while circle pits opened up across the floor. Biohazard delivered the kind of ferocious performance that demanded movement, and the response from the Dublin crowd was impossible to miss.
Then came the moment everyone had been waiting for.
When Sepultura finally took the stage, the energy that had been building throughout the evening erupted. The crowd surged forward, and the circle pits and crowd surfing that had characterised Biohazard’s set continued throughout the headliners’ performance. From the opening moments, it was clear that this was not going to be a passive audience.
The Celebrating Life Through Death Tour is a particularly significant chapter in Sepultura’s story, celebrating the band’s remarkable legacy while acknowledging the end of an era. This Dublin show also marked the second time the tour had reached the city, following Sepultura’s previous visit on 9 November 2024.
For the thousands packed into the 3Arena, though, the history and significance of the tour translated into something much more immediate, a night of loud guitars, pounding drums and a crowd determined to make the most of every second.
From Crypta opening the evening to Biohazard unleashing chaos before Sepultura’s arrival, the supporting acts had done their job perfectly, but it was the headliners who ultimately owned the night.
With more than 4,000 metalheads in attendance, Dublin proved once again that its appetite for heavy music remains as strong as ever. Sepultura’s return was not simply another night at the 3Arena, it felt like a celebration of a band, its legacy, and the fans who have kept that legacy alive for decades.
For one night in Dublin, life was certainly being celebrated through death and it was very, very loud.
Crypta photos:
Sacred Reich photos:
Bloodbath photos:
Biohazard photos & set-list:
Set-list:
Urban Discipline
Shades of Grey
Fuck the System
Wrong Side of the Tracks
Black and White and Red All Over
Eyes on Six
Five Blocks to the Subway
We’re Only Gonna Die (Bad Religion cover)
Punishment
Sepultura photos & set-list:
Set-list:
Inner Self
All Souls Rising
Desperate Cry
Kairos
Means to an End
Phantom Self
Attitude
Against
Choke
The Place
Escape to the Void
Kaiowas
Dead Embryonic Cells
Slave New World
Beyond the Dream
Territory
Refuse/Resist
Arise
__________________
Drum Solo
Ratamahatta
Roots Bloody Roots
Photos & words – Ian Mc Donnell @mcgigmusic