Since I didn't find other Sepultura thread decided to revive this one. Been a fan of these guys since 1990 and still love them today. Yes, I took a more or less 10 year hiatus from the point they released Roots (apart from a a handful of songs I consider it to be pretty much Nu Metal hype and little music) yet they still recaptured my attention when they released the conceptual Dante XXI (really cool album). So what can I say? Here are my 2 cents regarding Sep's albums from worst to best:
Nation: I don't know what the guys were thinking back then and I believe they didn't either. It's obvious the band was bit lost here and trying to thread new ground but it all seems bleak and inconsistent as hell. The first song is listenable, the second is an enjoyable spurt of thrash core fury and from that point on it's all a clusterfuck of an acoustic nonsense of a mixed soup that surely turns sour in my ears. (3.5/10)
Morbid Visions: Although differing slightly when written there's a great difference between "thrash" and "trash" and this record proves it. From the sleeve design to song composition , passing through the laughable attempt to sound "evil" and ending on the trashy execution this is almost utter garbage. And the reasons why it ranks above Nation are simple: a) every band has to start somewhere and they were merely kids b) albeit being horrible it's way more cohesive and c) it also features a couple of good songs especially Troops Of Doom. But then again their age is half an excuse since their debut ep Bestial Devastation is hundreds of times better than this in all aspects. If you want to listen to embryonic thrash black Sep, get their first EP. If you want Troops Of Doom get the remastered Schizophrenia album .For reasons other than nostalgia or comedy, avoid this album at all cost. (3.5/10)
Roots: Back in 1996 Sepultura was one of the biggest 90's metal acts in the world so expectancy regarding their new album were up in the stratosphere. Comes Roots Bloody Roots advance single and one notices Sep's sound evolving once again: It looked a bit like Refuse Resist got bathed in a thick undercoat of Nu metalized down tune guitar riffing and the "Batucada" and tribal traits were even more preeminent. Still a great track with an hell of groove. Unfortunately the rest of the album doesn't hold the same quality standards. In the majority of the songs it seems like the guys simply copied Korn's debut major traits and added a thin layer of ethnic Brazilian sound and a bit of Chaos AD. There are some cool songs here and there (not more than a handful) but in the end it just hurts to listen how one of the most influential bands of the late 80's/ early 90's jumped in the Nu Metal bandwagon. Even worst is seeing how this record is overpraised to this day. Back in the mid 90's I could understand why.... but almost 25 years after (when we look back and come to terms to the train wreck that is - generally - Nu metal was) it's really unjustifiable. (5/10)
Against: I must give props to the boys for being able to record something while going through the turmoil of their front man departure and the catastrophic reprecursions it produced. But in all honesty Against suffers from the same handicaps its predecessor did. Namely a crap load of Nu Metal cliches, a ton of basic and uninspired riffing and too much boring songs that seem to get nowhere. Don't get me wrong: it features a handful of really cool songs like the "thrashcoresque" title track, the ethnic barrage of Old Earth (that chorus) or the rightfully so RDP sounding Reza (justified by João Gordo delivering the vocals). Although it hits you with a bit more adrenaline (mainly due to a way more relevant hard core edge) Against is little more than a big Meh! (5/10)
Roorback: When Come Back Alive kicks in we are promptly offered something that seems like Roots and Beneath The Remains had a baby and man... it sounds great and exciting! But that excitement dilutes as a barrage of sludgy mid paced half baked songs follow the opening theme. There's an assumed intention here to get a bit further from the Nu Metal genre, adding way more thrash and hardcore elements they ever did since Chaos AD (albeit in really modest amounts) but the songs still have a lot of that damned genre's undertones. So there you go: Sepultura with another semi failed attempt to reinvent themselves, although this time with some great cuts here and there and - while a bit uninspired - not sounding derivative. (5.5/10)
A-Lex: Perhaps the most unique album by the band, A-Lex's is a concept album based on the novel A Clockwork Orange and. Sonic and structure wise it's more of an experiment than a regular album. Almost every song is a short burst of emotions, just like a chapter of the book where the ensuing action commands entirely the composition at breakneck pace (the plot justifies it) making half of the songs sound they finish way faster than they should. As for the music itself it's a mix of influences: from Thrash Core to Tribal, Groove to Nu Metal, and even a bit of Industrial and Neo Classical this album has it all. And does a reasonable work maintaining all this different genres homogeneous in the large picture. Not an easy listening but still an acquired taste. (7/10)
Machine Messiah: Another conceptual album (this time about a dystopia future where man is ruled by machine) Machine Messiah is delightful regarding its technical details. Plus some of the songs are utter juggernauts: I Am The Enemy, Vandal's Nest and Silent Violence are simply Death Thrash violence mixed with a bit of hardcre spice. Plus we are presented with slow paced monsters that have the density of a black hole in the form of Resistant Parasites or Sworn Oath and even a cool multi styled instrumental in Iceberg Dances. But, despite featuring a considerable amount of brilliant songs, something's off about this album an whole. Perhaps that's the slow beginning of the title track - and also the opener - or perhaps that's the fact that together they simply don't work out as a cohesive unit and that's a bit of a thing when we're talking about a conceptual record. Plus leaving the best song out as a bonus track (Chosen Skin... what a beast!) certainly doesn't help and was it to be the opener (yeah I know the lyrics would have to be changed) or even included in the album per se I would give Machine Messiah at least 1 more point. (7.5/10)
Schizophrenia: Make no mistake: this album alone made a new thrash titan emerge from one of the least expected places in the world. And that alone speaks volumes. It's no cohincidence this was the record that got the band the contract with Roadrunner: leaving the black thrash influences behind (similar to what other international leaders of the genre did like Kreator and Sodom) and taking a couple of tips from the emerging death metal scene while mixing it with lots of thrash metal, Sepultura made a remarkable evolution in this record. Due to the recruiting of a more refined musician in Andreas Kisser and natural technical/ songwriting evolution the boys were able to pull one hell of an album. Songs like From The Past Comes The Storm, To The Wall, Sceptic Schizo or even the adorned instrumental The Abyss show a way more complex and musical endeavor without losing an inch of power. On the other hand Rest In Pain and Escape To The Void are themes that represent an impending risk to your cervical while headbanging. Gone were the cheesy satanic antics and lyrics as well as the amateur garage cringe feeling. And, besides the poor production, Schizophrenia showed the world they were to be taken seriously. And man... they were only getting started... (7.75/10)
Dante XXI: By 2006 I was really outside of Sepultura's train for almost a decade so when I was convinced by a friend to give a listen to the Divine Comedy based Dante XXI back when it came out I must confess I did it relutanctly. So maybe that's why Dante XXI was such a punch in the chin that I never saw coming. After an eerie and intense as hell intro, Dark Wood Of Error starts gathering up steam till it erupts in a nose dive straight into Hades and to old sepultura speedster mode making go "WTF????!!!" in excitement. Without allowing me to catch my breath Convicted in Life makes way with no regards for human life. By now I could see where the band was going to in this album and was simply loving it: it sounded like old Sepultura but with multiple traits and experiments from later groove/ nu metal sound: a perfect mix between old and new Sepultura, picking the best of each era. As we enter the City Of Dis the ethnic motives come into scene for the first time in a fashion as efficient as the double bass attack that follows. False is another fast track where groove, thrash and hardcore mingle in a really cool manner with slight nu metal itches. Ostia is a mid tempo evolving composition a la Chaos AD, featuring the use of orchestrations while the last songs (apart from the soothing outro). Buried Words is another highlight (that chorus is mind blowing). To sum it up: appart from a couple of songs (especially the last ones) this record is full of enjoyable, intense and new stuff with some glimpses of genius here and there. Was it their best album? No. But it definitely brought me to the Sepultura family again and that alone says a lot! (8.25/10)
Kairos: During its recording the band stated this record (regarding sound and lyrics) was to be a retrospective of what the band went through during its entire career. And they weren't lying: it does so with a special focus on Arise and Chaos AD. Spectrum is a mid paced Slayer riffing stomper that works more like a welcome note to the trip we're about to take than a proper opener (featuring a gorgeous solo by mr. Kisser) followed by the title track that seems like the result of a crossing between Nomad and Territory. Relentless is simply amazing: thrash groove a la Chaos AD with some death metal undertones including another blistering solo and one hell of a vocal performance by Mr. Green (by the way... Kairos has my favorite vocal delivery since Chaos AD by far). Songs like Mask and Seethe are excellent fast straight up death thrashers and No Man will stand also relates a bit to it with a more hardcore feel to it. And we're also presented to dense megalithic crushers in the amazing Born Strong and Embrace The Storm, while Structure Violence is a great essay on industrial metal. Ministry's Just One Fix is also nice (though similar to the original) but it sort of cuts the strong pace Kairos and Relentless impose (I would put it last in the playlist) and Dialog is somehow boring being the only skipable track here. By this time no matter if the record sales reflected it or not it was crystal clear to me that Sepultura were back. (8.5/10)
Beneath The Remains: This was the first album I heard from these guys and what can I say that hasn't already been said? Almost nothing. So I'll just underline what makes this record the classic it came out be and and add a note of my own. If Sepultura achieved what they did in Schizophrenia with little conditions, Beneath The Remains' greatness should come as no surprise. But truth be told not much people outside the underground knew the band and it left thousands with their chins at their feet. Pure Thrash with Death Metal undertones carrying a perfect equilibrium between fury, heaviness and composing wit, this record was destined to become a classic. Old fan favorites like the title track, Innerself or Mass Hypnosis earned their place justifiably so among the elite of the genre while infectious bangers like Slaves of Pain and Stronger Than Hate are also mind blowing. I only have 2 minor complaints regarding BTR. First there's a slight overuse of Slayer influences. Hey! Don´t get me wrong... it's not plagiarism by any sort but seems like SEP made their own reinterpretation (in an unique way) of some of their traits and sticked with it from the get go till the last second. And the final stretch of the album, although being really good is not as stellar as the remainder of the tracks. But those are just details that would never downgrade in a significant scale such a classic. (8.75/10)
The Mediator Between Head And Hands Must Be The Heart: While recording The Mediator (let's abreviate it for obvious reasons... yeah, it's a sentence taken from Metropolis but wouldn't "The Mediator Between Head And Hands" suffice? ) Sep's site released a video diary where the band would share their impressions. Summing up all interventions there were two major things the band promised: this would be Sepultura's heaviest record ever made and that Eloy Casagrande's first recording behind the kit was going to be something out of this world. And man... did they stuck to their word. Trauma of War begins with a static sound a la Napalm Death's Harmony Corruption and erupts into a blistering behemoth that, from the first time I listened to it, entered directly to my top 10 Sepultura songs of all time. Racing through a non speed limit modern Death-thrash lane, this brilliant opener shows us 3 traits that The Mediator carries from start to finish: a) this stuff is indeed insanely heavy without sounding dated. One can even find some early Gojira influences here and there, b) on the other hand re-hiring Ross Robinson kinda backfired: the production is loud, sludgy and noisy and Derricks voice is treated with too much distortion and c) Eloy Casagrande... what the hell is that guy doing? What is this? There are no words to describe the onslaught of fury, complexity, mastery and diversity this dude's performance reaches. After an eerie intro The Vatican thrashes in at full speed revealing an 100% pure Death Metal bridge. This stuff is really unlike anything the band as ever made: dark and dense as a black hole. Impending Doom and Tsunami are slower but that seems to underline even more the heaviness the boys were sure to convey to this beast of a record. Manipulation of Tragedy sounds like something taken out of Arise that went through a severe steroid treatment. Once again Eloy is the star here displaying an infinite array of jaw breaking lines ranging from blast beats to batucada. The Bliss Of Ignorants is something that could easily fit in 1993's Chaos AD with gorgeous tribal drums and an infectious and heavy groove. Finally Obessessed closes the record as it started: full speed and heaviness in a claustrophobic dark ambiance with the colaboration of non other than Dave Lombardo himself. As bonus we're presented with another mix of groove and sheer weight in Stagnate State of Affairs and two covers, the first a ethno rocker from Chico Science & Nação Zumbi and Death's classic Zombie Ritual (both preformed in a stellar fashion). Make no mistake: The Mediator is simply put one of the best albums of its genre recorded in this decade. Only that way it would enter my all time Sepulura podium. (9/10)
Arise: After taking the world by surprise, Sepultura had a huge quandary on their hands: how to record an album as good as Beneath The Remains. The line to thread was really thin: on one hand a clone would surely sound forced and the probabilities to reach Beneath's impact while doing so would be slim. On the other hand the band couldn't depart too much from the thrash genre because after all they were still new comers among metal's elite numbers. The answer to these questions would be Arise. And it would be a super intelligent answer that spoke volumes about the band's abilities as composers. The title track serves as a furious introduction to the apocalyptic landscapes explored throughout the entire record. The structure and pace are quite similar to the opening of the previous album and so, while being on hell of a tune, nothing really new. Dead Embryonic Cells follows and this is where Sepultura starts to thread new ground. The tempo is slower and more intense, but it's Andreas Kisser's dissonant tones sparkled here and there that come as an absolute innovation (that would define the band's guitar style especially in their following album). Desperate Cry also unveils new weaponry: After a somber acoustic intro the song goes from something that reminds Innerself's verses to a double bass death metal chorus. Then it wanders through various dissimilar ambiances that in the end fit together perfectly. It somehow finds space to insert the same acoustic intro after an uptempo thrash bridge only to burst into a strobbing hertas display, closing with a crushing Death Metal slow grinding double bass. And while songs like Murder, Subtraction and Infected Voice are more or less straight up thrashers, the remainder of the tunes continue to explore new venues while mixing it with old landscapes. Altered States' excellent prologue begins with tribal percussion (another trait that would stick forever since to Sepultura's sound and would be explored to the maximum in future albums) giving way to an intense rumbling entrance covered once again with Andreas' dissonant guitar that bursts into a Ministry like riffage mixed with the familiar Sepulthrash blueprint. Under Siege (Regnum Irae) recovers Desperate Cry's recipe acoustic guitar and is equally intense (those reverse echoing spoken words give this song one hell of an ambiance) while Meaningless Movements dwells in a perfect balance between Thrash, Groove and Death Metal. All in all what Sepultura reveal an obsessive attention to detail and maturity almost unthinkable on a band composed by musicians that young. Theypumped the brakes a bit on this classic record (despite having a fair share of fast songs) but got way heavier, intense, while bringing new elements and flavors to their sound making a decisive step forward on defining their sound in a masterful. And these last two factors are decisive while choosing Arise as Sep's finest moment in exequo with its follower. (9.25/10)
Chaos AD: By 1993 Sepultura were already without shadow of doubt one of metal's big names. Another undisputable fact is that rock and heavy music were changing. Propelled in one hand by the Seattle scene and on the other by a new breed of surging metal tendencies, the 90's were definitely a decade that brought new sub genres to the table (normally by mixing others). Aware of all these aspects as they have always been, Sepultura knew they should evolve their sound even more if they wanted to remain on top of metal's game. So no wonder Chaos AD came out to be one of the most unique metal albums ever recorded. A powerful batucada rhythm opens the hostilities and gives way to the what I consider to be the perfect riot soundtrack in the form of Refuse Resist, a simple yet brutal mid tempo grinder featuring everything an anthem demands, including a somehow hardcore vibe that would linger throughout the majority of the album. Territory kicks in and so do the tribal drumming once again. By now one can also notice a strong influence of industrial metal bands like Godflesh and Ministry, both in Kisser's dissonant tones and in the overall strongly marked pace. And by the time straight out hard core Slave New World ends, we easily come to the conclusion this is not a mere death-thrash album but something that picks traits from the said genre in equal parts with many others (some I've already alluded to) and builds an immense and heavy as hell wall of sound. Also this record is almost devoid of uptempo speedsters (with the exception of Biotech Is Godzilla), showing a preference in mowing our eardrums in a slower and yet more effective way. Amen's ambiance is simply apocalyptic while Kaiwoas is a curious venture into native Brazilian music and also a heartfelt tribute. Propaganda and Nomad outline even more Sepultura's new found identity while being as heavy as fantastic. We Who Are Not As Others works wonders as a protesting rant with a choral ensemble that assumes cinematic proportions while Manifest is dangerously close to Ministry's at its best, denouncing the Carandiru massacre. After a superbly "Sepulturized" version of The Hunt by punk veterans NMA, the album comes to a close with another dissonant megalith in the form of Clenched Fist. Chaos AD marked without shadow of doubt a parting of waters for the band. And I'm not talking about the inevitable fact of their popularity increasing even further or obvious growth outside Death/Thrash boundaries. The most important step Sepultura took was from being an excellent yet somewhat easy to label band to something that got influences from several sounces while building unmistakable identity and would influence a myriad of bands. This my friends is something you can say about a really small number of acts. And Sepulura achieved it in a masterful fashion. That's how good this record is. (9.25/10)