Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Samba Metal! (Sepultura: Roots)

Me tries to reacquaint meself with some old chestnuts everyday by picking a different CD fer the car & today's choice brought into sharp focus as to why, once upon a time, Sepultura were considered the planet's finest metal exponents.

Like machine gun fire, the staccato rhythms shuddered me rain-doused senses into life this morning & transformed the commute to work into a 40km-long headbanging session!!!

This was the album which saw the band become a Brazilian metal band rather than a metal band that happened to hail from Brazil. Best example of this is the way in which Sepultura cleverly incorporated various traditional & aboriginal percussion into their famously furious drum style. But the tracks themselves are what maketh the album & this LP is fooking filled to the brim with supreme cranium damagers. From the hate-filled scream of the title track to the Led Zep III-moments of Kaiowas, each & every one of these tunes pack a wallop as hard as a John Arne Riise freekick.

Alongside Pantera's A Vulgar Display of Power, this album is probably one of thrash metal's greatest opuses. Filled with angry anthems about the problems besetting their society (eg Policia), this was no empty vessel of an album. They also highlighted the plight of indigenous Amazon tribes & were able to create a masterpiece which had the perfect balance of melody, heaviness & socially-conscious lyrics.

Like many others, me actually plays the earlier LPs far more often than this but there's nay fooking denying that the band were at their creative (& heaviest) peak during Roots.

To download Sepultura's Roots (1996), please go to: http://www.mediafire.com/?54cgztd2jzz

As usual, me looks forward to reading yer comments on this landmark LP.

34 comments:

Jorji said...

Love sepultura and Max.
Sepultura without Max is not Sepultura anymore.

TQ for the link,We shall Arise!

anfield devotee said...

Nay problemo, Mr J! Yer absolutely right about Max. Did ye actually give a bollox about the post-Max LPs?

nick mun said...

Roots was probably the most progressive metal album then with the incorporation of native/tribal elements. Even with that, it was very abrasive sounding.

What's also worth pulling out of your collection is Nailbomb and my favourite, the Blood Rooted compilation of B-sides, live tracks and demos.

I didn't give a bollocks about the band post-Max.

anfield devotee said...

Yes, the Blood Rooted compilation is da bomb!

Though Seps may be a shadow of is former self, great news is atht we now have Cavalera Conspiracy!

nick mun said...

great tracks there ... among them Procreation of the Eicked and the cover of Symptoms of the Universe.

anfield devotee said...

All hail thee Mighty Frost!!!

Anba said...

and the mighty black sabbath...at first when it came out didnt like the album that much but after some years listening to the album..it's good but i still prefer beneath the remains,arise...n chaos

Balaji you should check out Soulfly's Dark Ages and the album after that...

anfield devotee said...

Anba: Dunno why, me has quite a few soulfly LPs but almost never play em. Perhaps time to give ema fresh spin in the car stereo.

Kerp (Ph.D) said...

Its hard to choose between this one and Arise. but definitely one of my all-time favs!

anfield devotee said...

kerp: Fer me its Beneath The Remains simply because that was the album that really got me attention though the first time me heard em was on the brutally raw Morbid Visions.

Speaking of which, me is just about to plug that album thru me headfones while pretending to work . . .

Bernard said...

...and by coincidence, I had a Brazilian instructor this morning @ the gym.

anfield devotee said...

Was he called Max, Bernard?

Jorji said...

hate soulfly!

Unknown said...

Bernard: Gym???!! hehe

Kerp: Personal favorite will always be Chaos AD

AD/Nick: Couldn't agree wit ya guys more. Soulfly was good but always had an issue with its rather muddy sound quality, which was probably done on purpose.

j or ji: sad but true

Anba: True. A lot of metal heads did take awhile to adjust to their new sound after those great BTR, Arise et, some even going as far as to accuse them of betraying their 'roots'.

Horseshit really. Their narrow minds just hadn't been exposed enough... only after repeated listens did the so called fans nod, sorry, bang their heads in agreement. Esp after Aru n gang (Koffin Kanser, Lyme, etc) started to adopt the tribal attitude and vibes of 'ROOTS' and incorporate them into their music.

Ah well imitation is the sincerest form of flattery...

Other bands worth mentioning in the tribal/ethnic metal category: Dubwar? Nile?

Bernard said...

Premo : eh...need some "muskles" to lift them large German & Belgian beer mugs dah...

anfield devotee said...

J or Ji: Dug out me copy of soulfly's third LP to soundtrack me commute to work but alas, already scratched . . .

Premo: Shit, seem to have lost me copy of Chaos AD . . . foooook.

Anba said...

Premo : i agree coz when it came out in 96'it was hard for me too ..but just now after listening to it 14 years later...i could really appreciate it better... could see the angle they were workin on...

Unknown said...

AD: Apa lagi download la braderrrr...

Anba: No worries mate. It took me awhile to rediscover some albums as well such as DRIs 4 of a Kind, COC's Blind, Deicide's Legion and Biohazard's Urban Discipline. Sometimes these things have a way of creeping back and biting u in the ass - sounding more brutal than the first time ya heard it!

Kerp (Ph.D) said...

i guess, gathered from all the feedbacks, Schizophrenia would be their crappiest outing? I was actually first introduced to Sepultura through that album.

anfield devotee said...

kerp: No waaaay. Schizophrenia fooking rocks! Great thing bout the Seps is that every album until Roots saw them expand their skill & sound. Listening to Morbid Visions, ye'd never have guessed that they'd go on to make an album as accomplished as Roots.

And this was also reflected in their live performances. Me was privileged enough to see them not once, but twice, during their Arise world tour. The dates were almost a year apart as they had circled the globe & returned to the same venue - leaner, meaner & tougher. Even then the first gig was near perfect, yet they were able to improve on it. It was fast, brutal & fooking note perfect!

It was quite simply the best gig me have had the pleasure of attending. Me kids ye not, me was on the balcony overlooking the stage at the 2nd show, and such was the sheer energy, condensation started to form on the CEILING!!! Seriously!

Premo: Dude, me copy of Chaos AD was a special edition etched CD case that came in a presentation metal box la . . . Well, at least me still has the flag that came in the box (*sob*) . . .

Anba said...

Premo: Deicide's Legion, COC Blind and DRi 4 o'va kind brings back good memories..
I still remember the day i bought Deicide's Legion on Thaipusam day 93'...exactly 17yrs ago...
what a unholy thing to do on a holy day...
I used ot wear a caco daemon name tag during my school days..such was the impact of that album n that song ...
Satan's Spawn the caco dameon...
damn im gettin old

Kerp:- seps crappies maybe Nation... but some songs by the new line up is good to...the recent ones like Roorback,Dante n A-lex are ok...
i do have one track a remake of U2' bullet the blue sky...you should check it out...it has more muscle in it..in fact they have a music video for it too..

Kerp (Ph.D) said...

I kinda thought so too but since no one mentioned it, I guess that was actually the case.

Sepultura can simply rock, be it on stage or the studio. I dont listen much of their recent stuff but i'm bloody sure I can trust Anba on this one.

Lets hope they'll make our NATION as part of their worldwide tour destination. But ofcos with the Cava Bros tagging along.

anfield devotee said...

kerp: Me thinks Seps is on its last legs la. Only Andreas Kisser left to fly the flag, they should actually change the name.

Not bothered at all since Nation to be quite honest.

Anba said...

Kerp:- Back in aug 03', MegaD was suppose to play in malaysia...but during that time our country was having it's Black Metal wictch hunt..so Mr Dave thot situation is not safe...
Sad to say with all the negative press that Malaysia is getting...The Cow,church,Beyonce i dont think they will come..it's either Bang Kock or Singa Pura fer em...
ans actually i dont mind goin there..
nicer place...m nicer gals..:0

its safer not only for them but also for the fans...
Bro i guess you know what happened during the exploited gig... Wattie went up the stage to sing only to be told he can't...the band until this day says this is the only time it has happened in their entire history... MalaysiaBoleh..

mozHASturnedINTOaMartian said...

premo..deicide..legion..WHOAAAAA..bblueargghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!
lo-fi technical precision.

corrossion's blind..yu takin me a long a-way now.nice

and now. roots.BLEUARRGGHHGHGHGHHGHGHGHGHHGHHG

fell in love with this fellow equatorians when i heard arise - courtesy of one of my best mates in school..who aptly called himself LAN cavelara.

the one word that described that LP when i first heard it
"mengasyikkan". not in a freakin' 'gelekaramus dangdutian amelina asyik sorta way..

more so..in a..what the hell..they play so heavy...but still can remember it like
mj's billie jean...just not that catchy yet. but hear the opening chords to
'dead embryonic cells'..and
you know
its dead embryonic cells...and i made SEP MY OWN. or as me and lan would address it affectionately in bahase baku
sep-LU-TU-RAHHHHHHHHH.

the adrenalin lasted, until i the aforesaid..lan cavelara..passed on
beneath the farkin remains...
hoollllyyyyyyy farkadadooo sheeeeeiiiitttt man...early death leanings slowly in-transit to somethin original.
a-la carcass a wee bit. no, not the same sound as them, but the whole thing of takin' it to a new level.

was pretty much not a fervent fan of death, grind stuff yes. but somehow, i owe the luv of death to the few bands / individuals that pulverized me, standing speechless, shitless in the crotch and pissed in the arse...with the MIGHTY SEP..being the influential few. fear factory circa "soul of a new machine" being another one, lan cavalera, wan araya, han tak benton, premo Jr.....and of course...them stinky CARCASSIAN BHOYS...

thus, went the trial retrospectively to schizo. hmmm, totally different. strong hints of morbid THE Angels death metal leanings...didn't sound that original. turned me off a bit. and i went.."eh lan..really sep ah?".
"YEAP,see what i mean...how much has changed". asyik.

after that i spluttered out at chaos. another one of those stuff yu gotta give a chance to listen. marked changes here and there. after a spins...layan jugak bebb..

roots.

thanks for the trippy ride up stinky schoolyard lanes.
horrifically sweet.

appreciatively,
moz.

mozHASturnedINTOaMartian said...

the other thing i must admit..that attracted me..was the sole
fact...they
were from brazil...
a similar nation
with somewhat similar problems,
similar eclectic mix of people...
a whole lot bigger in size...
and FARKIN WHOLE BETTER
FOOTBALL TEAM
three national sides better.

intesting to hear a sound from there, thrash the shit out of everybody regardless
of the colour of their arses...

anfield devotee said...

Moz: Ha ha . . . was wondering if ye was ever gonna turn up.

Brazilian metal. Remember Ratos De Parao?

Kerp (Ph.D) said...

But to be honest guys, I still have some tiny hopes they'll reunite and play here. I mean, Buzzcocks managed to sneak in to strut their stuff, and so did the Exploited. All we ever got were craps like Akon, Ne-yo and Rain, whoever fuck that guy is.

Unknown said...

Moz: Haha heloo boss!

AD: Ratos! Yes!! But who could forget Brujeria, tho they were Mexican. Asesino!!!

anfield devotee said...

Premo: Brujeira though Hispanic are actually porn star Dino Cazares (Fear Factory) & cohorts, making them LA actually.

Unknown said...

Yeah I know but frm LA ah? Duh...

mozHASturnedINTOaMartian said...

waahahh dino cezares porn star?
iyaaa ka..news to me. interesting news i might add.

there was also the this one dude..i think from biohazard is it...who ventured into some porn..or could be some other NYHC band?

premo K broderick : HOLAAAA BLEUARHGHHGHGHGH.

and..er...here's a silly question..i'm assuming ratos de parao = RDP? up till now, ive probably heard 2 proper tracks. i think that too, courtesy of lord john-na peel-la. memory is failing me these days, but very crossover-ish, korrekt?

what else..what else...oh i'll head on to the spanish bad words section now...

appreciatively,
moz.

anfield devotee said...

MOzzer: Re: RDP, have only got one LP & it sounded very Beneath The Remains which is nay bad thing. Not sure how they sound like today.

Premo: After all most of LA has become Central/South American colonies . . .

Anonymous said...

Sepultura as a band is amazing, best days for me were when Max Cavalera sang, the music of the band is like taking Generic Cialis, it will pump you up.