Roots (Sepultura album)

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Roots
Studio album by Sepultura
Released 20 February 1996
Recorded October – December 1995 at Indigo Ranch in Malibu, California
Genre Brazilian music,[1][2][3] death metal,[1][4] nu metal,[2][3] thrash metal,[2][5] hardcore punk,[3] speed metal,[5] alternative metal,[6] industrial metal[7]
Length 72:08
Label Roadrunner
Producer Ross Robinson, Sepultura
Sepultura chronology
Chaos A.D.
(1993)		 Roots
(1996)		 Against
(1998)
Singles from Roots
  1. "Roots Bloody Roots"
    Released: 1996
  2. "Attitude"
    Released: 1996
  3. "Ratamahatta"
    Released: 1996

Roots is the sixth studio album by Brazilian heavy metal band Sepultura. It was released in February 20, 1996 (1996-02-20) by Roadrunner Records, and was the band's last studio album to feature founding member and vocalist Max Cavalera. Following the experimentalism of the album Chaos A.D., Roots has more influence from Brazilian musical rhythms, and features Brazilian musician Carlinhos Brown, percussionist David Silveria, turntablist DJ Lethal, and vocalists Jonathan Davis and Mike Patton.

Contents

[edit] Production

The album was produced by Ross Robinson. The majority of the themes presented on Roots are centered on Brazilian politics and culture.[8] The concept for the album was inspired by the film At Play in the Fields of the Lord. The movie inspired Max Cavalera to travel to Mato Grosso, Brazil to visit the Xavante tribe.[9]

[edit] Musical style and influences

The inspiration for Sepultura's new musical direction was twofold. One was the desire to further experiment with the music of Brazil, especially the percussive type played by Salvador, Bahia samba reggae group Olodum.[10] Another innovation Roots brought was the inspiration taken from the sound of Deftones and Korn - especially the latter's debut, with its heavily down-tuned guitars.[11]

The style of Roots incorporates elements of death metal,[1] nu metal[2] and thrash metal.[2]

The band incorporated these elements into almost all songs in the album, and one of them ("Itsári") was actually recorded with members of the Xavante Indians at their ancestral home. Meeting the Xavante Indians meant a lot to Sepultura. Igor says that the band identified a lot with the natives: "In a certain way, I think that we, as a band, had a lot of things in common with the Xavante Indians. We also lived on the edge of society, and our music and lifestyle is a long way from being assimilated and respected by that society."[7] A spokesman of the tribe declared: "We had seen pictures of Sepultura and we knew that they were different, with their long hair and many tattoos. We also knew that they had been discriminated, like we were. Because of that we were very curious about them."[7] Some songs also include participation ("Ratamahatta", "Dictatorshit" and "Endangered Species") and co-writing ("Ratamahatta") from Carlinhos Brown, a popular Brazilian musician. The political theme and influence of hardcore punk on the album are further reflected in the topic of "Dictatorshit", namely the 1964 Brazilian coup d'état.[8] The lyrics to "Attitude" were co-written by Dana Wells, Max Cavalera's stepson, whose death (in part) lead to the events which caused Max to leave the band. Dana also came up with the concept for the video for the song, featuring Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu experts the Gracie family.

Long-time friend Mike Patton (of Faith No More) and Jonathan Davis (of Korn) provided lyrics and vocals on the song "Lookaway". The last words in the song "Cut-Throat" are "Enslavement, Pathetic, Ignorant, Corporations". This spells EPIC, the record company with which Sepultura had some trouble during their previous album, Chaos A.D.[8]

[edit] Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic 4.5/5 stars[6]
Robert Christgau (dud)[12]
Entertainment Weekly (C-)[4]
Rolling Stone 3/5 stars[5]
Stylus Magazine A-[3]
Yahoo! Music (favorable)[13]

Roots received worldwide critical acclaim. The mainstream press appreciated the album's unusual rhythms. American newspapers like The New Times, the Daily News and the Los Angeles Times reviewed the Brazilian band: "The mixture of the dense metal of Sepultura and the Brazilian music has a intoxicating effect", wrote a Los Angeles Times reviewer.[7] The Daily News praised the album saying: "Sepultura reinvented the wheel. By mixing metal with native instruments, the band resuscitates the tired genre, reminding of Led Zeppelin times. But while Zeppelin mixed English metal with African beats, it's still more moving to hear a band that uses elements of its own country. By extracting the sounds of the past, Sepultura determines the future direction of metal".[14]

Specialized heavy metal critics also reviewed the album positively. Martin Popoff, author of the book The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal, ranked Roots as the 11th best metal record of all time. "This is a spectacular metal and futurist hardcore LP", wrote Popoff, "a masterpiece, accomplished by a band with an enormous heart and an even larger intellect". Kerrang! magazine awarded Roots second place in the list of "100 records that you have to hear before dying"; just after In Utero from Nirvana.[14] In 2001 Q magazine named Roots as one of the 50 Heaviest Albums Of All Time.[15] Rolling Stone Brasil named it the 57th best Brazilian music album.[16] Rolling Stone (3/21/96, p. 98) gave the album three stars out of five and said, "Sepultura play a violent game of sonic overload... the band uses its catharsis as a creative force, funneling torrents of noise into a tunnel of hate." Music critic Piero Scaruffi includes Roots at number nine, just after Dream Theater's Images and Words and before Electric Wizard's Come My Fanatics..., in his classification of the best metal albums of all time.[17] Music critic Robert Christgau gave the album a negative review. He qualified the album with a "dud" rating.[12][18]

[edit] Track listing

No. Title Length
1. "Roots Bloody Roots"   3:32
2. "Attitude"   4:15
3. "Cut-Throat"   2:44
4. "Ratamahatta" (featuring Ross Robinson, David Silveria and Carlinhos Brown) 4:30
5. "Breed Apart"   4:01
6. "Straighthate"   5:21
7. "Spit"   2:45
8. "Lookaway" (featuring DJ Lethal of Limp Bizkit, Jonathan Davis of Korn, and Mike Patton of Faith No More) 5:26
9. "Dusted"   4:03
10. "Born Stubborn"   4:07
11. "Jasco"   1:57
12. "Itsári" (featuring Xavante Tribe) 4:48
13. "Ambush"   4:39
14. "Endangered Species"   5:19
15. "Dictatorshit"   1:26
16. "Canyon Jam" (unlisted hidden track) 13:16
Total length:
 72:08

[edit] The Roots of Sepultura

The Roots of Sepultura
Compilation album by Sepultura
Released 29 November 1996
Genre Thrash metal, death metal
Length 73:37
Language English, Portuguese
Label Roadrunner
Compiler Monte Conner, Borivoj Krgin
Sepultura chronology
The Roots of Sepultura
(1996)		 Blood-Rooted
(1997)

The Roots of Sepultura is a double-disc album by Sepultura, released in November 1996. It was a collection of unreleased tracks, b-sides, alternate mixes, and live recordings.[19] This release is unique from Roots and the 2005 25th Anniversary Roots album as the B-Sides disc has a drastically different series of tracks. This album also contains a unique cover of tracks by Motörhead, Dead Kennedys, Os Mutantes and Ratos de Porão paying tribute to the bands that heavily influenced Sepultura as a band.

Track listing
No. Title Length
1. "Intro"   1:33
2. "C.I.U. (Criminals in Uniform)"   4:17
3. "Orgasmatron" (Motörhead cover) 4:15
4. "Dead Embryonic Cells"   4:31
5. "Desperate Cry"   6:42
6. "Murder"   3:25
7. "Under Siege (Regnum Irae)"   4:44
8. "Necromancer (demo)"   3:59
9. "The Past Reborns the Storms (demo)"   5:08
10. "A Hora e a Vez do Cabelo Nascer" (Os Mutantes cover) 2:21
11. "Drug Me" (Dead Kennedys cover) 1:53
12. "Crucificados Pelo Sistema" (Ratos de Porão cover) 1:03
13. "Anticop"   3:02
14. "Intro"   1:30
15. "Arise"   2:51
16. "Inner Self"   4:42
17. "Mass Hypnosis"   4:25
18. "Escape to the Void"   5:03
19. "Troops of Doom"   2:53
20. "Altered State"   5:20

[edit] Chart positions and award certifications

Album - Billboard (North America)

Year Chart Position
1996 The Billboard 200 27[20]
1996 UK Albums Chart 4[21]

Album - Music recording sales certifications

Year Country Award Number sold
1996 UK Silver 60,000[22]
1997 Australia Gold 35,000[23]
1997 Canada Gold 50,000[24]
1997 France Gold 100,000[25]
1998 Austria Gold 10,000[26]
2001 UK Gold 100,000[22]
2005 USA Gold 500,000[27]
Unknown Netherlands Gold 30,000[28]

[edit] Personnel

Sepultura
Guests
Recording
  • Recorded at Indigo Ranch, Malibu, California
  • Produced by Ross Robinson and Sepultura
  • Engineered by Chuck Johnson
  • Additional engineering by Richard Kaplan
  • Second engineered by Rob Agnello
  • Mixed by Andy Wallace at Soundtrack Studios, New York City
  • Mix engineered by Steve Sisco
  • Mastered by George Marino at Sterling Sound, New York City

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c Bukszpan 2003 pg 226, "In 1996, they released Roots, whose down-tuned death metal aggression was tempered by the incorporation of Brazilian musical and precussion instruments,"
  2. ^ a b c d e Dimery 2006 pg 782, "Drawing on Brazilian Latin and tribal music, nu-metal, and Sepultura's own thrash/death style, the results were unique,"
  3. ^ a b c d Lee, Cosmo (June 23, 2005). "Stylus Review". Stylus Magazine. http://www.stylusmagazine.com/reviews/sepultura/roots.htm. Retrieved November 16, 2011. 
  4. ^ a b Eddy, Chuck (May 10, 1996). "Roots: Music Review:Entertainment Weekly". Entertainment Weekly. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,292475,00.html. Retrieved August 23, 2009. 
  5. ^ a b c Rolling Stone review. Archived from the original on 2007-12-29.
  6. ^ a b Huey, Steve. "Allmusic Review". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r233334. Retrieved November 16, 2011. 
  7. ^ a b c d "Sepultura: Chapter 9: The Calm Before the Storm". Sepultura.be. http://www.sepultura.be/index.php?name=Sections&req=viewarticle&artid=13&page=1. Retrieved October 27, 2010. 
  8. ^ a b c Barcinski & Gomes 1999, page 150.
  9. ^ Chirazi, Steffan (2005). "The Roots of Sepultura", p. 15 [CD booklet]. Album notes for Roots by Sepultura. New York, NY: Roadrunner Records.
  10. ^ Barcinski & Gomes 1999, pages 113 & 150.
  11. ^ Chirazi, Steffan (2005). "Closing Thoughts on Roots", p. 22 [CD booklet]. Album notes for Roots by Sepultura. New York, NY: Roadrunner Records.
  12. ^ a b Christgau, Robert. "Robert Christgau: CG: Sepultura". Robert Christgau Official Website. http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?id=1226&name=Sepultura. Retrieved 2011-10-20. 
  13. ^ Yahoo! review. Archived from the original on 2005-08-31.
  14. ^ a b Barcinski & Gomes, page 153.
  15. ^ "Q 50 Heaviest Albums Of All Time". Rocklist.net. http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/qlistspage2.html#50%20Heaviest. Retrieved November 16, 2011. 
  16. ^ "Os 100 maiores discos da música brasileira" (in Portuguese). Umas Linhas. 2007-12-20. Archived from the original on 2010-07-02. http://web.archive.org/web/20100702003125/http://umaslinhas.blogspot.com/2007/12/os-100-maiores-discos-da-msica.html. Retrieved 2009-04-20. 
  17. ^ Scaruffi, Piero. "Best heavy-metal albums of all time". http://www.scaruffi.com/music/metal.html. Retrieved March 20, 2011. 
  18. ^ Christgau, Robert. "Robert Christgau: CG 90s: Key to Icons". Robert Christgau Official Website. http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/bk-cg90/grades-90s.php. Retrieved 2011-10-20. 
  19. ^ Prato, Greg. "The Roots of Sepultura review". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-roots-of-sepultura-r1779769/review. Retrieved 20 December 2011. 
  20. ^ "Top Music Charts - Hot 100 - Billboard 200 - Music Genre Sales". Billboard Music Charts. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/esearch/chart_display.jsp?cfi=305&cfgn=Albums&cfn=The+Billboard+200&ci=3022777&cdi=7037398&cid=03%2F30%2F1996. Retrieved 2008-04-27. 
  21. ^ "SEPULTURA: Discography: Career Albums". MusicMight: The World's Biggest Rock Resource on the Web. http://www.musicmight.com/linkto/artist/{0503E1C1-D20F-4CB9-A57B-D159C94. Retrieved 2008-05-24. 
  22. ^ a b "Certified awards". THE BPI. Archived from the original on 2008-04-09. http://web.archive.org/web/20080409172614/http://bpi.co.uk/platinum/platinum.html. Retrieved 2008-05-03. 
  23. ^ "ARIA Charts - Accreditations - 1997 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. http://www.aria.com.au/pages/aria-charts-accreditations-albums-1997.htm. Retrieved 2008-05-23. 
  24. ^ "Search Certification Database". Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA). http://www.cria.ca/cert_db_search.php. Retrieved 2008-04-27. 
  25. ^ "Les certifications Albums - Année 1997". Musique sur Disque en France (SNEP). Archived from the original on 2007-12-17. http://web.archive.org/web/20071217083503/http://www.disqueenfrance.com/certifications/album.asp?suite=6&forme_certif=8&annee=12. Retrieved 2008-04-27. 
  26. ^ "Gold und Platin Datenbank". IFPI Austria, Verband der Österreichischen Musik Wirstchaft. http://www.ifpi.at/search.php3?n_id=. Retrieved 2008-04-27. [dead link]
  27. ^ "GOLD AND PLATINUM - Searchable Database". RIAA. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=SEARCH. Retrieved 2008-04-27. 
  28. ^ "Goud/Platina Muziek". nvpi. http://www.nvpi.nl/nvpi/pagina.asp?pagkey=60463. Retrieved 2008-04-27. 
Further reading
  • Barcinski, André & Gomes, Silvio (1999). Sepultura: Toda a História. São Paulo: Ed. 34. ISBN 85-7326156-0
  • Sepultura (1996). Roots. [CD]. New York, NY: Roadrunner Records. The 25th Anniversary Series (2-CD Reissue, 2005).
  • Thoroddsen, Arnar (2006). Dimery, Robert. ed. 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Quintet Publishing Limited. ISBN 0-7893-1371-5. 
  • Bukszpan, Daniel; James Dio, Ronnie (2003). The Encyclopedia of Heavy Metal. Barnes & Noble Publishing Inc.. ISBN 0-7607-4218-9. 
Sepultura
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