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Roots (Sepultura album)

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Untitled

Roots, initially released in 1996 was the last album released by Sepultura with Max Cavalera.

While the initial release of Roots was one CD or cassette, in 2005 it was reissued by Roadrunner Records as a 2-CD set. The Roots of Sepultura, a limited edition 2-CD set, released in 1997, also contains Roots in its entirety.

Album information

The majority of the themes presented on Roots are centered on Brazilian politics and culture.[1] The whole Roots concept came after Max Cavalera watched At Play in the Fields of the Lord. The movie inspired a trip to Mato Grosso, Brazil to visit the Xavante tribe.[2]

The inspiration for the new musical directon of Sepultura was two-fold.

While still including the death metal/groove metal sound that featured on 1993's Chaos A.D., Roots also incorporated a slower, detuned, nu metal-influenced sound. Mike Patton of Faith No More and Jonathan Davis of Korn provided lyrics and vocals on the song "Lookaway".

However, the most important innovation in Roots was the experiment in fusing groove metal with the music of Brazil's indigenous peoples. The band incorporated these elements into almost all songs in the album, and one of them ("Itsári") was actually recorded with the 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." 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." Some songs include participation ("Ratamahatta", "Dictatorshit" and "Endangered Species") and co-writing ("Ratamahatta") from Carlinhos Brown, a popular Brazilian musician. The political theme is further reflected in the topic of "Dictatorshit", namely the 1964 Brazilian coup d'état.[3]

The opening track of the record, "Roots Bloody Roots", was the "birth" of a new kind of metal, a song that had enormous influence on bands like the Deftones, Korn and Fear Factory. Slow, powerful and to the point, "Roots Bloody Roots" didn't have any of the normal excesses of the metal genre. There wasn't a single guitar solo. Andreas used extra microphones and dissonant chords to add a devastating effect to the music; Paulo's bass was simply monstrous, and Igor abstained from technical drumming in exchange for tribal percussion, efficient, however simple. Max, in turn, grunted which are without a doubt his best song lyrics ever, brilliant in its simplicity:

"I say We're growing everyday I'll take you to a place Where we shall find our Roots bloody Roots"

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 the Gracie family.

On "Breed Apart", Max changed the style of his vocals a bit: instead of grunting the lyrics as usual, he decided to experiment a bit with the dynamics of his voice, and even whispered some parts of the lyrics. Max said that he was influenced by Jonathan Davis, the creative vocalist of Korn to do those whispering parts.

Roots was released in February 1996 and received with unprecedented enthusiasm. Even the popular press, that usually doesn't pay a lot of attention to metal records, halted the presses to appreciate the unusual rhythms mixture of Sepultura. American newspapers like The New Times, the Daily News and the Los Angeles Times reserved some space for 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. The Daily News went even further: "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". The specialized heavy metal critics treated the record as a masterpiece. Martin Popoff, author of the book "The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal", ranked Roots as the 11th best metal record of all times, after classics by Queen and Black Sabbath and before of any Metallica or Judas Priest record. "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 didn't settle for less: it awarded Roots second place in the list of "100 records that you have to hear before dying", just after In Utero from Nirvana.

In 2001 Q magazine named Roots as one of the 50 Heaviest Albums Of All Time.

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.[4]

Reception

Professional reviews:

  • Rolling Stone (3/21/96, p.98) - 3 Stars - Good - "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."
  • Spin (4/96, p.110) - 6 - Reasonably Good - "...takes the rain-forest chants and street drumming flavor that flickered through the firestorm of Chaos A.D. even further....Sepultura's ethnography...[is] about sound--heavy bloco drumming and crushing guitars were made for each other."
  • Q (3/96, p.103) - 3 Stars - Good - "...it's constructed of ferocious throat bending and huge riffs that support their growling menace, while simultaneously doffing a cap to their ethnic ancestors."
  • Melody Maker (2/17/96, p.34) - "...the aural equivalent of being caught in a midfield by a PCP-fuelled defensive line from the Pittsburgh Steelers....this is [not] a mere metal barrage....There's ruthless rap attacks...the murderous electronic whining...the tribal chants and Brazilian ragga metal duets."
  • NME (2/24/96, p.46) - 7 (out of 10) - "...a host of strange and traditional instruments has given Sepultura new formats for their extreme displeasure."

Track listing

  1. "Roots Bloody Roots" – 3:32
  2. "Attitude" – 4:15
  3. "Cut-Throat" – 2:44
  4. "Ratamahatta" (ft. Ross Robinson, David Silveria & Carlinhos Brown) – 4:30
  5. "Breed Apart" – 4:01
  6. "Straighthate" – 5:21
  7. "Spit" – 2:45
  8. "Lookaway" (featuring 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" – 4:48
  13. "Ambush" – 4:39
  14. "Endangered Species" – 5:19
  15. "Dictatorshit" – 1:26
  16. "Canyon Jam" (Hidden Track appears as "Untitled" in Windows Media Player and "Little Wood-Music" in iTunes) – 13:16

Roadrunner Records 25th Anniversary Reissue (Bonus Disc):

  1. "Procreation [Of The Wicked]" (Celtic Frost cover) – 3:39
  2. "Mine" (featuring Mike Patton of Faith No More) – 6:25
  3. "War" – 6:40
  4. "Lookaway" (Master Vibe Mix) – 5:36
  5. "Mine" (Andy Wallace Mix) – 7:58
  6. "Dusted" (Demo) – 4:27
  7. "Roots Bloody Roots" (Demo) – 3:32
  8. "R.D.P." (Demo) – 1:15
  9. "Untitled" (Demo) – 4:14
  10. "Attitude" (Live At Ozzfest) – 5:37
  11. "Roots Bloody Roots" (Megawatt Mix 1) – 4:01
  12. "Roots Bloody Roots" (Megawatt Mix 2) – 4:08

Singles

  • "Roots Bloody Roots"
  • "Ratamahatta"
  • "Attitude"

Chart Positions & Award Certifications

Album - Billboard (North America)

Year Chart Position
1996 The Billboard 200 27[5]
1996 UK Album Chart 4

Album - RIAA & IFPI music certifications.

Year Country Award Number Sold
1996 UK Silver 60,000 copies[6]
1997 Canada Gold 50,000 copies[7]
1997 France Silver 50,000 copies[8]
1998 Austria Gold 10,000 copies[9]
2001 UK Gold 100,000 copies[10]
2005 USA Gold 500,000 copies[11]
Unknown Netherlands Gold 30,000 copies[12]

Credits

Notes

  1. ^ Barcinski & Gomes (1999), page 150.
  2. ^ Liner notes of Roots (1996/2005), the 25th Anniversary of Roadrunner edition.
  3. ^ Barcinski & Gomes (1999), page 150.
  4. ^ Barcinski & Gomes (1999), page 150.
  5. ^ "Top Music Charts - Hot 100 - Billboard 200 - Music Genre Sales". Billboard Music Charts. Retrieved 2008-04-27. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  6. ^ "CERTIFIED AWARDS". THE BPI. Retrieved 2008-05-03. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  7. ^ "Search Certification Database". Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA). Retrieved 2008-04-27. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  8. ^ "Les certifications Albums - Année 1997". Musique sur Disque en France (SNEP). Retrieved 2008-04-27. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  9. ^ "Gold und Platin Datenbank". IFPI Austria, Verband der Österreichischen Musik Wirstchaft. Retrieved 2008-04-27. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  10. ^ "CERTIFIED AWARDS". THE BPI. Retrieved 2008-04-27. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  11. ^ "GOLD AND PLATINUM - Searchable Database". RIAA. Retrieved 2008-04-27. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  12. ^ "Goud/Platina Muziek". nvpi. Retrieved 2008-04-27. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)

References

  • 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).
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