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Roots (Sepultura album)

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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. The album was produced by Ross Robinson.

Production

The majority of the themes presented on Roots are centered on Brazilian politics and culture.[1] 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.[2]

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.[3] 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.[4]

The style of Roots incorporates elements of death metal,[5] nu metal[6] and thrash metal.[6]

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.[1] 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.[1]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[8]
Robert Christgau(dud)[9]
Entertainment Weekly(C-)[10]
Rolling Stone[11]
Stylus MagazineA-[12]
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.[9][18]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
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, Jonathan Davis and Mike Patton)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
Roadrunner Records: The 25th Anniversary Series bonus disc
No.TitleLength
1."Procreation (Of the Wicked)" (Celtic Frost cover)3:39
2."Mine" (feat. Mike Patton of Faith No More)6:25
3."War" (Bob Marley cover)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

Chart positions and award certifications

Album - Billboard (North America)

Year Chart Position
1996 The Billboard 200 27[19]
1996 UK Albums Chart 4[20]

Album - Music recording sales certifications

Year Country Award Number sold
1996 UK Silver 60,000[21]
1997 Australia Gold 35,000[22]
1997 Canada Gold 50,000[23]
1997 France Gold 100,000[24]
1998 Austria Gold 10,000[25]
2001 UK Gold 100,000[21]
2005 USA Gold 500,000[26]
Unknown Netherlands Gold 30,000[27]

Personnel

References

  1. ^ a b c Barcinski & Gomes 1999, page 150.
  2. ^ Chirazi, Steffan (2005). Roots (Media notes). New York, NY: Roadrunner Records. p. 15. {{cite AV media notes}}: |format= requires |url= (help); Unknown parameter |albumlink= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |bandname= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |notestitle= ignored (help)
  3. ^ Barcinski & Gomes 1999, pages 113 & 150.
  4. ^ Chirazi, Steffan (2005). Roots (Media notes). New York, NY: Roadrunner Records. p. 22. {{cite AV media notes}}: |format= requires |url= (help); Unknown parameter |albumlink= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |bandname= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |notestitle= ignored (help)
  5. ^ 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,"
  6. ^ a b Dimery 2006 pg 782, "Drawing on Brazilian Latin and tribal music, nu-metal, and Sepultura's own thrash/death style, the results were unique,"
  7. ^ a b c "Sepultura: Chapter 9: The Calm Before the Storm". Sepultura.be. Retrieved October 27, 2010.
  8. ^ Allmusic Review
  9. ^ a b Christgau, Robert. "Robert Christgau: CG: Sepultura". Robert Christgau Official Website. Retrieved 2011-10-20.
  10. ^ Eddy, Chuck (May 10, 1996). "Roots: Music Review:Entertainment Weekly". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 23, 2009.
  11. ^ Rolling Stone review
  12. ^ Stylus Review
  13. ^ Yahoo! review
  14. ^ a b Barcinski & Gomes, page 153.
  15. ^ http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/qlistspage2.html#50 Heaviest
  16. ^ "Os 100 maiores discos da música brasileira" (in Portuguese). Umas Linhas. 2007-12-20. Retrieved 2009-04-20. [dead link‍]
  17. ^ Scaruffi, Piero. "Best heavy-metal albums of all time". Retrieved March 20, 2011.
  18. ^ Christgau, Robert. "Robert Christgau: CG 90s: Key to Icons". Robert Christgau Official Website. Retrieved 2011-10-20.
  19. ^ "Top Music Charts - Hot 100 - Billboard 200 - Music Genre Sales". Billboard Music Charts. Retrieved 2008-04-27. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  20. ^ "SEPULTURA: Discography: Career Albums". MusicMight: The World's Biggest Rock Resource on the Web. Retrieved 2008-05-24. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  21. ^ a b "CERTIFIED AWARDS". THE BPI. Archived from the original on 2008-04-09. Retrieved 2008-05-03. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help) Cite error: The named reference "ukcertification" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  22. ^ "ARIA Charts - Accreditations - 1997 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 2008-05-23. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  23. ^ "Search Certification Database". Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA). Retrieved 2008-04-27. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  24. ^ "Les certifications Albums - Année 1997". Musique sur Disque en France (SNEP). Archived from the original on 2007-12-17. Retrieved 2008-04-27. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  25. ^ "Gold und Platin Datenbank". IFPI Austria, Verband der Österreichischen Musik Wirstchaft. Retrieved 2008-04-27. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help) [dead link‍]
  26. ^ "GOLD AND PLATINUM - Searchable Database". RIAA. Retrieved 2008-04-27. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  27. ^ "Goud/Platina Muziek". nvpi. Retrieved 2008-04-27. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
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.

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