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41 of 49 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Notes from N., October 19, 2002
My first year of grad school I rented a room in a 3-bedroom apartment on West 121st Street in Manhattan. My apartment mates were Bob, an aspiring playwright, and Naomi, an aspiring architect. We were by no means close - like orangutans we led solitary existences and crossed paths mainly at large feeding patches. Bob and I got on well enough, stopping to chat on those occasions when we encountered one another. Naomi was a more difficult animal - she didn't like to meet face to face, but rather preferred to leave me notes with little reminders about household chores it was my turn to do. Her notes were always signed N. as though she were a character straight out of some 19th century Russian novel. Plastered to the refrigerator, the bathroom mirror and even my bedroom door, N.'s little missives never failed to get under my skin and more often than not, I ignored them and returned to my lair to blast some death metal. Believe me I had some great death metal just waiting to be heard on such occasions - Obituary's The End Complete and Entombed's Left Hand Path leap immediately to mind. But even more compelling than those classics was Sepultura's Arise, a 42-minute slab of pure aural aggression. Max Cavalera's brutally precise riffing and wolf-like growl were enough to put that little N. beast and her petty desires out of my mind for awhile, that's for sure. Sepultura's world on Arise is an unforgettable one - it is heavy, bleak and beautiful all at once. If you've ever driven the New Jersey Turnpike on a rainy afternoon and said to yourself, `damn, those factories are strangely beautiful', you know exactly what I'm talking about. If you're still clueless, imagine the sort of music that might go along with the song titles, "Dead Embryonic Cells", "Desperate Cry", "Altered State", and "Under Siege (Regnum Irae)". This is metal with an appeal that crosses international boundaries. I seem to recall once seeing the word "Sepultura" carved into a desk in a classroom atop a windswept hill on the campus of the University of Antananarivo in Madagascar. A pretty wide sphere of influence for the boys from Brazil, wouldn't you say? One word of warning - you may not want to listen to the lyrics closely if you like to sleep well at night. Max's lyrics are a lot more unsettling today than they were when this album came out 11 years ago. For example, on the first track, "Arise", he warns of a "terrorist confrontation waiting for the end" and "cities fall(ing) in ruin". Then, on the classic "Dead Embryonic Cells", Max rails against "tribal violence everywhere, life in the age of terrorism". Let's hope that's as prescient as Max gets as there's a lot of other disturbing stuff on here that we can only hope never happens. Did I tell you that I really hated N.'s notes? Trust me, I got around to the chores eventually - I'm not that inconsiderate. Of course, I could have retaliated by leaving notes for N. when she fell behind in her chores, but decided that would be a bit unfair since as far as I could tell, N. didn't have her own copy of Arise to take solace in. No reason to put her through the stress of encountering notes signed J. if the poor dear had nothing to help her cope with them. I know, annoying notes are not a big deal in the grand scheme of things. You probably have more to worry about than some recent Yale grad and her inordinate fondness for post-its. But, I'm telling you, Arise is the sort of album that can help you forget your minor worries, whatever they are, at least for awhile. Along with the groundbreaking Roots, Arise is one of Sepultura's two best releases and did time as my favorite album back in the early 90s. I listened to it again today and it still blows me away. If you dare to call yourself a metal fan, I expect to find Arise in your album collection the next time I look through it.
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Thrash Masterpiece, February 17, 2006
SEPULTURA - Arise
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This album, along with `Far Beyond Driven', `South of Heaven, and `Master of Puppets' are what caused my transformation into the metal-head I am today. I am forever indebted to this CD.
This is a Thrash Masterpiece.... Max's Voice, while still growing at this point, was still one of the most vicious metal singers of the day. His guitar work, as well as the work of Andreas was amazing... precisely fast with aggressive riffs and amazing (and even sometimes innovative) solos... Paulo Jr. plays with such a sense of urgency and provides an excellent backing to the guitars. And last, but certainly not least is Max's Brother Igor. Ideally from a musical perspective Max should have been playing in the shadow of his brother, not the other way around. Igor's drumming is furious yet still implementing his `tribal' vibe (Not as much as he would expand on this for future albums)
Arise is easily on the best Thrash Metal Albums to see the light of day... The 4-Piece Brazilian Metal heads would continue to make 2 more incredible tribal influenced metal albums... but the pure thrash aggression of this album was never equaled in their future works.
Favorite Songs: C.I.U, Arise, and Dead Embryonic Cells
-5 Stars
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Nothing short of a thrash classic, July 24, 2005
1989's "Beneath the Remains" may have broken this Brazilian quartet through to the mainstream, but "Arise" was equally as important, influential, and great. And this 1991 album may (more-or-less) pick up where Sepultura left off two years ago, but Max's vocals on here are less death metal-ish than they were on "Beneath the Remains."
"Arise" is a true thrash metal masterpiece and it is also considered by most people (me included) to be Sepultura's last "pure thrash" disc. It is a complete tour de force for lead guitarist Andreas Kisser; his fingers must be worn down to the bone by the time he's done playing any one of these songs.
Even though "Arise" is "all killer, no filler," I will give a description of my favorite tracks, in case you're new to the band. The title track has blindingly fast guitar work and pounding drums, and "Dead Embryonic Cells" is the popular (and controversially named) lead single which has fiery, chugging riffs and thumping drums. "Desperate Cry" has many different parts to it, including several tempo changes and an acoustic intro. After the "Tarzan-esque" intro, "Altered State" turns to heavy churning, cascading, almost grinding riffs. A nice, long guitar solo is included, here, as well. "Under Siege" is mid-paced, with chug and churn guitars and an acoustic intro, but the next two tracks ("Meaningless Movements" and "Infected Voice") are straight-up, full speed ahead thrashers. Finally, "Orgasmatron" is a catchy Motorhead cover, and a nice homage to a Sepultura influence.
Max, Andreas, Igor, and Paulo Jr. would later make albums that were much more experimental and a lot less heavy than this album, but "Arise" is the sound of Sepultura at their pinnacle; here's where their thrash shines brightest. Like most Sep releases, "Arise" is a masterpiece and essential listening for all metalheads.
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