Customer Reviews

Beneath the Remains

5 star:		(87)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Despite their fairly high popularity level, for a metal band, Sepultura has never seemed to get the kind of respect they deserve. They general have been placed behind all the big American thrash bands in the great hierarchy of metal bands, which is a shame, because they make some killer music. Frankly, this album and the later Arise surpass anything I've ever heard from Slayer, Anthrax or Megadeth, and are as good or better than anything Metallica has done other than Master of Puppets. Sure, they may be a bit derivative, but well, pretty much all the other thrash bands were inspired by Metallica anyway, so that's no more valid a criticism of them than anyone else. And besides, innovation is nice, but it's not the main concern. Sometimes, most of the time, really, it's good just to do something many others do better, than just about anybody else, which is precisely what Sepultura has done with this album.

I'll get my one complaint out of the way. Max's vocals aren't very good on this album. They aren't obnoxiously bad, but they're nothing special, and they're 100 times better on Arise, where they became deeper and more intense. They do have a distinct flavor here, as Max has an extremely thick accent and clearly doesn't speak English well at all. Still, this is a minor complaint.

Stylistically, this album is sort of mid-way between Reign in Blood and mid 80's Metallica, combining the increased speed with the longer, more intricate structures. This album is flat-out the most intense thrash album I've ever heard.(it's death-thrash, really) Sure, it may let up more than Reign in Blood, but not too much, and when it really gets going it's heavier AND faster than anything on RiB. From a sheer technical standpoint, it's hard to believe how young these guys were(18-20 years). Though the songs aren't terribly long, they avoid conventional pop structures, and sometimes go beyond the standard thrash structure.(long intro-2verses/choruses-long instrumental-chorus.) Beyond that, they simply have a nearly absurd number of riff changes, more than just about any metal album I can think of. Igor's drumming is very nicely done, not as complex as it would become but still very powerful. Andreas' leads are strong as well, particularly on Inner Self and Lobotomy.

There isn't any filler here, though 2 tracks, Sarcastic Existence and Hungry are merely good rather than great. It opens up with the title track, which, minus the intro, is a very Slayer-like song, with a blazingly fast opening 2 verses giving way to a slower, groovier bridge, coming back to the chorus.(a la War Ensemble, Angel of Death, Ghosts of War etc.) Inner Self is one of the slower tracks, with the strongest solo on the album. Mass Hypnosis is probably may favorite track on the album. It's got a simply unbelieveble amount of energy and power, with a slower, memorable chorus contrasted with lightning fast and staccatto rhythm guitar abuse in the verses. Slaves of Pain also stands out, with another great chorus. The last real standout track is the closer, Primitive Future, which is perhaps the most explosively energetic thrash track I've ever heard, and truly a perfect way to close an outstanding album. The bonus tracks don't add too much, but I don't think too much about them either way, since they aren't truly part of the album.

Anyways, thrash rules, Sepultura rules thrash, therefore, buy Sepultura.

When I was a teenager, there was a holy (well, unholy) trinity of thrash/death metal albums: Slayer's 'Reign in Blood' (thrash), Sepultura's 'Beneath the Remains' (borderline death) and Morbid Angel's 'Altars of Madness' (death). Just unbelievably intense music.

This is Sepultura's masterpiece, although 'Arise' isn't far behind it - much in the same way that 'Seasons in the Abyss' isn't far behind 'Reign in Blood'. Most albums have fillers, but not this one. Every song is strong and has its own distinctive voice, but my favourites are 'Sarcastic Existence', 'Slaves of Pain' and 'Hungry'. The guitar sound is truly unique at times, whilst the drumming is sensational.

I will NEVER tire of this classic.

True masterpieces are exceptionally rare in the Thrash/Death genre, but this happens to be one of them. Beneath the Remains is no doubt Sepultura's best album, and one of the top thrash metal albums of all time. This is Sepultura the way they are supposed to be... Before the tribal gimmick, before the ridiculous Korn influence, before Max leaving to form a rap-nu-metal band... This was their high water mark.
Their previous album, Schizophrenia, is just a taste of what lies in store with this one. Along with a much better sound quality, Beneath the Remains is a lot more focused and confident in its own sound. The riffs are far better than ever, and also more numerous. The songs are also much more balanced, perfectly mixing the right amount of melody with pure brutality. At first I was hoping there would be an instrumental track to balance the album out a bit, but after listening to the album, I realized it didn't need any more balance than it already had. This is one mean album to say the least. Songs such as "Inner Self"(my favorite), "Stronger than Hate", "Mass Hypnosis", and "Slaves of Pain" will really get you into a thrashin' frenzy. That's not to say that any of the other songs here won't do the same thing, since there are really no weak tracks on this album.
The big question is "Arise, or Beneath the Remains?" Coming from a Thrash point of view, Beneath the Remains is superior in every way. It's faster, it's heavier, it's better. I recommend picking up Arise as well, as it is their last good album, but it really can't compete against this one. Chaos AD was the beginning of the end, and everything after that is terrible. Unless you like Korn and Nu-metal, then by all means, pick up Roots and everything after it. For the true metal fan, I can't recommend this album enough.

After 4 years worth of demos and one LP (1987's sludgy SCHIZOPHRENIA), the Brazillian quartet finally developed their sound with this masterpiece. Whilst previous releases were somewhat sloppy and incoherent and poorly recorded, BTR is where they hit the nail on the head. The potential they showed earlier all came together here and the result was an often overlooked heavy metal classic. With lyrics about militant social commentary, fast drumming, thunderous riffs, and Max Cavalera's aggressive growling, BTR is heavy, but in an intelligent way. The band also has a sense of melody and atmosphere, shown especially in "Mass Hypnosis" with the middle section containing a booming chorus effect, and Andreas Kisser's passionate guitar solos. The acoustic intro to the violent title track, as well as the ending to "Stronger Than Hate" also shows the band's more softer and melodic side.

If you can only buy one Sepultura album,make it this one. They never topped this one, despite the fact that they expanded their sound in subsequent albums. Beneath the Remains is THE album to define Sepultura, and the thrash metal genre in general.

This is the first Sepultura album that doesn't sound like it was recorded on a broken walkman. This is good, because the raw energy of Sepultura and the conviction behind Max's barkings wane a little in some of the later albums. The compositions are somewhat formulaic, but nonetheless they are a lot more interesting than most (not all!) of the earlier Sepultura tracks. If you're just curious about Sepultura, then you have a choice: (1) Arise is clean and fast yet "melodious" (2) Roots is not a speed album, but it is a creative masterpiece (3) If you want raw speed and power, find a live album. Half of Blood-Rooted is tired junk that sounds like they are trying to get over with their record contract, but the other half is a relentless wall of noise.

that is what everyone was calling this album when it first emerged on american shores in 1989...REIGN IN BLOOD 2! Well, it isn't but it is the second best metal album after "Reign in Blood." If you know squat about metal, you know "Reign in Blood" and "Beneth the Remains," period! The Slayer/Reign influence is evident here but Sepultura truly came up with their own brand of death n destruction on "Beneath." Every death/thrash/grind/spazz metal album was influenced by this, as well as "Reign" it's without a doubt Sepultura's best moment, and metal's hardest album. this album straddles the line between THRASH( Metallica, Anthrax ) and DEATH( Napalm Death, Obituary. ) The result? Man, gotta hear thjis for yourself!! It's a sham every fan of doo doo bands like Sevendust or Incubus or even Metallica's last album, who never heard "Reign in Blood" or "Beneath" need to get their wigs pushed back when this is popped into their stereos seriously!! I remember being a lil 15 year old metalhead and hearing all the hype about the "next Slayer from Brazil" and this album is CRAZY! Well, they hype is real like Slim Shady would say, when I first heard it I probably did a Beavis and Butthead esque "Whoaaaaaaaa hehe he hehehe this ROCKS heh hehe!!" Although bands like Carcass and Napalm Death may have gone to extremes in their vocals and sound...NOTHING is heavier than this here album! Not anything by Carcass, Napalm, Obituary, Terrorizer...and i love all thosebands! This is just the way it's supposed to be done! too bad we'll never hear another metal album as fresh or devastatingly brutal again! but come to think about it... that is probably what people said when Slayer did "Reign in Blood!"

Beneath The Remains was, is, and will continue to be the finest thrash/death metal album of all time. This stuff makes even the fiercest Metallica album look like Barbra Sreisand. Don't believe me? Buy it and listen.

Whoa! I had a hard time finding this CD. I must have been looking for this thing for almost a year. Worth every search for it though. I had finally found it at some backwards store in Chicago. This is the record that really put Sepultura on the spot. Aggressive Thrash with Aggressive Attitude/lyrics just go together. Whether it's Mass Hypnosis, Inner Self, Beneath the Remains or any of the other tracks; head banging can commence to every one of them. At this time Max's voice was still a little "young" so to say, His growl isn't as good on this album as it is on Arise or Chaos A.D. for example. But you can still tell it's him and it still keeps the album flowing. The 3 bonus tracks are pretty cool too. Track 10 has worse production and is a little strange. (Still cool) and the 2 drum tracks are very captivating. I myself am a drummer so these are really cool. You like thrash? You like the Max Years with Sepultura? Then get this! You can't have a true metal collection without this!

When I heard first time the Sepultura primitive metal style, I was thinking they'll hit the heavy rock stardom in the future. These brazilian guys at first time use to make some Slayer and Venom covers in live presentations, also they had a Metallica and Nuclear Assault influence. But their teenaged illusions were came true when they picked up for a brazilian metal label as called "cogumelo recs.", so they tried a single album with two sides, one side was a "Overdose" recording (Overdose is another Brazilian metal band), and in the side two was the "Bestial Devastation" EP, now it can be heard in the "Morbid Visions" remixed album as a bonus EP.

But despite for the "Morbid Visions" and "Schizophrenia" previous albums, they got their popularity more higher when these Belo Horizonte natives traveled to Rio de Janeiro for the "Beneath the Remains" recording. The end complete puts Max Cavalera (original lead vocal/rytmic guitar in the band)when he went to USA bringing with him some "demo" tapes and the "Beneath the Remains" album. Roadrunner puts their faith in the brazilian monsters and all their albums was conveying in worldwide albums, Sepultura puts their signal and metalistic power music in all the world.

This album is the best of all Sepultura stuff, if really is "Arise" as like another kind of masterpiece, it never be compared with the technic, speed and intensity that "Beneath the Remains" have for itself. Songs like "Beneath the Remains", "Inner Self", or "Lobotomy" puts the thrash metal in the air in a very "Thrash Death" style. Sepultura never decay in this album, they make a lot of combinations (speed, technic, melodic and progressive riffs all the time), so they deserve all the respect for this genre.

Sadly, since they've recorded "Chaos A.D.", their original style has dying few a few until now, their actual sound is diferent and that incredible band is another with another sound. Just let's concentrate in the Max Cavalera's voice and riffs, Andreas Kisser's faster and melodic guitars, Igor Cavalera's incredible beating drumming style and Paulo Jr. touching bass efforts and you'll have one of the best Thrash albums in the whole world. Enjoy it and scream it. SEPULTURA RULES ('TILL "ARISE" ALBUM)!!!

I guess it's the popular opinion that "Arise" is Sepultura's best album; their thrash classic. I actually like this album better (along with "Schizophrenia," now that its raw excellence has been fully revealed by the new remastering). The only thing I can figure is that people like "Arise" better because, overall it might be faster and angrier. I like "Beneath the Remains" better because there's more variety, better invention, better changes, and not the mind-numbing sameness of the later album. It's also interesting that someone commented that "Beneath" is formulaic, when that's what I would've said about "Arise," whose songs hold no surprises. I am a relative newcomer to Sepultura, thanks to this excellent series of remasters, and although I normally pay more attention to the guitars (and Sepultura's are excellent), their drummer amazes me.