Customer Reviews

Roots (Bonus CD) (Reis) (Dig)

5 star:		(73)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

Even though "Chaos A.D." was Sepultura's bravest and most innovative album (because it premiered a song which was an instrumental consisting entirely of acoustic guitars and tribal drums), I still consider "Roots," Sepultura's sixth, their most experimental and creative work. This 1996 album was also Sepultura's last with frontman Max Cavalera; he would leave the group and go on to front a solo band, Soulfly. And, until 2004's "Prophecy," "Roots" was also more experimental than anything Max would make in Soulfly.

In addition to the aforementioned tribal drums and acoustic strumming, this album also features a Jew's harp, maracas, a Brazilian tribe, tin drums, and DJ scratching. But creativity came with a cost. "Roots" is still a heavy metal album, but the death metal is long gone, because (as was the case with "Chaos A.D.") these riffs are tinged with punk. Plus, since Max adopted Korn's downtuned guitars and had guest appearances, some fans think this album helped usher in nu-metal. I, however, still believe that the experimental aspects of "Roots" made it innovative. And Max may have been partially influenced by nu-metal, but he was equally as influenced by his own heritage/upbringing. (Max is from Brazil, thus explaining the Brazilian tribe, maracas, and tin drums.)

"Roots, Bloody Roots" is the first single, probably the heaviest song on "Roots," and is one of Sepultura's best known songs. It remains a staple of their live shows, and the success of this song has influenced some Soulfly songs (like "Prophecy.") Plus, Max has even adopted this song as his own, and played it during some Soulfly concerts. The album opens with the sound of crickets chirping, then this song launches into heavy, de-tuned guitar bluster. These guitars, which make a heavy churning and humming noise, are a big part of why this song is so heavy and catchy (even though there are some good vocal hooks, here, too). I enjoy how the beat comes down, then Max comes out of no where to let out one of his loud, ascending yells.
"Attitude" features guitars which are at first flamenco, then punching and pounding.
"Ratamahatta" is the song with the Brazilian tribe. It begins with what sounds like maracas and tribal drums. The guitars kick in and there's some catchy, aggressive scat in the background. The verses on this song are soft and restrained, making a good friction between the verses and heavy choruses.
"Breed Apart" has tin drums at the beginning, before turning to chunky, chug and churn guitars and vocals that alternate from supple growling to raging yells. The Jew's harp comes aboard and plays briefly over the beat, and the song ends with some static-sounding white noise.
"Spit" starts with (what sounds like) guitar feedback and some distant yelling (of "Un, dos, tres, cua!") The crunchy guitars eventually come to the front, and there are a few more of Max's heavy yells.
"Lookaway" has an instrument that could be a flute and a catchy drum beat, followed by DJ scratching (compliments of DJ Lethal-a DJ who would later join Limp Bizkit). Even though there are some guitars, this song's pace is about half as fast as the others. Two guest vocalists, Faith No More's Mike Patton and Korn's Jonathan Davis, make an appearance and sing/whisper over distant, dreary, ghost-like noises.
"Dusted" begins with a banging of the drum sticks, then the guitarists (Andreaas Kisser and Max Cavalera) make some of the heaviest and fastest guitar riffs since track one.
"Born Stubborn" has a beeping guitar noise which becomes increasingly fast and heavy, but some more tribal drums and Brazilian chants are tossed in near the end.
"Itsari" mixes more South American chants and maracas with acoustic guitar strums and soft hand percussion.
"Ambush" is highlighted by a nice breakdown of heavy, groove-y guitars, which comes after the song veers into soft, serene territory.

So, this album further expanded Sepultura's innovation and it helped prove that these guys can do more than pound power chords and double bass drums. With "Roots," Sepultura really came into their own, after stepping out of the shadows of other death metal bands, like Morbid Angel and Slayer.

If you collect everything Max Cavalera or Sepultura, "Roots" obviously needs to be apart of your collection. And you should also check this album out if you're a diehard heavy or nu-metal fan. If you're new to the band, even though this is a great C.D., I wouldn't start here; I'd pick up "Chaos A.D." and "Beneath the Remains" first.

When Max was apart of this group, Sepultura were headed in quite a curious direction. "Roots" was their least heavy album, but it was also their most imaginative and experimental. One can't help but wonder what the next Sepultura album would have sounded like; would it have been a return to their death metal roots, or would it have been a straight forward, unapologetic nu-metal album? I don't know the answer, but whatever the case, I think Max, Andreaas, Igor, and Paulo would have had a hard time outdoing themselves and making an even more creative album than this.

When we talk about Sepultura we can make a difference between two eras: the trash/death metal era and the tribal/trash/groove/core (weird, isn't it?) era. Roots stands in the middle, the inflection point. It has elements of trash and death metal but the experimentation with tribal rythms and instruments is starting to have more presence. Well, I must say that this is the last album with the mighty Max Cavalera. The end of an era as I said.
To the Sepultura purists, this album is a shame; to the newcomers, this is their the best album. I'm not saying this album can comapre to the earlier albums (Beneath the remains, Arise, Chaos AD) but it's good because of the risk they took to make something different in music.

Sepultura's Roots went bravely where no other metal album had gone before. It mixed Afro-Brazilian drums and tribal rhytms/music with downtuned nu-metal guitar and death metal vocals. An astonishing achievement. However, there are some things I have to say about Roots as a whole...

It's not the masterpiece people say it is. It was released at a great time, rivaling and overtaking most other musical accomplishments of 1996(metal, anyway). Slayer had just released their very own Spaghetti Incident?, Pantera made one big mess of album in Trendkill, and KoRn's abysmal follow-up Life Is Peachy was out too. Amidst this, Sepultura released Roots. If you compare it to Metallica's Load, well...we'll just leave it at that. Nonetheless, it lacks the flare of previous releases. Beneath The Remains was a classic, Arise was a masterpiece, and Chaos A.D. was experimental and brilliant. Roots isn't. Better than other metal releases of the time, but not an opus everyone makes it out to be.

Chaos A.D. mixed the tribal elements with the music fairly well, but managed to thrash and burn like hell, with riffs occasionally slowing down enough to hurtle skullward. Many don't consider that album very highly, but it took the tribal stuff pretty far without commercializing it. On Roots, it's almost a gimmick. All the band members cut their hair and put on makeup. Solos are removed from songs, messy, or nonexistent-only to be replaced with percussion interludes and brazilian tribes singing. The speed isn't too slow, but it makes Chaos A.D. sound incredibly fast, and Arise sound lightspeed. The change from Chaos to Roots was completely uncalled for, regardless of the tribal stuff on Chaos. The tight playing is sacrificed for a sprawling 72-minute noisefest. Another thing-there's a lot of profanity in here! Not one or two words, mind you. The album's drenched in it, and there's no PA sticker!

Some songs are still good, and the album does the whole nu-metal thing much better than anyone of KoRn's 'influential' pieces of garbage. Highlights: "Roots Bloody Roots," "Attitude," "Ratamahatta," "Spit," "Born Stubborn," "Jasco," "Itsari," "Dictators**t," and the Canyon Jam.

I recommend this to Sepultura fans and nu-metal fans. It's not thrash metal, so don't expect vintage Sepultura here. Try to enjoy the experience. Roots truly kick started nu-metal, and opened the world to tribal metal. If you don't like it, check out Chaos A.D. for a thrashier approach, and Arise, Beneath, and Schizo for intense, brutal, aural insanity. Peace.

Damn, this album kicks you in the teeth from the beginning and only pauses twice briefly before it's over.

I had reservations about buying this album at first. I'm not a huge metal fan and I knew Sepultura was an 80's death metal band. I just read so many reviews sayig how great it was I really couldn't resist. WOW

I normally enjoy more mellodic or clean vocals but Max has got a set of lungs on him. I don't think I've ever heard a roar as deep as his especially right out of the gate("Roots, Bloody Roots").

This album follows no formula whatsoever and each song takes on a life of its own. There a two lighter tracks, a really great acoustic guitar solo and a song with the band playing acoustic and a tribe chanting and singing. That one is pretty impressive.

Others favorites include the crazy "Ratamahatta". This song jumped out at me and has remained my favorite song on the album since I got it.

Masterful percussion throuhgout the entire album. The guitar playing is cool because some of the songs take on a traditional death metal grind but others have the downtuned sound of early nu-metal(let's say Korn but incredibly heavier). This counts alot to the originality and diversity of the album.

Anyway, go out and buy it if you like good music.

album #4 of the big four albums (the pinacle of Sepultura's career), and the last before the descent of their popularity following the departure of Max, singer/guitarist, main songwriter, and founding member of Sepultura. some Sepultura fans love this album and other ones hate it. it mainly has to do with the inclusion of the ethnic Brazilian world music element that is so prominent with this album. from the tribal percussion to the Portuguese chanting, to the lyrics that focus on the "roots" of Sepultura's Brazilian heritage. for some people, it just strays too far from the traditional thrash metal foundation that was the band's core from the early days. there's even a hint of "nu-metal" influence in the songs (no doubt a result of Ross Robinson's involvement in producing the album - he worked on the first Korn album). nevertheless, this album is extremely heavy, and simplistic at the same time. its bare-bones metal boiled down to the minimalistic, basic element. the riffs are simple, and the beats are solid... several months after this album, Max's stepson was killed in an auto accident, and this incident was a catalyst in the severing of ties between Max and the rest of the band. Max would go on to form Soulfly (their first album almost sounds like Roots part 2), and the remaining members would continue with Max's replacement Derrick Green, to create the Sepultura album, Against.

In the year 1996, the Brazilian Metal Gods Sepultura (Grave) decided to make something different. They set out to invent something called Tribal Metal, which they had previously tampered with on Chaos A.D. (1993). Tribal Metal consists of attitude, anger (most of the time), a variety of ideas, tribal drums/percussion and of course knowledge of your Roots. It was something that managed to bring people together; with the exception of those that stick to Beneath the Remains and Arise (good albums) and refuse to evolve fearing its selling out or whatever.

Max, Andreas, Igor and Paulo Jr. ventured into the Brazilian forest to spend time with the Xavantes Tribe in which they recorded the live song Itsari. The influence of what they did shows throughout the album. This results in not being the average Metal Album however. There is also some slight punk influence/atmosphere of rage on Cut-Throat, Ambush, and Endangered Species not to mention the short thrash song Dictatorsh*t. There is a small Acoustic song by Andreas Kisser called Jasco. Roots doesn't focus on Guitars as much like they did in previous releases. The amount of solos diminishes although doesn't become absent. The solos just are not that great but they don't drag the songs down.

Instead the album focuses on the Tribal drums of Igor Cavalera. I myself am a drummer/percussionist and highly enjoy weird sounds, different styles among other things. An example would be that Igor uses a rusted Propane tank and a Djembe on the kick@ss song known as Dusted, Or the Berkimbau that Max uses on Attitude. (one of the best songs) Sadly, though Max has overplayed the usage of the Berimbau after the 3rd time of doing so in Soulfly.

The people that I spoke of earlier that stick to the Sep albums from 1985-1991 often accuse Roots of being a sellout album and slander it with it being "Nu-Metal". Sorry but it isn't "Nu Metal". Nu-metal involves Metal with Rap/Hip Hop influences (none here clearly) and no solos at all. Like I said earlier, while the solos have diminished and are not as impressive, they are still here and it concentrates more on the drums and overall sound. Max was still pissed off here like he was in Beneath the Remains or Arise or Choas A.D., it's just how it is carried out. For one thing he swears a lot more, but not on the overdone level of Soulfly's "Primitive" and fortunately a PA Sticker is not present (I hate those friggin' things). Despite this I can understand why it is labeled by those as Nu Metal because of appearance of Jon Davis (Korn) and it being produced by Ross Robinson (Korn's first 2 Albums and other things) and even the Appearance of DJ Lethal. But this was back in 1996. The abominable Limp Bizkit didn't exist until the next year.

The song Lookaway is written by Jon Davis and features him (you can hear him better on the remix) but at the same time we have Mike Patton to settle things out. The song is eerie and actually in a way, it keeps the album fresh. Tracks 5-7 may be considered filler by some, but the mood of Lookaway changes everything and grabs your attention. Don't worry it's not a rap song. I'll confess, I like Korn and very, VERY few other Nu-Metal bands, but other then the bizarre lyrics, this is not a Korn song and once again I'll bring up the fact that you can hardly hear Jon at all on this version.

Roots was the best Tribal Metal Album that Max ever made and sadly it gets worse and worse with each Soulfly album. The effort and thought that went into Roots is part of makes it so good. They worked their a**'s off. Every song has its greatness. This was the last album with Max Cavelera who left during the Roots Tour when his Stepson was killed and there were a few tension within the band. However I can't help but feel that maybe it was for the best. I could easily see that if Max didn't leave that it may be a combination of Soulfly and the modern Sepultura. Sepultura will always leave their mark and leave us memories as one of the greatest metal acts in history. Buy this album for this is the true Sepultura (With Max). I hope this was helpful.

The innovative death metal band Sepultura (Portuguese for "Grave") was formed in Belo Horizonte, Brazil in 1984 by brother Max (vocals) and Igor (drums) Cavalera, who together with schoolmates Jairo T. (guitar) and Paulo Pinto Jr. (bass) became one of Brazil's most popular metal bands, releasing standard fare such as Bestial Devastation and Morbid Visions. After the departure of Jairo in 1986 Sepultura brought in Andreas Kisser on guitar and released 1987's Schizophrenia, which further built their reputation in the worldwide underground metal scene. 1989's Beneath The Remains and 1991's Arise, both released on Roadrunner Records, broke the group worldwide. With a frenetic metal sound that recalled groups such as Iron Maiden and Metallica and often political lyrics inspired by the punk band the Dead Kennedys, Sepultura not only touched on the usual themes of death and despair but also spoke out against corruption in their troubled homeland, setting them apart from most death metal bands. After signing to Epic, Sepultura returned in 1993 with Chaos A.D., an album which won them rare critical acclaim and catapulted them into the U.S. Top 40. Following tours with acts such as Pantera, Ministry and Ozzy Osbourne, the Brazilian foursome recorded 1996's Roots, another highly praised release which blended the usual metal riffs with the complex rhythms of the besieged Xavantes Indians of the Amazon, whose plight the band discusses in their lyrics. Sadly Sepultura broke up in early 1997 due to musical differences; its members are currently working on other projects.

Ok let's face the obvious; Roadrunner has been constantly spitting out these 25th anniversary Re-releases as an easy cash grab from the fans. Since they already re-released the rest of the albums from Max Cavalerea years, why not re-release roots? Well, when I had first heard this news, I was excited and jumping with joy. Roots was my first Sepultura album and one of my personal favorites, I practically have the thing memorized word for word and note for note. Now I realize this is a long review so if you want a short version, then skip to the last paragraph. If you want all the details, then read on from here.

I checked websites weekly for updates as to what the bonus track would be on the second disc. Roadrunner stated that it would be 15 songs, but they didn't release the track list till months later. When they finally did, I was shocked to see that it was 13 songs instead of 15. I looked back at the roadrunner website and there were still banners up on the website claiming that it would have 15 songs! What happened to the three missing songs?! And to top it off, most of the songs were previously released on the B-Side/Live disc Blood Rooted.

Now I'm a Sepultura fanatic so eventually, my curiosity got the best of me and I gave in and bought it. This is the third time I've bought Roots. I have the original copy, the rare import The Roots of Sepultura and now this one.

The most interesting part of the whole package is probably the artwork and the 23 page booklet. The lyrics part of the booklet has been changed, having the colors screwed around with (it actually looks pretty cool) as well as pictures of Jon Davis, Mike Patton, the tribe, Ross Robinson, members of the band and so forth. The main problem was that most of it dealt with the recording process so much that they weren't able to include all the info they could have. The Re-release of the Soulfly album does a better job (in terms of the booklet) because it gave some info about every song. The Lyrics for Lookaway are still not present because they were written by Jon Davis. They don't mention the guitarists from Korn helping out with Ratamahatta on percussion, nor do they mention anything about Carlinhos Brown (who also played on Ratamahatta and Ambush). A large portion goes into the recording process for the untitled track at the end of the album. This 13 minute improve jam goes by two names. The booklet refers to it as Canyon Jam, if you insert it in your Computer or look online it comes up as Little Wood-Music, so which is it? There are other things included such as their journey to the Xavantes tribe, but there are still several things that are left unanswered to the die hard fanatic. Like with the bonus material, why did they decide to cover Celtic Frost and Bob Marley? They are great songs but I would like to know why. It feels incomplete and a bit of a let down. Just compare the booklets from Roots and the Soulfly album and the Soulfly one ends up as the winner. It was simply done better. However if you compare the overall music, Roots annihilates the competitor.

Alright, enough with the booklet, does the bonus material make it worth the cash? Well let's go over all the previously unreleased material and that which was left off Blood Rooted.

5. Mine (Andy Wallace Mix): I don't understand why the reviewer Wobby praises this track as much as he did, but this is not a remix, this is an extended Mix, not a remix. There is an additional 4 seconds at the beginning and probably a minute and half added to the end. If there is an actual difference, then it's not easily noticeable.
8. R.D.P. (Demo): I'm convinced that this is demo cover of a Ratos De Porão song, but I'm not too sure which one. Sepultura previously covered their song Crucificados Pelo Sistema. It's Definitely an awesome song.
9. Untitled (Demo): An instrumental that was never improved on, probably the best song here, it could have been a second We Who Are Not As Others.
10. Attitude (Live): This was on an Ozzfest CD so its nice to have it on an actual sepultura CD for the first time.
11. Roots Bloody Roots (Megawatt Mix 1): very strange, not too good, but definitely better then the next track.
12. Roots Bloody Roots (Megawatt Mix 2): absolutely unbearable. It sounds like a really bad Soulfly remix. With the exception of Max yelling, you couldn't be able to tell what this was in the first place. Horrible, horrible remix. I will bet that these two remixes were made recently at the last minute by someone at Roadrunner.

The next time Roadrunner decides to release some old Sepultura rarities (which they probably will within the next five years) they better just make a Blood Rooted vol. 2. There is plenty of live bootleg material that they can place on it and if you look hard enough, there is a rare Desperate Cry Vinyl Single that has a track titled Sweet Leaf (probably a Black Sabbath cover) and I'm sure there are plenty more demos.

Alright here's my conclusion as to whether or not this Re-release is worth the money. If you do not have any version of Roots, then definitely buy this version. If you already have the original version; you can skip this entirely or buy one used at a cheap price or get it as a gift. I personally do not like to support these cash grabbing re-releases so that's what I did; I received it as a gift. The music is definitely worth 5 stars, but the overall letdown of unreleased material removes a star. Hoped this helped and thanks for reading.

It's easiest to view Roots as one of the following: it's either one of the most innovative alternative and/or nu metal albums with its tribal embodyment throughout, or it's a complete regression from the Beneath the Remains days. It's very easy to agree with one of these statements, seeing that this album was released during the impending uprise of nu-metal in the late 90's, and the band managed to entwine tribal elements in very obvious ways with this album.

I am a fan of Sepultura's releases before this, and Chaos A.D., while it signalled a change in sound, was still an excellent album with memorable grooves and drum fills. With "Roots", the guitars are tuned lower, everything sounds distorted (even Max Cavalera, who would make his last appearance here), and there are so many elements that would sound really out of place in their earlier albums, such as a turntable and maracas. In all honesty, this could have worked out well and could have been a high point in experimentation in metal, but let's just say that I wasn't kidding when I mentioned that the outside elements are way too obvious that they get in the way. Tracks like "Ratamahatta" and "Lookaway" are two shining examples of how this falls flat by covering up extremely simple songwriting with guest vocals and tribal instruments.

However, I'm not saying that this whole album is a bust. Sometimes, it can work well, like in "Attitude" and "Cut-Throat", which are some tracks that are to the point and not sounding like a complete mess. "Roots Bloody Roots" has a downtuned riff that'll get stuck in your head (whether you view it as a good or bad thing is up to you). My main gripe with this album isn't necessarily the change in sound, but instead, it is how it is executed.

With that said, this is better than the following three Soulfly albums that would follow that beat this formula to the ground. It is interesting to an extent, and yes, it is original when compared to the faceless nu and groove metal bands that came out during this time. However, this could have been done so much better. If you're warming up to the back catalog of Sepultura in their prime, this or Chaos A.D. is a good starter album.

Deff my fav Sepultura album. It runs just ahead of Beneath the remains for me a death and thrash classic by the way. This was the last album they made with Max in the band and after this album the band starts to go down hill a lil but not as much as some ppl like to claim. This is deff their most exerimental work, combining their native Brazilian rhtyms and tribal drums even more than on Chaos AD another classic of 90's metal. Many ppl prefer Chaos AD over this album however both are most certainly priceless additions to any Metal collection and must owns of any Sepultura collection. They created a very uniqe sound Tribal Metal a new genre of metal that few besides Sepultura and Soulfly Max's band after leaving Sepultura have ever jumped into it mainly because of the knowledge required of Tribal drums in order to play it. Bloody Roots, Attitude, Ratamahatta and Dusted are the best songs of this album. Warning its not traditional metal however its most certainly metal and very heavy too. It showcases some of the best vocal work by Max maybe only second to his stuff on Chaos AD or Dark Ages with Soulfly and deff Igor's best drumming ever. Showing that you dont need to hit your kick drums twice a second or drill out blast beats to be a good drummer. He uses a uniqe style of rhythmic drumming found in few other bands today especially in Metal. Pick it up its most certainly a great album and one that I guarantee will not disapoint you.