Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
WOW.., June 29, 2001
I mean wow..This is easily the biggest surprise thus far for me in 2001. I was expecting a cd akin to Against, good but just lacking and uncomfortable feeling without Max.Nation finds Sepultura trying not to emulate what they once held with Max Cavalera, which is part of why Against felt so odd to me.It is also a concept album about creating a perfect utopia, at times exciting and full of wonder, and at times frightening to think about the rule of a corrupt government. It is an eye opening and pleasant trip to be on. On the new album, Derrick Green proves he is a far greater vocalist than Max ever was, showcasing his beautiful singing voice on tracks like Water and The Ways of Faith to name a couple. He can also hold his own with Max as far as growling goes-just listen to Revolt or Human Cause. Andreas may not make solos as showy as on older albums, but I personally feel solos can become too cocky or masturbatory if done too showy or too often. On Nation, he does solos that dont take away from the others in the band, only adding more to the song. The rythymic section is intensely strong as well-Paulo creates some pummeling basslines and Igor is still a powerhouse on the kit. The songs are not complex thrash metal like in the days of Arise or Beyond the Remains, but they are GOOD. Songs are strong,with good lyrics and vocals and very talented music to back it. Best songs are Sepulnation, Border Wars, One Man Army, Who Must Die, and Water. I felt this was one of Sepultura's most stirring albums-they support the belief and need to make a better world, a Utopia if you will, in the lyrics. You can feel that they believe it, in every word and riff and drum kick. In conclusion, I think this is one of the finest albums by Sepultura to date, Max or not. It is also a high contender for album of the year for me, as it is constantly receiving play. For stirring music, look no further.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sepultura's Most Underrated Album, September 15, 2001
This album is Sepultura's best since Chaos A.D. and their most diverse ever, even more diverse than Against (which I also loved). Not to push my opinion on others but if you honestly think that Soulfly's 2 releases are as good as or better than Sepultura's 2 releases without Max...you must enjoy repetitive nu-metal a good deal more than I do. Soulfly has become something of a joke whereas Sepultura have become more diverse and heavier (heavier than Roots, that is...at times at heavy as Chaos A.D.) and more experimental, all of which has added up to two fantastic releases, of which this is the second.This CD is only 52:25 in length but it seems much longer than that, which is a good thing. There are only two even mediocre songs here, they are tracks 11 and 14 (Politricks and Water); in addition, Reject sounds a bit weak but it's between mediocre and good because of the chorus. The rest of the CD is excellent, within each song it seems as though there's a surprise. Andreas, Igor and at times Derrick are proving themselves to be an outstanding songwriting team. If I may: "Sepulnation": kind of cheesy lyrics/title but the main riff is killer and the chorus is devastating. Nice drumming too.
"Revolt": at first I was mad because this song is only about :55 long but it's killer, it and "Human Cause" are the two short thrash songs on this record and they're both great.
"Boarder Wars": sounds like a Chaos A.D. song updated. Nice build to the chorus, which is crazy heavy. Good, good riffage.
"One Man Army": I didn't like this song upon first listen but now I really enjoy it, it's unlike anything Sepultura have ever done before (especially with the clean vocals)
"Vox Populi": GREAT main riff and heavy part toward the end, and a very energetic chorus.
"The Ways Of Faith": This is a good, simple song.
"Uma Cura": A little slow to grab ahold of but good, it's very slow and brooding.
"Who Must Die?": This is the best song on the record. It's so very hardcore, the main riff is so very good, and there are great, soft breakdowns interlaced throughout. Hopefully a concert staple for years to come.
"Saga": Another very heavy song, but the main riff is the same as the intro riff to "Hatred Aside" from Against, however some notes have been taken out. (I could be wrong; this is what it sounds like to me). Very fast and energetic though.
"Tribe To A Nation": I thought this would be mindless reggae and some of the lyrics I don't really like, but the main riff here is very heavy and also very evil. Love it!
Politricks (omitted)
"Human Cause": if one word had to describe this song I would choose "vicious" to be that word. Jamey Jasta (of Hatebreed fame) adds his now-infamous bark of a vocal to the first verse, which sounds killer.
"Reject": Eeh, this is pretty good. It's worth listening to for the start-stop of the chorus.
Water (omitted)
"Valtio": Probably Sepultura's most beautiful song. It's all orchestral and classical guitar and sounds like something from a movie soundtrack. A very moving song and an excellent way to end a CD (and also an excellent way to open their live shows, as they do so with this song). Overall, one of the best records of 2001, IMO. If you are openminded about music you will probably like this CD, it strikes a rare balance between several different styles of heavy music as well as a lot of softer stuff, too, and little of it sounds out of place. Absolutely worth buying, at least chek it out if you're apprehensive.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
It's okay., April 10, 2001
By A Customer
That's it. It's okay. Derrick Green does fine, but it's nothing to write home about. Just A Guy, as they say. Seems like Sepultura has trouble writing songs since Max left. There's some nice riffs, and some nice bits here and there, but nothing that really jumps out. Or jumps out, grabs your head and drives it into the wall like, oh, Roots, Chaos AD, Arise, Beneath the Remains...Okay, I'll say it: Soulfly's better. More energy, more creative, more interesting. I mean, sometimes Soulfly misses the target, but that's because they're aiming higher. I like Sepultura, and I respect that they're not knuckleheads, but it seems like it's just inertia keeping them together.
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