821. Sepultura - Roots (1996)

Track Listing

1. Roots Bloody Roots
2. Attitude
3. Cut Throat
4. Ratamahatta
5. Breed Apart
6. Straighthate
7. Spit
8. Lookaway
9. Dusted
10. Born Stubborn
11. Jasco
12. Itsari
13. Ambush
14. Endangered Species
15. Dictatorshit
16. Canyon Jam

Review

The album starts off with one of the most poignant songs about gardening ever committed to record. You know when you are digging for a new plant spot and suddenly you realise that some bloody root from the nearby tree has gotten in the way. You might also stub your finger on it, nothing represents that anguish as well as the chorus of "Roots, Bloody Roots" that starts off this album.

After that moment of true despair you get the sound of the traditional Brazilian instrument berimbau. And you think well at least someone is trying to do something original in terms of heavy metal.

After a while you realise that this is pretty run of the mill stuff embellished by elements that most Anglo-Saxons are not particularly familiar with and might therefore confuse with uniqueness. Those elements are, however, minimal, and in the end the album feels out of place in a musical environment in 1996 which is very much moving away from this type of music. It almost sounds like an atavism. Oh well, not a big fan of metal anyway.

Track Highlights

1. Rattamahata
2. Roots Bloody Roots
3. Canyon Jam
4. Dictatoshit

Final Grade

7/10

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

Following the experimentalism of the album Chaos A.D., Roots has more influence from Brazilian musical rhythms, including the participation of percussionist Carlinhos Brown, the vocalists Jonathan Davis and Mike Patton, along with producer Ross Robinson, known for his work with Korn.

Ratamahatta: