What The Hell Happened To... 08.04.08: Sepultura - Roots Posted by Dan Marsicano on 08.04.2008
This week, Dan Marsicano tears Sepultura's 1996 release Roots a new one, while giving the spotlight to a metal band that deserves praise!
The Introduction
Welcome, yet again, to the column that will never die, until I find a steady job, What The Hell Happened To! I'm your host, the guy who loves to wear his influences on his sleeve, Dan Marsicano.
First things first, like last week, there is a new contest going on at 411 Mania. You can win a sweet IPod Nano and CD's from Finch, Scary Kids Scaring Kids, and Tickle Me Pink. 411 always treat the readers well, and this is no different. So click here for your chance to win a prize pack of goodness!.
Trivium put a new song out this week off their upcoming album, Shogun, entitled "Kirsute Gomen." I would love to hear what all the readers thought about the song, if you heard it. Personally, I really like the direction the band is going in, if the new track is any indication. The screaming is back, the singing is less "Hetfield"-ish, and the solos are longer and more technically-proficient. Unlike a good portion of metal fans, I enjoyed The Crusade and look forward to their fourth album.
To finish off this little intro section, I want to make a big announcement!
The Big Announcement
I always respect the opinion of the readers of 411 and to thank all of you for reading my column since its start last November, I have decided to make September "Fan Appreciation Month!"
What this entails is that YOU, the 411 readers, will pick the albums I will highlight in September. That's right, you guys get to choose what albums I write about. They have to underrated, but that doesn't mean they need to be good. I love to bash albums as much as I love to praise them.
Not only can you pick the album, but if you want, you can write up an article about it that will be reprinted on my column. Any up-and-coming writers wanting to make their next big break can show off their talents by writing their own "What The Hell Happened To!."
I will take requests either by e-mail or by leaving a comment on the bottom. If you want to write up your own blurb, it would be better to send me an e-mail. I will take requests up until August 31st, so get going fellow readers and show me that you guys and gals have some skills!
The Band
Max Cavalera-Vocals, Guitar
Andreas Kisser-Guitar
Paulo Jr.-Bass
Igor Cavalera-Drums
Brazilian metal band Sepultura was formed in 1984 by brothers Max (guitar) and Igor (drums) Cavalera. They were heavily influenced by Metallica, Venom, Kreator, and other international thrash metal bands. The two of them enlisted Paulo Jr. on bass and Wagner Lamounier on vocals to round the group out. This would only be a temporary lineup, as Lamounier left the band a year later and Max took over as the vocalist for Sepultura. Jairo Guedes joined as the second guitarist for the band and this lineup went into the studio to record their first album.
1986's Morbid Visions was noted for its death metal sound, the "satanic" lyrical content, and its poor production. However, it showed a young band with a lot of promise, one that would be fulfilled in the coming years. Before that was to happen, another lineup change occurred, as Guedes left and Andreas Kisser filled his shoes.
From this point, the band's popularity began to rise, based on four brilliant releases (1987's Schizophrenia, 1989's Beneath The Remains, 1991's Arise, and 1993's Chaos A.D). The band had some controversy here and there (most notably with the video for "Dead Embryonic Cells" being censored by MTV), but still achieved great success with their early 90's releases.
"Dead Embryonic Cells" Video (The Good Old Days)
The band's sound went from death metal to thrash metal to groove metal over the years. With 1996's Roots, the last studio album with Max Cavalera involved, the band's sound took yet another radical leap, one that would have critics praising them, but fans starting to turn on their favorite Brazilian metal band…
The Analysis
For almost 40 columns, I have praised album after album, even ones that most people hated (St. Anger, New Tattoo, Scarsick). The reason I did that was because I believed in my heart that these albums all had something to offer to listeners, whether it was one riff, one song, or an excellent storyline. I haven't really trashed an album yet, but I felt that it was time to change it up a bit, if only for a week. My reason behind that was that I recently pulled out Sepultura's Roots for the first time in years and listened to it front to back. The end result was less than a pleasant time…actually, that could be the understatement of the year.
Roots is a fucking horrible album. An abomination that deserves to burn along with all the other crappy metal released in 1996 (I'm looking at you, Life Is Peachy and Load). The praise that it has gotten over the years doesn't make any sense to me. Throughout its brutally long 73 minute running length, I heard sounds that have haunted me to this day. I heard songs that should've been left on the cutting floor and random tribal instrumentals that would had made Nelson Mandela proud. What I heard was the sound of a band's credibility going down the fucking tube in a little over an hour.
Now, before any of you go up in arms and starting clicking back on your browser, let me explain a few things. First, I love Sepultura's old material. Absolutely adore it with every inch of fiber in me. Second, I don't mind band's changing their sound up or trying to "go with the times." In the mid-90's, many metal bands had to do that to survive. I respect that and I also respect the band trying to incorporate some of their Brazilian heritage into their music. There is nothing wrong with that, in my book.
"Attitude" Official Music Video
My issue with the album is the fact that the band could have done it a different way. 14 minute jam to end the album? Two instrumentals that are back-to-back, going absolutely nowhere? Guest appearances by Jonathon Davis and DJ Lethal?! No, that's not the way to experiment. In my opinion, Max Cavalera would get it right with later Soulfly albums, but that's for a different column.
Now, just because I'm shitting all over this album (which is justified fully), doesn't mean I hated the whole thing. Hell, this album has "Roots Bloody Roots" on it, which is one of the best Sepultura songs ever written. If there was any point where the band seemed to understand how to mix their old song with a more modern, "nu-metal" touch to it, it would be this track. Max's vocals are crappy as hell, but the guitar sound is harsh and unforgiving, which is cool here, but gets fucking annoying by track ten. The other noticeable difference to Sepultura's older releases is the lack of guitar variety, mainly when it comes to solos. Kisser is a great metal guitarist, but he seems to be restrained and tamed, which hurts the album as a whole.
"Roots Bloody Roots" Live 1996
The shorter tracks on the album are the highlights for me, as the band lets the ghost of Arise take over for two and a half minutes, leaving no time for weird experimentations or gimmicky tribal instruments. "Cut-Throat," "Spit," acoustic instrumental "Jasco" and "Dictatorshit" are metal fused with a bit of punk and groove. The tracks wouldn't hold up to anything on previous albums, but at least the band seems to retain a little bit of the energy left over from four masterpieces.
The rest of the tracks go all over the place, with hardly any memorable moments in any of the material. Random chants start off "Ratamahatta," with the tribal drumming being the saving grace of that track. The awful dueling screaming vocals of Max and Brazilian musician Carlinhos Brown definitely don't help matters. "Breed Apart" has a cool opening, with solid instrumental section, but of course, Max has to come and ruin it with his best whispering Jonathan Davis impersonation, which sounds like a cat being raped by a blender.
Ok, I think that's enough recapping for me. If I write more about this album, I think I'll get a brain aneurysm. I understand why Sepultura changed their sound and why metal critics assume that this shit was "innovative" back in 1996. However, listening to the album from a different perspective, as somebody who bought it near the end of the "nu-metal" era and had already heard the band's earlier material, I can't see how this album can be constantly praised over and over again. What pisses me off even more are the so-called "hardcore metal fans" who call this thrash/death metal. Are you FUCKING SHITTING me? Are we listening to the same album? This is groove/tribal/nu-metal with a hint, and I mean a HINT, of anything that resembles metal. So people, time to open your minds, and listen to any of the early Sepultura album. The band did the tribal thing better on Chaos A.D and the brutal sound on Arise.
Technical progressive death metal is a genre that is making leaps and bounds every month, with lots of new bands coming and trying to push things to an extreme that has no clear definition. California's The Faceless is one of those bands that takes death metal and turns it on its side, with technicality coming out the ass and the songwriting to back it up.
The band, currently comprised of Demon Carcass (vocals), Michael Keene (guitar), Steve Jones (guitar), Brandon Giffin (bass), and Lyle Cooper (drums), was formed in 2005 and was signed to Sumerian Records less than a year later. In 2006, their debut album Akeldama, was released and the band is currently at work on their anticipated sophomore release.
If you go to their MySpace page, you can listen to three tracks from their first album. Personally, I'm a fan of all of them, but "The Autopsy" stuck most with me over time. The band has a ton of potential, and I liked the occasional use of keyboards to heighten the atmosphere, something that most technical death metal bands stay away from. Also, clean vocals are utilized from time to time, also something that helps them to stand out a bit amongst other death metal bands.
So, without further ado, it's time to look at some videos of The Faceless. Try them out if you enjoy a bit of technicality with your metal from time to time…
"An Autopsy" Live Bled Fest 2007
"The Ancient Covenant" Live
The Conclusion
Well, that's all I got for this week. I hope you all enjoyed me tearing Sepultura a new asshole. Disagree? Think I have my head too far up my own ass? Let me know by leaving a comment at the bottom. Don't forget about "Fan Appreciation Month" coming up. I really want to hear what albums you readers would like me to look at.
Next week, I'm looking at a good album for once, Queens of the Stone Age's debut album, an album that is radically different from their later releases. It'll be a good one, so come on back for another edition of What The Hell Happened To!
How about "What the hell happened to Kiss Alive?"
That album was intriguing and launched them into superstardom. But they were soon cartoon characters..
Just be interesting to hear your take on it.
Posted By: Kiss fan (Guest) on August 04, 2008 at 01:19 AM
Wow man, you know I did like Sepultura's early stuff but I never did give Roots a listen, I think that's for the best >_>.
"What The Hell Happened to... Disturbed" Should be my vote with either Indestructible or Believe.
Posted By: Josh (Guest) on August 04, 2008 at 08:09 AM
You came across as someone who's trying for a little controversy for a readership surge, maybe some debate from some pissed off fans. Evidence: laying it on thick with calling it shit and then praising songs individually.
Whatever your intentions, I'm not buying it. The nice thing about music is, it is what it is and your little voice shouting out "shit!" don't drown it out. I happen to like "Roots" and it appealed to me a whole lot more than their metal days. Even now I got bored with the "Dead Embryonic Cells" vid you posted because it's the same hokey shit I saw with every metal band. You may not like that statement, and say that I'm ignorant because I don't discern the inherent magnificence in the way that they play so distincly and more grounded in less dorky theatrics and melodrama than Morbid Angel or Cemetary... or hey, here's a good one: Entombed's "Wolverine Blues." (My brother's a huge metal freak, so I'm very familiar with metal, especially the eye-rollingly ridiculous part of it.)
Guh. I feel dirty. I sound net-geeky. The point is, Sepultura was to me more authentic for their work in "Roots," the surprising beauty in their tribal jams, which I still play by themselves from time to time on a mix or two. In fact I've looked for years to find more stuff out there like this.
That's the thing with you internet geeks fluffing your wigs over the columns you write. You go, "Oh, I even gave praise to St. Anger (ewwww!) because I found... man, if only teh internets had dramatic drumrolls... well, I better type one in to get that dramatic effect... maybe with a typo or two, and the inability to tell 'it's' and 'its' apart [did you do that in here? do I know, do I care? would you be oh-so-quick to point it out so you could have a chance not to defend yourself but to feel superior?] drumroll please... ONE REDEMPTIVE QUALITY!!! Which I could not find in "Roots." Oh, no. Not one. Except for all the highlights which I'll spend the next three paragraphs simultaneously praising and then dumping on... at least until I seal the deal with an all-caps profanity filled righteous indignity... ARE YOU FUCKING SHITTING ME???!!!"
I'll go ahead and clue you in: You know what moves the people? The real people, I mean. Not the ones who condemn efforts to break from the mould of homogonization (Black Sabbath didn't know what the hell they were doing when they first started. You can hear it. Listen to the nonsencial guitar solos and strange jazzy digressions. Yes, I just compared "Roots" to Sabbath. I hope that bothers you every bit as much as my presumptions about internet columnists.) People didn't hear "Tutti Frutti" and shit all over how the band couldn't play for shit... although if the internet, and you were there, you would have. Geeks. Sheesh.
Posted By: Guest#3021 (Guest) on August 04, 2008 at 10:04 AM
First of all Guest#3021, nothing you can say can insult me in any way. Everything you said about me is basically a fact.
Yeah, I wanted to stur some controversy up, and judging by your length, and well-written, response, I accomplished that. I won't back down on my statement about the album, because that wouldn't make me the "internet geek" that I am.
I don't like the album, and probably never will, but there were qualities I liked about it. I always try to find the positives in everything I listen to and I did just that this week, except that I hated more than I liked. I found the album to be meandering, pointless at times, and boring as hell(that's what happens when you have three instrumentals, one thats 13 minutes long and goes NOWHERE (did you like the caps?)). So, I stick by my opinion, but I appreciate you taking the time out of your "busy" life to respond to my column. Thanks for reading Guest#3021.
Posted By: Dan Marsicano (Registered) on August 04, 2008 at 11:32 AM
"Tutti Frutti" > "Roots"
Little Richard is the man!
Posted By: Dan Haggerty (Registered) on August 04, 2008 at 12:42 PM
interesting article, dan. one that made me quite angry and incensed, actually, as i think that "roots" is the greatest metal album ever. i understand that it is not a thrash/death metal album (so you can put away your "are you FUCKING SITTING me?"), and that most of it is tribal and experimental. but it's the tribal and experimental parts that make this album work so well. there was no other band prior to "roots" that devled into such innovative sounding music. and sepultura made it work so well because you can hear the passion in their music...you can hear how much they love their music, how much they made this album for themselves rather than for the masses. and i totally respect that of them.
so here i am, all hot and bothered that you are trashing one of my favourite albums of all time, and then it dawns on me. i need not be upset or angry. because you don't matter. yours is the first non-positive column i have ever read about "roots"...ever...which leads me to believe you don't know as much as you think you do. but go ahead, write your columns, praise and trash any albums you wish. i'll find it hard pressed to find anyone who cares anymore.
Posted By: quilombo (Guest) on August 05, 2008 at 09:23 AM
PRO'S: Your analysis of the album is pretty spot-on. Max Cavalera would go on to do better tribal/metal with the later Soulfly albums (specifically the work following Prophecy, which was KoRn in disguise), and all of Sepultura's pre-Roots albums were better than Roots itself.
CON'S: They've already been stated. You seem to be picking a fight just for the sake of picking a fight.
That said, I agree entirely. Some of the songs are great (which also happen to be the shorter songs), and others have no real place on the album (the 15-minute tribal jam, which is boring as hell, or anything where Max tries to stretch his vocal abilities) as they're really just experiments and/or failures. Maybe it's because I'm a devout metalhead, or maybe it's because I prefer songwriting to music for the sake of music, but this album is everything that was wrong with mainstream heavy music in the 90's. It was oversimplified, the focus was way too entirely on the drums, and the lyrical content was so bland with constant "fuck you"s and such.
If you like this album, good for you. I find the concept to be interesting, but the demonstration to be a failure on almost all levels.
Also, I wouldn't mind taking you up on a guest column. I'd either focus on Shadows Fall or GWAR, and would expect mixed reactions to both.
Posted By: AndrewCrow (Guest) on August 05, 2008 at 03:02 PM
AndrewCrow, shoot me an e-mail by pressing the "e-mail" button next to the comment button and we'll talk. I wouldn't mind doing one on Shadows Fall, if you want. Get back to me. I appreciate it man!
Posted By: Dan Marsicano (Registered) on August 05, 2008 at 04:39 PM
Dan, I completely agree with your views on "Life is Peacy" and "Load." My opinion is that "Roots" and "Chaos A.D." are two of the better metal albums that had come out in the 90's. Hey Josh, do yourself a favor and buy "Roots."
Posted By: Shane (Guest) on August 05, 2008 at 09:53 PM
This column fell to shit at the end.
Sepultura might have became a lame nu-metal band in 1996, but at least they have Beneath the Remains and their death metal albums.
The Faceless on the other hand, have always sucked. Generic melodic death metal (what a shocker, right) with keyboards thrown over it.
Posted By: CharlesBronson (Guest) on August 06, 2008 at 10:31 AM
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