Roots (Sepultura album)

Infobox Album |
Name = Roots
Type = studio
Artist = Sepultura


Released = March 12, 1996
Recorded = October-December 1995 at Indigo Ranch in Malibu, California
Genre = Alternative metal [cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:hzfexqwhldke|title=Roots Overview|accessdate=2008-06-15|author=Huey, Steve |publisher=Allmusic]
Length = 72:09
Label = Roadrunner
Producer = Ross Robinson, Sepultura
Reviews = *Allmusic Rating|4.5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:85120r2at48z link]
*"Rolling Stone" Rating|3|5 [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/sepultura/albums/album/116660/review/5946707/roots link]
*Yahoo! Music (favorable) [http://music.yahoo.com/read/review/12030101 link]
*"Stylus Magazine" A- [http://www.stylusmagazine.com/reviews/sepultura/roots.htm link]
Last album = "Chaos A.D."
(1993)
This album = "Roots"
(1996)
Next album = "The Roots of Sepultura"
(1996)Singles
Name = Roots
Type = studio
single 1 = Roots Bloody Roots
single 1 date = 1996
single 2 = Attitude
single 2 date = 1996
single 3 = Ratamahatta
single 3 date = 1996

"Roots" is the sixth studio album by Brazilian metal band Sepultura. It was released in Start date|1996|3|12 by Roadrunner Records, and also was the band's last album to feature founding member and vocalist Max Cavalera.

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, with the producer Ross Robinson, known for his work with Korn.

The record has sold close to 900,000 copies worldwide.Fact|date=September 2008

Background and production

The majority of the themes presented on "Roots" are centered on Brazilian politics and culture.Barcinski & Gomes 1999, page 150.]

The whole concept of the album came after Max Cavalera watched "At Play in the Fields of the Lord". The movie inspired a trip to Mato Grosso, Brazil to visit the Xavante tribe. [cite album-notes|title= Roots|albumlink= Roots (Sepultura album)|bandname= Sepultura|year= 2005|notestitle=The Roots of Sepultura|url=|first=Steffan|last=Chirazi|pages=p. 15|format=CD booklet|publisher= Roadrunner Records|location= New York, NY]

The inspiration for Sepultura's new musical directon was two-fold. One was the desire to further experiment with the music of Brazil, especially the percussive type played by Salvador, Bahia samba reggae group Olodum. [Barcinski & Gomes 1999, pages 113 & 150.] A slight influence of Northeastern Brazil's native music is also present in the guitar riffs, especially baião and capoeira music.Fact|date=June 2008 Another innovation "Roots" brought was the inspiration taken from the sound of the Deftones and Korn - especially the latter's debut, with its heavily down-tuned guitars. [cite album-notes|title= Roots|albumlink= Roots (Sepultura album)|bandname= Sepultura|year= 2005|notestitle=Closing Thoughts on Roots|url=|first=Steffan|last=Chirazi|pages=p. 22|format=CD booklet|publisher= Roadrunner Records|location= New York, NY]

The band incorporated these elements into almost all songs in the album, and one of them ("Itsári") was actually recorded with the members of the Xavante Indians at their ancestral home. Meeting the Xavante Indians meant a lot to Sepultura. Igor says that the band identified a lot with the natives: "In a certain way, I think that we, as a band, had a lot of things in common with the Xavante Indians. We also lived on the edge of society, and our music and lifestyle is a long way from being assimilated and respected by that society." A spokesman of the tribe declared: "We had seen pictures of Sepultura and we knew that they were different, with their long hair and many tattoos. We also knew that they had been discriminated, like we were. Because of that we were very curious about them."Some songs include participation ("Ratamahatta", "Dictatorshit" and "Endangered Species") and co-writing ("Ratamahatta") from Carlinhos Brown, a popular Brazilian musician. The political theme and Hardcore punk roots is further reflected in the topic of "Dictatorshit", namely the 1964 Brazilian coup d'état.Barcinski & Gomes 1999, page 150.]

The lyrics to "Attitude" were co-written by Dana Wells, Max Cavalera's stepson, whose death (in part) lead to the events which caused Max to leave the band. Dana also came up with the concept for the video for the song, featuring Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu experts the Gracie family.

On "Breed Apart", Max changed the style of his vocals a bit: instead of grunting the lyrics as usual, he decided to experiment a bit with the dynamics of his voice, and even whispered some parts of the lyrics. Max said that this was influenced by Jonathan Davis.

Long-time friend Mike Patton (of Faith No More) and Jonathan Davis (of Korn) provided lyrics and vocals on the song "Lookaway".

Roots was released in February 1996 and received with unprecedented enthusiasm. Even the popular press, that usually doesn't pay a lot of attention to metal records, halted the presses to appreciate the unusual rhythms mixture of Sepultura. American newspapers like "The New Times", the "Daily News"dn and the "Los Angeles Times" reserved some space for the Brazilian band: "The mixture of the dense metal of Sepultura and the Brazilian music has a intoxicating effect", wrote a Los Angeles Times' reviewer. "The Daily News" went even further: "Sepultura reinvented the wheel. By mixing metal with native instruments, the band resuscitates the tired genre, reminding of Led Zeppelin times. But while Zeppelin mixed English metal with African beats, it's still more moving to hear a band that uses elements of its own country. By extracting the sounds of the past, Sepultura determines the future direction of metal".Barcinski & Gomes, page 153.]

The specialized heavy metal critics treated the record as a masterpiece. Martin Popoff, author of the book "The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal", ranked "Roots" as the 11th best metal record of all time, after classics by Queen and Black Sabbath and before of any Metallica or Judas Priest record. "This is a spectacular metal and futurist hardcore LP", wrote Popoff, "a masterpiece, accomplished by a band with an enormous heart and an even larger intellect". "Kerrang!" magazine didn't settle for less: it awarded "Roots" second place in the list of "100 records that you have to hear before dying", just after "In Utero" from Nirvana.Barcinski & Gomes, page 153.]

In 2001 "Q" magazine named "Roots" as one of the 50 Heaviest Albums Of All Time.Fact|date=May 2008

The last words in the song "Cut-Throat" are "Enslavement, Pathetic, Ignorant, Corporations". This spells EPIC, the record company with which Sepultura had some trouble during their previous album, "Chaos A.D."Barcinski & Gomes 1999, page 150.]

Reception

"Professional reviews":
*Rolling Stone (3/21/96, p.98) - 3 Stars - Good - "Sepultura play a violent game of sonic overload....the band uses its catharsis as a creative force, funneling torrents of noise into a tunnel of hate."

*Spin (4/96, p.110) - 6 - Reasonably Good - "...takes the rain-forest chants and street drumming flavor that flickered through the firestorm of Chaos A.D. even further....Sepultura's ethnography... [is] about sound--heavy bloco drumming and crushing guitars were made for each other."

*Q (3/96, p.103) - 3 Stars - Good - "...it's constructed of ferocious throat bending and huge riffs that support their growling menace, while simultaneously doffing a cap to their ethnic ancestors."

*Melody Maker (2/17/96, p.34) - "...the aural equivalent of being caught in a midfield by a PCP-fuelled defensive line from the Pittsburgh Steelers....this is [not] a mere metal barrage....There's ruthless rap attacks...the murderous electronic whining...the tribal chants and Brazilian ragga metal duets."

*NME (2/24/96, p.46) - 7 (out of 10) - "...a host of strange and traditional instruments has given Sepultura new formats for their extreme displeasure."

Track listing

tracklist
title1 = Roots Bloody Roots
length1 = 3:32
title2 = Attitude
length2 = 4:15
title3 = Cut-Throat
length3 = 2:44
title4 = Ratamahatta
note4 = feat. Ross Robinson, David Silveria and Carlinhos Brown
length4 = 4:30
title5 = Breed Apart
length5 = 4:01
title6 = Straighthate
length6 = 5:21
title7 = Spit
length7 = 2:45
title8 = Lookaway
note8 = f. DJ Lethal, Jonathan Davis & Mike Patton
length8 = 5:26
title9 = Dusted
length9 = 4:03
title10 = Born Stubborn
length10 = 4:07
title11 = Jasco
length11 = 1:57
title12 = Itsári
length12 = 4:48
title13 = Ambush
length13 = 4:39
title14 = Endangered Species
length14 = 5:19
title15 = Dictatorshit
length15 = 1:26
title16 = Canyon Jam
length16 = 13:16tracklist
headline = "Roadrunner Records: The 25th Anniversary Series" bonus disc
title1 = Procreation (Of the Wicked)
note1 = Celtic Frost cover
length1 = 3:39
title2 = Mine
note2 = feat. Mike Patton of Faith No More
length2 = 6:25
title3 = War
note3 = Bob Marley cover
length3 = 6:40
title4 = Lookaway" (Master Vibe Mix)
length4 = 5:36
title5 = Mine (Andy Wallace Mix)
length5 = 7:58
title6 = Dusted
note6 = demo
length6 = 4:27
title7 = Roots Bloody Roots
note7 = demo
length7 = 3:32
title8 = R.D.P.
note8 = demo
length8 = 1:15
title9 = Untitled
note9 = demo
length9 = 4:14
title10 = Attitude
note10 = live at Ozzfest
length10 = 5:37
title11 = Roots Bloody Roots (Megawatt Mix 1)
length11 = 4:01
title12 = Roots Bloody Roots (Megawatt Mix 2)
length12 = 4:08

Chart Positions & Award Certifications

Album - Billboard (North America)

Album - Music recording sales certifications

Personnel

*Max Cavalera - Vocals, 4-string guitar, Berimbau
*Andreas Kisser - Lead guitar, Sitar, Backing Vocals
*Igor Cavalera - Drums, Percussion, Timbau, Djembe
*Paulo Jr. - Bass, Timbau Grandé

Guests

*Mike Patton - Vocals on "Lookaway" and "Mine"
*David Silveria - Drums on "Ratamahatta"
*Carlinhos Brown - Vocals, Percussion, Berimbau, Timbau, Wood Drums, Lataria, Xequere, Surdos on "Ratamahatta"
*Jonathan Davis - Vocals on "Lookaway"
*DJ Lethal - Scratching on "Lookaway"

Recording

*Recorded at Indigo Ranch, Malibu, California
*Produced by Ross Robinson and Sepultura
*Engineered by Chuck Johnson
*Additional engineering by Richard Kaplan
*Second engineered by Rob Agnello
*Mixed by Andy Wallace at Soundtrack Studios, New York City
*Mix engineered by Steve Sisco
*Mastered by George Marino at Sterling Sound, New York City

Notes

References

* Barcinski, André & Gomes, Silvio (1999). "Sepultura: Toda a História." São Paulo: Ed. 34. ISBN 85-7326156-0
* Sepultura (1996). "Roots." [CD] . New York, NY: Roadrunner Records. The 25th Anniversary Series (2-CD Reissue, 2005).