Roots

4 - great metal album. Loved the tribal influences

Best Song: Roots Bloody Roots I think I have heard some Sepultura through friends and random playlists but first time listen from start to finish. Metal done right. Nu metal done right to be more specific. I can hear the Korn influence in some of the riffs. A solid album. The downside is it goes on too long and the singer is really good at doing one thing - too bad he only does one thing. 4/5.

Completely forgot how much I buzz off this album. Wrecking ball

Used to love this but I think I mellowed out a little in my old age.

I’ve heard the name of the band but never listened. I don’t know what the rest of their catalog sounds like, but I loved this high-speed metal mania.

Vocals aside, which I’ll accept is somewhat of a leap, that’s a really cool album. Not being a massive fan of thrash metal which I was expecting, I was very pleasantly surprised by the volume of superb riffs, and variation in the songs. The dalliances with the Brazilian folk stuff added an extra layer of interest. Great first song (the title of which was pretty much what my wife was muttering this week when dying her hair), then wained for 2-3 songs and then really hit its stride. For an album of over an hour it solidly held my attention, which was also a massive surprise. Borderline 4*, but bumped up because it sounded great in comparison to the awful 80s synth stuff we’ve had to suffer the last 2 days!

I can see the influence on so much metal I enjoy

Good

ROOOOOOOOOOOOOTS BLOOODY ROOOOOOOOOOTS! Epic. Not a fun, but it's a masterpiece of Max Cavalera \m/

Metal/tribal Some really good some less, 3.5

Had it been a first listen, I would have been wondering what was going on until the mastery of the guitar playing caught my ear

7/10…trash - groove metal

I had never listen to one full Sepultura album. I got bored of gutural screaming looong time ago and now it's become a bit cringe for me. That said, i did actively listen to this album focusing mostly on the instruments and... Pff, violent, trashy energy! Really good. Do they have any instrumental songs?

brazilian thrash with tribal influences… aptly titled “roots”. this one goes hard and is heavy as hell.

Not super into heavy but this ruled

I love this album. I first heard bloody roots on drumeo when Eloy was on (current slipknot drummer). I thought it was really cool that you could hear their Brazilian roots and some of the more tribal sounding songs. Eloy really talked about the different Brazilian rhythms, so I was listening for that throughout the whole album. I can see how they inspired a lot of modern metal bands, like slipknot and Kubli Khan, etc. definitely gonna put a few of these songs in the rotation

Synes sgu det var rimelig fucking godt ngl, lyden af metal blandet med sådan noget tribal er rimelig fedt og braziliansk folkemusik.

One of the coolest inclusions on the list. Glad to see some metal representation that isn't just the big 4 or some poorly aged nu-metal. Pretty cool to listen to even though it's not my favorite genre of music. I quite liked the Canyon Jam at the end. Didn't really hear the Tribal and Folk influences other people are talking about here that much.

Sounds exciting

Excellent, intense metal. I had fun jamming along to this. Sepultura have personality in addition to technical chops, which made this more accessible to me than some other metal albums. The chanting and tribal drums were cool additions on certain songs, and the brutally raw vocals were powerful. The call and response vocals at the top of “Ratamahatta” are awesome! Really fun song. Nice to hear some acoustic guitar led tracks in the back half of the album. I don’t hear that kind of style switch-up much on metal albums. Great change of pace for a few minutes, and those songs were really good too.

I am generally not a fan of the Nu Metal trend. It's a lot of the same growly, screechy vocals and tuned down guitars (sometimes with a DJ thrown in there). A lot of the artists from that scene were insufferable and full of themselves. It was maybe a bit novel at the time, but how much can you really listen to of the same thing. Sepultara however were a different beast entirely. They abandon the loose hip hop connection in favor of collaborations with the indigenous Xavante tribe of Brazil. As far as cross-genre collaborations go, I'm hard-pressed to think of many that are more interesting than this one. Not only are indigenous people featured on the album as performers, they're in the lyrics, the artwork, the symbolism, and the spirit of the entire album. The album raised awareness of the existence and plight of these suffering people. What's more metal than that? My only complaint is that I wish Sepultara had leaned into the concept even more. I want to hear so much of the indigenous drums and chanting and how it could work with their brand of heavy metal. Aside from "Itsari", their direct influence is easy to miss if you're not listening closely. I feel like it could have been completely hyponotic to be laced through the entire tracklisting. But hey, what they did is still very cool.

some bangers in this, great songs, great instrumentation and vocals, really enjoyed it

Listened to this a few times over the weekend - who would have expected nu metal to hit so right when mowing the grass. Impressions from some distracted listens... (1) this album is far too long, (2) felt like some of the better parts of early slipknot intermixed with Korn leanings, (3) thoroughly enjoyed the breakdowns and changes of direction. The ending of Breed Apart is so terribly abrupt. I guess they were trying to make it sound like it was coming apart with the fuzz, but I feel like they could have blended that a bit better. Otherwise, really enjoyed the song. Really hard to pick this one apart when all of my listens have had this very much in that background. That said, I have really loved this for driving background music. Wonderfully angry and melodic with some songs that took quick turns in interesting directions. Only gripes are that this ran a bit too long, lingered in the tribal instrumentation a bit too long for my liking, and some of the lyrics were just stupid. Otherwise some solid power-through music. Low 4.

Kyllähän Sepultura toimii, aamulenkkikin kulki paljon leppoisammin sen tahdissa. Hyvä levy, vaikka pidän vielä enemmän alkupään tuotannosta.

I've never listened to Sepultura before but this was really cool.

I'll have to take your word for it. I did like the variety.

I usually don't listen to this kind of music, but this in your face album rocked.  I look forward to thrashing around the room on my next listen. Igor Cavalera is a wicked and versatile drummer.

This is the first I'm really noticing how metal screams use overtones. Sounds really cool with the harmonics on the bass and guitar Good album, The second half blows the first out of the water in my opinion

Good heavy album. I was honestly surprised by some of the tones that this album had considering it was from the 90s. I decided to play disc golf while listening to this album. On brand. I really enjoyed this as a passive listening experience. I'm giving this a soft 4.

Still making my way back through all the albums I've missed. Wasn't happy to see that this was like 75 minutes long, but this thing kinda rocks. Definitely influenced Gojira, who are probably my favorite metal band. Definitely also influenced Slipknot. These dudes were grooving so early, a lot of what I thought was started by Pantera may've been these dudes instead. Only two complaints, first, what the hell is that closing track, why is it 13 minutes of nothing. second, sometimes this strays into caveman oonga-bunga chanting. It's funny, but also a little cringey. A groovy 4/5 for me. So much better than listening to David Byrne free associate cities

Not a metal guy, but I was keep getting more and more into it as it kept going. Really gave me a new appreciation for the genre.

This album was really cool because it felt like raw energy and primal emotion. I don’t listen to a lot of metal but this album might have hooked me. Unfortunately, the album peaked in the first half and the second half kinda let me down a bit at least compared to the first half. Would be a 5/5 if the second half slapped a bit harder.

Shit was absolutely fire, it lost a bit of its steam near the other half of the album but still had hits

Good metal album. Some song choices, like the entire last song are questionable. But ultimately, an extremely fun time.

Honestly, liked this a lot more than I expected. Too long but some real bangers on here.

Enjoyed it way more than I expected. I listened on the plane to Hawaii. The vocals weren't my thing but the instruments rocked.

3.7 2x cool and great sound for metal + Brazilian

Excellent album but a few samey tracks

Crazy creative. Not my jam, but the reason I love this project and this list.

Favorite Track: Ratamahatta

DET ER FORDI DE ER SURE!!! (for lige at svare på spørgsmålet jeg stillede sidst vi hørte en Sepultura plade) Slående hvor anderledes det er fra Arise, synes det er marginalt bedre mest bare fordi det lyder lidt mere unikt. Bedste nu metal plade jeg har hørt, tror jeg. Bliver aldrig rigtig for langt, hvilket er dybt imponerende.

Such a fun album to listen to, especially for the instrumentation. The variety and use of different traditional instruments is so cool.

I enjoyed this one a lot more than I thought I would. The various elements of World Music, Thrash, Nu Metal, and Alt Rock keep a delicate balance that doesn't get boring. Add a half-star for Mike Patton's guest vocals on "Lookaway."

More like a 3.5, but I'm giving it the ol' Metal bump. This is album is still fairly disparaged by Metalheads and it's definitely not as good as their older stuff, but I think it's a good example of what could be done well with Groove and Nü-Metal.

I liked this a lot! I know the title track but don’t know why I didn’t get into it earlier. I think there’s a couple of really heavy tracks after the first track that always put me off. But after that there’s a level of thrash I can handle. It almost sounds like Faith No More! I will revisit.

Those Roots go deep….

J'ai apprécié autant la violence que la recherche musicale et la réalisation soignée.

I was very into this genre in the mid 90s and never got around to listening to Sepultura. Wow. Great friggin album. Adding many songs to my 'heavy' playlist. Not something I'd listen to often these days but really high quality album for this genre.

16 year old me is absolutely jamming right now

This goes hard while I’m sitting at work staring at spreadsheets. The explosions of energy combined with the injections of Brazilian music create something truly interesting. Favorite songs were Roots Bloody Roots, Ratamahatta, Straighthate, Born Stubborn, Itsari, and Ambush.

4.5. I really enjoyed this one more than I thought I would. It's a solid metal album with some tribal rhythms interspersed throughout. It loses half a star because of the vocals. The gutteral singing style wasn't quite for me.

Felt it was enjoyable but a bit one note in the first half but the second half showcased variety that made the rock really rock

This album was a welcome addition to the list and I was really looking forward to it because it seemed like such a departure from the regular stuff you hear. My curiosity was met with absolutely groovy guitar shugs, nasty bass lines and a sheer overwhelming power that gave me the feeling that I should honestly be angrier about things in life. Now, I was never truly into metal but what does that even mean? The diverse and micro genres of metal are hard to discern to me. Despite having flirted with a lot of genres such as Doom and Stoner Metal or Drone, Sepultura was never on my radar. Hence, sites like these really push you to actually engage with artists (if you feel inclined). Roots is really great and feels like an absolute classic and despite absolutely disliking screaming and harsh vocals like the ones bein presented here, it still worked for me. The songs are just that powerful with engaging riffs and drums that kick you in the nuts. The vocal delivery is seething with fury and creates a somewhat unhinged vibe that is contageous. There is an underlying grooves to this song that make me want to vibe so hard and it's great. The best part about Roots is the incorporation of latin grooves and unusual brazilian chanting. They permeate through the album but it never feels just like a gimmick. Root by Sepultura just feels authentic and is a bloody good time even if it's not really my genre. I'll be blasting this stuff for sure in the future.

what a crazy combination of genres. i really enjoyed it even though i don't normally like guttural metal screaming. more of this kind of stuff rather than endless britpop please!!

this is a very cool brazilian (nu-)metal album with indigenous influences. it took a second listen to actually begin to appreciate it, plus reading the wikipedia article, but the context is definitely helpful. it's nice to hear a nu-metal album that is so outwardly focused and not just "I'M mad because MY life sucks". i was only aware of this band by name before but i'll definitely come back to some of these tracks in the future. favorites: roots bloody roots, cut-throat, ratamahatta, breed apart, jasco, itsari

For 90s metal, this is very solid. Didn't feel as long as it was, had interesting variety, I can't complain. Gonna give this the ol' 3.5 rounded up actually, I could come back to this.

This rocked.

Love, but what the fuck is up with canyon jam

Still can't get past the screaming, but it's very interesting musically and conceptually otherwise.

15/02/24 I enjoyed the album, I've only ever listened to a few of their songs before.

Not really my thing but the drums and guitar work are amazing . I had no idea that they were from Brazil but now the album makes a lot more sense. I will listen again

Great heavy tribal themed metal. Just hits. Great mids and guitar tone

CD

This is a classic and personally nostalgic for a time when I was living with the two metalheads who helped broaden my musical tastes, but I hadn't given it a listen in years. Aggressive, unrelenting, tribal, and angsty. The songs have so much groove and the riffs are solid. I appreciate how passionate Max sounds but I also think it's a little much at times. It's still a metal staple.

Noice. I know this one! Can’t wait to listen. Surprised to see this here. I know the other sepultura records better than this one so I’m curious. You can definitely hear the progression to the almost nu metal soulfly sound. Production is so much better. Incorporates South American rhythms into it. Love it. This is a powerful angry metal record. More importantly it’s a great metal record at a time when metal was dying. Legends for keeping it going during the grunge hype. Side note last 12 minutes was a waste.

Very good album.

I usually don’t like this genre but I liked this!

I did not understand I single one of the words sung in this metal album. 4 stars

I'm not much into Metal. But this (as well as a few others e.g. by Metallica or System Of A down) I really like. It will never be my favourite album or music but on the right moments it's really, really nice :-)

Pretty good

Probably never would have ended up listening to Brazillian Metal if it weren't for this project.

This album is a lot different than other Sepultura's albums I've listened to. Much more NuMetal-esque, but still rocks. I enjoyed it.

Solid and heavy stuff! Oddly enough, works well as background work music 4.3

This is such a unique sounding metal record. There are elements of thrash, elements of nu-metal, and then it's also mixed with some Brazilian tribal sounds which is so cool. Ratamahatta was so sick being all in Portuguese. The nu-metal with the bongo drums honestly worked so well together haha. I think overall my favorite thing about this record is the unique drumming/percussion for a metal album. The only beef I have with this album is I was kind of fatigued by it by the end. It was a little long.

HEAVY!!! This was fun and pretty varied across the board. This album has lots of cool elements and kind of plays with different genres. It starts out with more of a thrash and hardcore and then kind of dives into Nu Metal (my least favorite part of the record) and then ends almost prog metal. I really liked the whispers and hints of traditional indigenous music throughout. It's a good additive and keeps it interesting and engaging. Musically, the drums were probably the thing that intrigued me the most on this record. I really have to be in the right mood for metal, but once I jump in, I can get behind something like this for a minute. This was fun.

Okay Brazilian metal I see you...

Never would have given this a listen otherwise, but for metal, I kinda liked it. Not sure I'll come back to it but glad to have listened.

Sepultura's crowning achievement.

I'm so glad to see a thrash metal band like Sepultura get their due, and Roots lives up to the hype in its own heavy, experimental way. I’ve had various Sepultura tracks on my playlists since high school, but this was the first time I sat down and listened to Roots front to back — and it didn’t disappoint. “Roots Bloody Roots” kicks things off with absolute power. It’s raw, aggressive, and easily my favorite track on the album. That riff hits like a truck. “Ratamahatta” is another standout, bringing in indigenous Brazilian rhythms and vocals in a way that actually works — a really cool blend that makes the album feel unique in the metal world. “Breed Apart” has a banger of an opening riff, and “Jasco” was a surprising acoustic moment that added a nice breather in the middle of the chaos. On the flip side, “Canyon Jam” was my least favorite. The gunshot sound effect was a nice touch, but after that, it kind of just wandered around for way too long. There’s a proggy, experimental edge to the album — not just in the 14-minute closer, but throughout, with all the tribal instrumentation and ambient textures layered into the mix. It’s bold, heavy, and has more depth than you might expect from a band known for thrash.

This is a great metal album. Its tone, flavor, production is amazing. Sepultura became really famous thanks to Roots. However, I think the album is extremely front loaded, I do not know why they needed to add most of the tracks at the end of the album. I would kept this under 45 mins. 3.5/5

Like if Slipknot was way better and also had Brazilian influence. This is a really good and unique listen.

This album is far removed from the band's blackened-thrash beginnings that yielded such brilliant records as "Beneath the Remains." They've exchanged their heavy metal credentials for (early) Nu Metal trappings, and, as far as Nu Metal goes, it's not bad. The liberal sprinkling of traditional instrumentation is nice and provides variation for the band’s primary songwriting method – A simple, heavy, repetitive riff. Nevertheless, the aforementioned repetition can get tiresome, especially over the hardly justified 72 minute runtime. As a piece of heavy metal history this is an influential and controversial album that is worth listening to, but it lacks the songwriting chops, actual heaviness, or variation to reach the 5 star level.

I always had a sweet spot for this album, as I listen to it since my teenage years. But giving it a listen now made realize the strong influences this album had on band like Slipknot and System Of A Down... And on Nu Metal in many ways. The end of the album with the canyon jam is so wild, love it!

Really interesting album. Lots of quite interesting sounds, and it had quite a scary atmosphere. It feels really ahead of its time for 1996 and you can hear it’s influence throughout the years since.

I don’t know that this list needed multiple Sepultura albums, but this one is my favorite.

3.5 rounded up quite good but also. as always. quite long. i also wish there were more songs in portuguese highlights: attitude, ratamahatta, ambush, canyon jam (july 15 2025)

Not for me, I'll trust the guys that like this kind of music and accept that its good though.

88% Best: Roots Bloody Roots; Ratamahatta; Breed Apart; Straighthate; Spit; Born Stubborn; Ambush; Endangered Species Must-Hear? Yes

Very heavy. Some songs were a bit too hard, but others were really cool. I liked the tribal parts (Canyon Jam was interesting). Now I finally know where I got the "ROOOOOTS BLOODY ROOTS" from.

10/17/24. I don't dive into metal often but really enjoyed this album from a band I've never heard of before. Great vocals and guitars, didn't really feel like this sone was nearly an hour, although I didn't care for the jam track at the end.

Metallihan toimii aina. En tajunnutkaan, että Sepultura on näin nu-metallia. Kappaleissa kanssa käytetty siististi perinnemusiikkia. Parhaat: Cut-Throat, Roots Bloody Roots

As far as this genre goes. I reckon this is about as good as it gets. Simple formula - find a group of the most talented musicians to play some amazing music. Get someone to scream over it in a terrible way to take you right to the brink of where you can stand the music 3.6

Sepultura, yeah! Heavy metal is not my genre, but Sepultura was such a massive band and this album (and Chaos A.D. before this) had such heavy play that they were inescapable, which is good. Roots’ mix of metal with Indigenous influences and percussions arranged by Carlinhos Brown make this such a unique album. Roots Bloody Roots and Ratamahatta are my favorites, but I also like Born Stubborn a lot.

- Was für ein geiles, treibendes Album, welches einfach schon 28 Jahre alt ist. - Ultra prägend für so Vieles, was danach im Bereich Metal und vor allem im Groove/Thrash/Core Bereich passiert ist - Dann auch noch so inhaltlich authentisch eingebettet, was es mMn total zeitlos macht - Ist nicht zu 100% mein Geschmack, was Metal angeht, kann aber nicht leugnen, dass mich das Album total unterhält, es viele eingängige Tracks mit "wiederholungsdrang" gibt und mich die Platte durchaus auch antreibt. 4,25/5

Whoa. This is good for what it is. Drums are hardcore and the brass is a huge part of it. The vocals are simple but really emotional. This is what the Micronesian dudes wanted me to play when they came on the Sea Spider to offload our frozen albacore

This is fantastic

4.0

Oh yeah

According to Max Cavalera, Roots ends on “Dictatorshit” with “Canyon Jam” playing after the record is over. For the purpose of this review, I’ll stick with that being the truth. Sepultura fully embrace their Brazilian heritage and incorporates a great amount of culture and rhythms on this beast of a 90’s metal record. I remember discovering this when I was 13 and being gobsmacked by the entire rhythm section. It’s still a bit too long, but the intensity delivered by the Cavalera brothers especially is wild.

Solid grooves and solid concept - with Brazil's marginalized indigenous people as its central theme. The sole issue of this album, and Sepultura's music in general imo, is that their riffs and tunes change only a little across songs. Sure there are different breakdowns in some, but in general, it makes the album feel much longer than it is. Still, it's really good and perhaps the best of mainstream groove metal.

Groove/Nu/Death Metal with the flavour of Brazil, especially on tracks such as "Ratamahatta". Have you seen a doctor about your throat?

I had never listened to Sepultura before today. The hardcore metal stuff was hardcore metal stuff kind of undifferentiated from most other hardcore metal stuff. What really grabbed my attention was the interstitial pieces. The stuff that obviously differed from North American or european metal. Then it got to the last Hidden Track Canyon Jam. That one blew my mind. I'm keeping this album on my phone just for that track.

Look, I don’t like the dog-bark vocals on metal albums. I just don’t. I think it sounds stupid and it makes me roll my eyes. But! You can still pretty much understand the lyrics here, and even if you can’t you can tell they’re at least words. That seems to go a long way with me. People call this early nu metal but it’s so much better than that. Nu Metal just sounds like whining brats to me. This has actual earned anger in it. And it rocks. The instrumentation is fantastic. I could rock out to that all day. At least til the vocals kick in. I really dug the native influence. Very cool.

I find it, as usual, really hard to rate. On the one hand, I think it’s really great that they wear their origins on their sleeves, collaborating with the Xavante trine. And it shows by the excellent percussion throughout the album. Also, the opening four are among their best songs. On the other hand, the album is way too long, so it’s hard to sit through in one listen. In addition, I’m not too keen on the tribal sounds. I’ll let the positives somehow outweigh the negatives and rate it 7/10

Crazy rock album, i kinda like them but are hard to listen to.

I liked this a lot, especially the more experimental parts. I was trying to forgive the more nu-metally parts but then I learned Jonathan Davis guests on this album so 🤷 3.5

WOW what a unique album. I loved the blend of indigenous voices, metal, and drum rhythms.

A heaviness this list has been lacking for me. Really dug the indigenous people influences and the rhythms the percussion incorporates (3.5/5)

I respect the atypical rhythmic choices. While definitively metal, this doesn’t feel at all derivative. The B-side’s non metal tracks are sick.

Insane. Takes an awesome ethnic turn in the latter half.

Pretty good heavy metal album here. Gotta round up from a 3.5

I remember checking this one out way back when we reviewed that other Sepultura album. And yeah, I still dig this one. Again, metal that features singing like this isn't really my thing. But damn if these guys don't bring it in terms of great riffs and arrangements. And this album has something that so many metal albums don't have: variety. They really mix things up quite a bit on here. And the weirder this album got, the more I liked it. If it wasn't for the singing, this would be a 5.

Inwish I found this when I was a teenager. Really interesting theme for a metal album and it smashes!

Gets a bit much with the black metal vocals after a while but Roots is brilliant. Also love the traditional Brazilian instruments

An excellent album full of raw aggression and groove. Excellent incorporation of Brazilian musical themes as well. My only gripe is that the album does feel slightly bloated; it would be much better if the second half was trimmed a bit. But overall an excellent album. Top tracks: Roots Bloody Roots, Attitude, Ratamahatta

There's no album like this anywhere else, raw & brutal, just a bit too long, and Canyon Jam is pure headache fuel.

expected to hate this after hating Arise. went back and forth on this one. didn't like the thrashier parts but really liked some of it. still earns a 4

Cool metal album, just a bit on the long side for me.

Honestly liked this one more I thought. Maybe I should get into nu metal.

Super fun, never heard of it before.

I was not thrilled to see Sepultura return for a second album in the list after not really appreciating Arise. However, I thought this one was more listenable and more interesting and better earned its place here. Having traditional Brazillian percussion and indigenous chants sneak their way into a heavy metal album was pretty cool.

While having the usual 90s Length Problem, this is still some kickass metal.

British boy put this on the list because of the tribal sounds. He hates metal.

Un poco largo y sólo por eso no alcanza las 5 estrellas.

Brazilian metal. I've listened to this album before. I love it because they mix native Brazilian precussion and instrumentation with their metal sound, so it ends up being like metal world music. It's solid! It's like Brazilian Slayer. I remember the first time I ever heard of Sepultura was on that documentary Global Metal. It was Roots Bloody Roots that they played during their interview. Favourite songs: Roots Bloody Roots, Ratamahatta, Cut-Throat, Straighthate, Spit, Dusted, Endangered Species, Attitude, Dictatorshit, Jasco, Itsari Least favourite songs: Lookaway 4/5

There are some pretty good jams throughout this project, but the nonsense noise drowns a lot of it out so I won’t bother to find them once I complete this listen. Not my favorite genre, but these guys do a lot to make it listenable. I appreciate that. I appreciate the album. I will almost certainly never listen to it again. 4/5

Great album

What an album… cool integration of Brazilian tribes and great rhythm metal throughout… Roots and Ratamahatta stood out for me…..

Milho (corn in Portuguese)

Sepultura pays tribute to their homeland by incorporating traditional Brazilian chants with face-melting metal riffs. A little too long but there’s no other metal album quite like it.

Heavy as fuck metallords and social justice warriors! I needed this today. I'm looking to find my bloody roots again and triumph over the dictatorshit in my own life, and this unrelentingly powerful metal fuels me to keep pushing ahead in my quest.

Didn't grab me at first but did by the end, unique and interesting metal album!

That was awesome! If not for the screaming vocals would probably be a five

This album came out slightly too late for me to notice it. I was into grunge and metal in high school but by the time I went to college I had moved on and completely disregarded the nu metal/Korn/Limp Bizkit era, which I lumped Sepultura into. I was wrong. Although I still get annoyed by screamy growly singing, this album is frickin' cool. I love the indigenous instruments and chants. With the benefit of 28 years of hindsight, I can hear the influence of this sound on modern bands that I love like Gojira.

New to me. I really loved this one and can see why the album is called Roots. Intense metal fusion!

Awesome album, heavy and interesting

Fucking intense album. Not for me but it was a good listen as it was a fun change of pace and I support that. Great, unique instrumentals and hardcore vocals. I like supporting the metal albums on this list.

Я знал bloody roots. И морально был готов к размоту ) но как же долбит кайфово! Прям хочется взять гитару и подыграть этому альбому. До этого слушал тейлор свифт и что-то на контрасте прямо хорошо, прямо урчу

It's not my cup of tea, but I get why people like it so much. It's a great metal record.

Gear: Meze 109 PRO Mix: groovt und kickt auch heute mindestens noch so hart wie Anfang der 2000er auf 100% legal überspielter LP-MiniDisc mit abgerockten Koss Porta Pros Musik: ROOOOOOOOTS BLOODY ROOOOOOTS Wertung: 🍟🍟🍟🍟/5

Over 70 minutes of raw, bloody mids from a rabid guitar section + the most guttural throat singing you’ll hear this side of the Himalayas. This was the exact kick in the ass I needed from this project right now, and Sepultura more than delivered. Given its lengthy runtime it’s inevitable that things begin to lean homogeneous when it comes to songwriting, but when the riffs are this heavy and brutal I don’t mind being sonically pummeled for over an hour.

Ik heb in de nu-metal tijd meer gedraaid van Korn en Deftones. Sepultura heb ik eigenlijk links laten liggen. Maar als ik het nu zo hoor, heeft het ook wel die agressieve drums en groovy gitaren. Het is wat harder muzikaal, met af en toe wat experimentele oerwoudgeluiden. Deze muziek is niet voor iedereen weggelegd natuurlijk, maar ik vind het fijner om dit soort muziek af en toe voorbij te horen komen, dan het zoveelste postpunkgedrocht. En doordat het zo weinig voorkomt, ben ik geneigd het bonuspunten te geven. Alleen vind ik sommige nummers te hard en te veel op Ministry lijken, industrial metal, waarbij het een soort monotoon gehakketak is. De nummers waar meer afwisseling is qua drums, of die hele dikke groovende gitaren hebben, die zijn verreweg het beste. Afgerond kom ik nog tot een hele mooie 4.

Who would’ve thought one of the best metal albums of the 1990s would be brought to us by the lovely country of Brazil! Sepultura mix indigenous tones into their headbanging and it melds so well quite honestly. They never lose steam while plowing through a rather long album that never FEELS as long as it is. Excellent record!

Great album. It's at it's best when it is incorporating all of the folk instruments of the indigenous population. Vocally it does get stronger over time. I do think it was a weird decision to end the album on a 13 minute instrumental track that is extremely slow paced given the rest of the album which is why it get's a 4/5

Didn't really "get" Sepultura until this listen, but this rocked. Loved the sort of tribal inspired moments, and of course there's some nasty grooves here.

Man this was such a good album. Loved the Brazilian bit. The perfect balance of groove metal and Nu metal.

Good stuff, enjoyed it more than I thought I would. Really enjoyed the Brazilian influences.

Heavy, not exactly breakfast music but good. 4 stars.

YEAH

Groovy, heavy, and I liked the aboriginal elements. A little slow at times, but overall pretty good. Never really listened to sepultura, but I might have to check out more. 4/5

I never listened to Sepultura until a year or so ago when my friend recommended them to me. I'd like to go through their entire discography, but I've only istened to 3 or so albums, so far. This is the second time I've listened to Roots, and I do really like it. My main complaint is that it feels too long. An hour and twelve minute album can feel epic and intentional, but this album feels like they just wrote too many songs and put them all on one record, instead of releasing b-sides or maybe doing a double-disc or saving some for another album. I'd actually be very interested in trying to cut out a few tracks to make a lean 45-50 minute album...or see if fans have already proposed leaner cuts. I think that, if Sepultura would have cut 20-25 minutes of the album, I would give it 5 stars.

Some very good stuff in here. Ratamahatta was the biggest surprise and sticks in my head. Canyon jam was too long and unnecessary, for that -1 star.

First few songs are great, the heaviness is excellent, the riffage is solid and the screaming is high quality I listened through twice and it was good both times, this is a great album

solid and refreshingly unsatanic

Didn’t expect to like it, but I did. I think I’m realizing I just have a really diverse taste in music. I still don’t love the vocals, but I was able to get over it.

Some bangers but a few head scratchers. Pretty good metal.

Znany. Trochę podobny do KorNa dlatego tylko 4/5.

9/10

Burrowing deep into their nation's culture and therefore gaining more expertise in the long-term, Sepultura crafted what was, perhaps, their most consequential and impactful album in their catalog. Roots is exactly what was experienced in their journey and what was documented in its wake, for the embrace of Indigenous culture within Brazil comes across as purely authentic and lacking in pretentiousness. Whether or not you could make do with it towards the end (Canyon Jam may be seen as inconsequential but it wraps an effective bow on the album), it can't be denied that Sepultura have topped themselves with this. Favorites: Roots Bloody Roots, Cut-Throat, Ratamahatta, Straighthate, Spit, Dusted, Born Stubborn, Itsári, Endangered Species.

very pleasant surprise, the vocals are usually what make or break metal for me, and this has exactly the vocal style i typically dislike, so i immediately was a bit down on it but i tried to keep an open mind. good thing i did, because while i never really came around to the vocal performance, the blending of sounds and styles here is really something, and excellently performed. I don't know that I'll be listening over and over by any means but it's definitely interesting, and very enjoyable

This album is on fire, a total classic. I'm not even a fan of the genre, and find the vocal style jarring, normally I don't listen to albums like this, but this one is special.

Überraschend gut eigentlich

The 5 star rating system strikes again. I really want to give this 3.5 because this genre and the roaring vocal still just ain’t my thing. However I do appreciate the musicianship, particularly the percussion, and the collaboration with the tribespeople is interesting

fuckin weird

This gets a solid four and a half, simply cause I couldn’t listen to it aaaaalll the time. But as Kelly says, this shit slaps harder than the hand of God, but it’s also kinda campy and silly at times. Highlight track Attitude

Enjoyed this far more than the last Sepultura album on the list

One song added

metal's not usually my cup of tea so this was an interesting foray

Better than expected

As Brazilian metal band Septula progressed through the '90's, they started to move away from their thrash metal roots. While Chaos A.D. still maintained elements of thrash, it would be Roots that see a more complete embrace of new metal genres for the decade such as alternative metal, nu metal, and groove metal. It almost certainly indicates a desire to change and evolve the sound from their past decade of albums. More than that, it's a proud display of the band's Brazilian heritage and culture; This includes recording with the members from the Xavante tribe. Brining a unique blend of percussive elements to the heavier aspects of the metal gives Septula a whole new dimension for their music. They raised the bar. Examining the metal itself, it's extremely well-crafted. Heavy, fresh, and groovy without coming across as corny or trite. Although a bit bloated, this record never tired me out or felt stale. "Jasco" would have been a perfect closer track. Regardless, Roots feels like a consistently excellent showing from Sepultura. You can skip the Canyon Jam if you want; I wouldn't consider it to be a formal part of the album.

Look, I understand that this just isn't going to work for most folks but I'm a metalhead and this is right up my alley. It's a legitimately great metal album. Throughout the whole album, everyone is locked in to the groove and every note feels intentional. That's not exactly normal for a genre that's often characterized by fury and chaos. On "Roots" there's a definite vibe of pure, raw power kept under complete control. Like a pro driver knowing just how much to break around the curves and when to open the throttle and let the engine off the leash, Sepultura knows when to dial it in and when to let loose. It was some kinda ride and I legitimately loved every moment of it.

This album would be so much better if you could mute the vocals. I love the heavy metal drums and guitar, but the screaming of the vocalist is just draining and detracts from the music.

This may be the best metal album ever. I was way into this, Korn and Limp Bizkit in when I was 14. Still holds up.

I knew of Sepultura but I had only a vague awareness of this album and had never actually heard a single track from it before today. I figured the mixture of metal and world music wouldn't be great, but I actually really enjoyed this one. It was surprising how well this has held up for an album made in the 1990s and it's amazing to see how much Gojira has "borrowed" from this material. The vocals sounded very like early Slayer, the groove-metal just reminded me of any number of bands, but the tribal elements fitted in well and kept things interesting. It's definitely worth a relisten, but it wasn't quite a 5-star experience, probably close to a 9/10, but not quite perfect enough for 5/5.

Good stuff, liked the jungle theme of it all. The hidden percussion track was cool

Cool heavy stuff

That was intense and so fun. I loved the Sud American beats and the intensity. Felt that all the way through.

Wow. I know we got one of their albums before but this seems to be their most lauded and I can see why. Really embracing the brazilian roots and I know for a fact that this album was inspiration for so many others like Slipknot, Ill Nino, and I even saw that the lead singer went on to start Soul Fly which Ill Nino has done a cover of. Endangered Species had some spots that sounded exactly like Only One from Slipknots 1999 album. Also just the idea of playing with sounds both percussion and acoustic guitar but things like Slipknots banging on trash cans and static sounds are used here. I didn't connect with every single song, but I connected with this album as a whole. It felt like listening to a piece of Nu Metal history. Every song felt distinct in its own way and this album more than deserves to be on this list. Ok I'm convinced now, Canyon Jam at the end is almost IDENTICAL to how Scissors opens, the last song on Slipknots album and is the same design. Long song with sounds but it's that same washer movement to taps and shots. Both used it. I haven't looked but I'd bet money now that Slipknot was heavily influenced by these guys.

This is a very obviously groundbreaking album with a lot of interesting influences. I am not a metal-head but I really liked this one

I forgot how badass this album is. 🤘

It took me over a year to get to this album. The name and cover art were just off-putting and I thought it was going to be a scream fest. Glad to say I was extremely surprised. I've never listened to anything like it and it takes you on a genuine journey. Glad it's on the list.

Brilliant

While not my favorite Sepultura album it's by far there most ambitious. It is interesting to hear world music mixed with death metal, Ratamahatta is brilliant. By far Igor best album from a percussion standpoint. Musically the album is 5 stars, Max's vocals is an acquired taste and an album of this length can be a bit much, I'll round a 3.5 to a 4.

Coming out of John Lennon's Imagine straight into this album was a huge breath of fresh air. I imagine many people would feel the same if the direction was reversed, haha. Roots Bloody Roots was my favorite song by a lot. The rest was still good, but it blended together. It was really cool to hear the tribal sounds on singers on some tracks, although the blog called them 'Indians' which is wrong on several levels.

Lo adoré. Ya hacía falta un álbum de Metal, y qué buena forma de empezar, realmente no tiene ni una canción que me desagrade y, por si fuera poco, no todas suenan igual! Tiene las 4 estrellas más que merecidas.

Surprisingly didn’t hate it! Quite enjoyed it, though I’m a complete newbie to the genre so can’t really judge it against its peers

Very cool

Trend chasing at its best, but you can’t help but snap your neck head banging to this monstrosity.

Despite some repetitiveness, this is a great, revolutionary album for 1996. The trend of thrash metal mixed with traditional Brazilian music was a huge bet that gave Sepultura a significant part of their success.

Ooh this was quite good. Metal with screamed vocals has never been my favourite - I've always been more into the less screamy-growly older metal genres like speed and thrash. However this was still very good. The riffs were amazing and it was just so creative - I loved the Brazilian flair of this album, and all the traditional indigenous elements were just excellent and kept it compelling. I'll probably come back to this when I need my fix of anger and aggression. Favourite: Ratamahatta

The last Sep album with the brothers Cavalera. What a run these guys had and one of the best metal bands of all time.

Remarkable album. Hard, uncompromising, invigorating. Never listen to metal normally but this was extraordinary - no campy machismo, self-regarding instrument fondling,l or school-shooter vibes. Metal without North American involvement. Turns out it's excellent.

Today I learned that Chaos AD wasn't their first album. This band always excited me as a kid but I didn't really spend too much time with them beyond Refuse/Resist. Still enjoyable.

Great album. Enjoyed it

Wow, this is extremely heavy but very listenable. Sepultura seem to take themselves very seriously, which often doesn't mix well with the silliness of heavy metal music. Somehow that make this work as a piece of art. Rating: 4/5 Playlist track: Roots Bloody Roots Date listened: 07/03/23 (generated 26/02/23)

It bangs from start to finish, but it lacks the craft of their peers to be a masterpiece. Close, though

\m/

Surprisingly a vibe.

This is my second album of theirs, and I think I have found a new metal band to listen to! Roots Bloody Roots, and Ratamahatta are my two favorites from this one. Excited to listen to more of their music. \m/

Not my favourite Sepultura but damn good

I've never checked out more than the title track before but damn this was great

Barely listened around the fringes of these but my memory suggests I am fonder of them than other 90s metal bands. This is banging. Ratamahatta is absolutely ace. As is Born Stubborn. I'd say the Nu-metal songs are less good, but Lookaway is epic. 72 minutes is far too long, so tracks to drop - Straighthate, Dusted maybe? Itsari feels like a natural end point, then there's 4 more, admittedly good, songs. There's no bad tracks, it's just too long. Ah, the last track is 13 minutes of, well, canyon jamming, I guess. Which is great but I'm obviously not listening to it all every time I stick this on. So that takes this down to a tight 59 minutes.

Classic and so influentual, trad percussion plus metal gave us slip knot.

This is not my favourite Sepultura album, but I still think is great. There are some absolute top tier groove metal and latin metal here (even though I think the combination of Brazilian rythms and metal was better executedin Chaos A.D.). Idk why this and so many metal albums are ranked so low tho, are people in this page allergic to metal?

Classic, pretty good

I was like "This gives me Korn vibes". And to my surprise, the Korn vocalist is featured on this album.

Fun metal album

Hi ha bandes que saben portar les fronteres d'un génere més enllà, i ho saben fer bé. El thrash metal no és un génere senzill de flexibilitzar, però els brasilenys, després de sublimar-ho amb 'Chaos A.D.', van ser capaços de donar una nova volta de rosca i introduir elements folk a base sobretot de percussió i veus, trobant una nova fita en la seva carrera i al thrash, per segon cop consecuitiu

Up there with the best metal albums Iv heard, was close to giving this 5 stars, but it’s just a little on the long side and maybe just too intense for my tastes. But a brilliant album none the less.

Interesting one, this. Good, weighty riffs that feel adjacent to nu-metal, but agree with the observation that the sound cleaves closer to an act like Helmet. I really appreciate the attempt to meld sounds from indigenous cultures with heavy metal. It can become a little obtuse, as on 'Canyon Jam' (though I did appreciate its atmosphere) but most of the time it put me in mind of Dr John's debut, which featured all manner of voodoo-inspired whoops and whistles. Who made the better syncretic shamanic album? Dr John, for sure. Can you headbang to 'Gris Gris'? A tough ask. Can you blast the dandruff to Roots? Absolutely

Great album. Great sound. Great power. Had a lot of fun listening to it.

color me impressed! first, sepultura goes *so* hard in every single song--it's hard to imagine them being any more metal than they are. they aren't music to relax to, but damn, it's some good rage music. but the inclusion of their brazilian heritage is what stands out! the combination of the two is absolutely marvelous. there have been previous albums on this list or otherwise that have borrowed (a not so nice word is stolen) musical influences, themes, instruments, styles, etc. from other native cultures. but as far as i can tell, sepultura created this album respectfully with the brazillian indigenous people's encouragement. the influence isn't over the top, but the chants, flutes, forest sounds every so often add to the general ambience. it took me several hours after listening to this album to realize i am reminded of system of a down! that's a wonderful compliment in my world. i'm looking forward to coming back to this album again! 🤘

notes - chat pile cover - brazilian band that blends traditional brazilian rhythms and percussion into metal music - metalcore, nu metal elements - a great blend between control and just raw energy - the vocals in particular still sound fantastic fav - roots bloody roots - Classic song - Catchy riffs and vocals while still being super heavy when it needs to be least fav - Endangered species - Some of the weaker lyrics on the album, and the instrumental sounded like a rerun of some stronger songs on the album album definitely couldve been cut down by a couple songs, but still a 4/5

My journey with Brazilian music has really decentered how I think about western music vs. 'world music.' When taken with the history of Brazilian music, 'Roots' actually fits in rather well. It's an album of a primarily western genre (metal) that subverts the genre to serve as the medium to carry a message that elevates their heritage and in this case, the heritage of the indigenous Xavante who feature prominently on this album. The music itself is a great nu-metal, groove-metal, death-metal fusion that never looses its pull. The lyrics celebrate the self, one's roots if you will, and of course remark on the political and social structure of Brazil. The only drawback is the length.

Klikkuð plata. Ekki mörg ár síðan ég kynntist henni, en fíla hana í tætlur.

Abso-fucking-lutely. Just a great, strong, heavy album. I am totally in love with the plethora of percussion instruments on this record; the breakdown for "Breed Apart" did NOT need to go that heavy, but I'm glad it did. Praise aside, it's a bit of a long one, and while there are flourishes of texture, it can be a little repetitive at times. Still, phenomenal album. Favorite tracks: "Breed Apart", "Ratamahatta", "Roots Bloody Roots", "Itsari"

Best Song: Ratamahatta. I really like the intense staccato delivery. It pairs well with the metal backing, and isn't something you often see in the genre. Close second to Itsári. Worst Song: Straighthate. I'm not a big fan of when metal artists try to cram this "edgy" lyrical content into their songs as a way to, I don't know, gain credibility? The music is heavy enough to stand on its own without the cheesy lyrics. Overall: Pleasantly surprised by this album. There was a diverse enough set of sounds to keep an album this long interesting (which isn't always the case in metal, where bands can tend to be a little one-note). I think the name "Roots" is fitting, and I most enjoyed the parts of the album where the band took inspiration from traditional/aboriginal Brazilian music. These elements felt really unique, whereas some of the more typical, English-language tracks were a bit boring.

Cool metal. Definitely can hear the influences of Brazil in the music

Damn, how the first five tracks of this one SLAP! The inclusion of Latin American rhythms within some of the most uncompromising metal of those years is just seamless. From "Roots Bloody Roots" to "Breed Apart", not a second is wasted to make this fusion works. Special mention to "Ratamahatta" and its incredible featuring of percussionist Carlinhos Brown. And Ross Robinson did a hell of a job on production (better than Andy Wallace for the former Sepultura classic *Chaos A.D.*). The later inclusion of field recordings of Amazonian tribes is also very nice. Sonically and topically relevant. I just wish that seamless inclusion of Brazilian influences has worked *until the end*. The second part of the album is indeed a little more hit or miss, and loses some of its momentum through its many u-turns (there's still that somewhat atmospheric track with Mike Pattton and Jonathan Davis--but such moments are too far and between). As a result, this record might just be a little too long. So, to put it in a nutshell, *Roots* is based on an awesome concept, one that somehow renews the whole metal genre. But the second half of this album *might* just be a little lacking in terms of sheer execution. That being said, even with those minor shortcomings, it should still be included in a list of 1001 most important albums. If only because there are not many crossover albums like this in the whole metal genre, ones that can bring curious listeners from the outside without alienating its hardcore fanbase. Number of albums left to review or just listen to: 896 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 55 (including this one) Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 27 Albums from the list I will certainly *not* include in mine (many others are more important): 23

I had heard this before and it didn't really click, but I enjoyed it more this time. I'd say it is a little long for no good reason, and it would be better if it were like 40 minutes instead of 70.

I understand the controversy behind this album. Nu metal has always been derided (tbh, including by myself) and this must have seemed like a sellout move for Sepultura. But I’ve always erred on the side who considers this revelatory. I don’t think Max Cavalera was chasing trends, but he genuinely has always been a guy who has had his pulse on the current scene and likes to follow course in his own way. Look at Soulfly’s recent material for an example. When the album embraces their literal roots and adds Brazilian influences, it’s a triumph. But it goes on for way too long- the CD era had to die for a reason. Even as someone who still likes CDs and uses them, I definitely do not miss the desire to fill a disc of material. This would be a good bit better if it was at least a brisk 50 minutes. B-

Chaos A.D. et Roots sont les deux plus gros albums de Sepultura. Sur Chaos A.D., une signature commence à apparaître avec un métal plus rhythmique. À l'époque où j'écoutais des bands comme Metallica, Slayer et Pantera, Chaos A.D. avec ses chansons Refuse/Resist et Territory amenaient de la nouveauté dans le genre. Roots, l'album qui a suivi, est selon moi leur album le plus authentique avec une plus grande place aux éléments culturels du groupe. C'est ce qui en fait sa force. On a un son aussi vraiment plus lourd avec le tuning plus grave. L'album est un peu long, mais c'est un classique que j'aime revisiter. Pièces préférées: Roots Bloody Roots, Ratamahatta

Accomplished

Auténtico thrash con toques de tribus brasileñas. Cañero, guitarrero y con mucha percusión.

Adding berimbau and other traditional Brazilian instruments goes a long way towards covering up the faint whiff of nu metal that otherwise might have turned me right off... Fave track - love the swivel eyed mania of "Ratamahatta"! "Roots Bloody Roots" is also a tune...

Au debut je n'étais vraiment pas certain d'écouter l'album, car je ne feelais pas trop pour du Black / Death Metal mais l'album est bon et après chaque tounes, j'avais envie d'écouter la suivante. Les riffs sont bon et le son de la guit est malade. Juste le chant qui est un peu too much pour moi à la longue. Probalement que je n'écouterai pas les 1h12 de l'album mais c'est une belle experience. 4.10

Quite fun and listenae

Love it! Roots bloody roots! Not my favorite Sepultura album (chaos ad), but still very good with cool tribal influence

I love the grooves. I never thought I could hear something so 90s

- Strong concept and sound. - Overstays welcome with somewhat repetitious energy - No musicianship flair in the solos - Pioneering but not quite timeless

Heavy nu metal from my childhood, enjoyed this, deffo reminded me of being an angst riddled teenager

Le tengo cariño a este disco, fue un regalo que me hicieron y lo escuché bastante en su momento. Sigue sonando bien la mezcla de Metal y toques étnicos. Desde "Roots Bloody Roots", "Ratamahatta", "Breed Apart", "Born Stubborn", "Jasco" hasta "Itsári" hay un mosaico de guitarras y percusión de otro nivel.

Well, I've never really been a fan of the atonal screaming metal vocals. I just don't feel like they add anything to the music. Apart from that, this is a pretty cool album. It has a lot of the elements of nu metal instrumentals without feeling completely shitty and soulless like so much of that music does. The traditional Brazilian influence does a lot for this album in terms of adding substance. It slowly seems to stop being a metal album and becomes a Brazilian folk music album 4/5

This was pretty good. It would be a solid 4 if not because of the length. I enjoyed the percussion in some of the tracks and I like how they show some of their Brazilian heritage. Some songs I liked: "Roots Bloody Roots" (the most famous single and probably my favourite track in the album), or "Ratamahatta". I'd also like the more instrumental tracks or even interludes, like: "Jasco", "Itsári", or "Canyon Jam".

Not for me but appreciate the musical quality

I usually hate this, but the instrumentals gave it a few extra points for me; especially the outro, which I loved.

6/10

Pretty dope album. Fav Tracks: Roots Bloody Roots, Ratamahatta, Jasco, Itsári

Dejansko nič ne poznam od Sepulture (razen, k sm zadnjič pogruntala, da očitno poznam vsaj en komad, k je cover od U2 - "Bullet the Blue Sky"). TIL, da so Brazilci. (Uf, pa 72 minut.) "Roots Bloody Roots" mi je kr kul. "Ratamahatta" je fakin hud!! So far, this is not a bad time. "Itsári" je basically chanting od Xavante tribea & Led Zeppelin. Kr kul. "Canyon Jam" je ful eksperimentalen. Nism tok fan zvokov streljanja. Kul! Zanimivo. Un komad al dva bom zihr še poslušala.

The tribal instrumentation and guitar riffs really elevate this metal record. Opening track really gets the blood pumping. But he's going to need a throat lozenge after all this screaming.

woke up ar 3 and couldnt fall back asleep, listened to this, nodded off in the last track. feel like i gotta get into nu metal, was listening to a chat pile interview where they were talking abt korn... my new favorite band and one of my oldest favorite bands tied by a golden thread... anyway this is cool idk what else to say i get why all those guys in my high school had the shirts. its almost like ambient and math rocky while still being something korn can do guest vocals on no problem. fave tracks breed apart, born stubborn, canyon jam

I didn't know that Sepultura was from Brazil...maybe if I could understand their lyrics through the screaming I could have figured that out. 15 year old me remembers listening to this in the weight room, but it wasn't as good as the other metal I was into at the time. 43 year old me doesn't have the stomach for this kind of nonsense anymore.

Love how brutal these guys are. Just pulsing and pounding, hard-hitting music, full of energy and passion. The last track, "Canyon Jam", is particularly unique as it feels like listening to a historic, native ritual. I like this record a lot.

Sepultura definitely went mor into their nu metal bag on this one, they have much better stuff but this is definitely still pretty solid. Roots Bloody Roots is great

⭐⭐⭐ Inte min go to genre men det funkar. Slås av att jag gillar trummorna på många låtar och tycker om de brasilianska inslagen. Det blir en 3a. Bäst är Roots bloody roots, Ratamahatta, Breed apart, Born stubborn, Itsari och Canyon jam

Guttural growling with cool drums. Not for me but I can appreciate the appeal.

I don't really think we needed two Sepultura albums on the list, especially while so many important Metal bands are completely absent. At least they are quite different from one another. One is a more straightforward Thrash album, while this one goes in a Groove Metal and Nu Metal direction. I guess this was some sort of turning point for the band's sound and remains controversial among their audience. I liked this one a fair bit more, the Brazilian Music influence on it made it stand out. Key tracks: Roots Bloody Roots Ratamahatta

canyon jam was kind of offensive ngl

This is #day672 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… so we're staying in Brazil for one more day. Yesterday it was psychedelic pop from 1968, and today it's nu/groove metal from 1995. I've known the band's name for a long time, but never really got around to checking them out properly. Being a huge Deftones fan, I was at least familiar with "Headup," featuring Max Cavalera on vocals. Otherwise, this is my first time listening to a Sepultura album front to back. What can I say? Roots bloody roots! Let it be a 3 out of 5. Looking forward to #day673.

6.5/10 Needed several listens to get into and even then I never really connected with it. The rhythms are very interesting and all, but I would like some more human emotion (or alternatively maybe a catchy song that sticks?) Highlight: Ratamahatta

What a weirdly wonderful mix of music. Starts off as some quite run of the mill heavy metal bordering on screamo, as ever accompanied by great heavy guitar but the vocals are annoying. Then the transition phase where you start to get drums and vocals drifting in a very different direction, a tribal feel but with occasional discordant sound effects. Gunfire as music, but a touch different to the 1812 Overture. Towards the end you get what seems to be a couple of songs that bear no resemblance to the original songs, before you’re dragged back in by Canyon Jam. Fundamentally weird but enjoyable in an unhinged sort of way.

Did Korn get lost in the jungle, get drugged and then form a heavy metal band with their new friends? You know when you get one of those really satisfying burps that you seem to conjure up from the depths of your stomach and you somehow manage to straight pipe that gas out of there.  It has resonance and depth and is not too dissimilar to some of the spoken vocal thrashes on this at times.  It's spectacular. "Ratamahatta" is maximum tribal energy and not intended as insulting but was slightly amusing at times.  It reminds me of the little bitey Wachootoo warrior in Ace Ventura When Nature Calls running around making biting noises (not exclusively and not a complaint). I think the musical cultural fusions are what makes this.  It adds complexity and changing tempo which some heavy metal lineups fail to achieve.  The heaviness is a rock meditation, and that works because it can elevate the mundane and BECAUSE of its juxtaposition of normal sounds and tempo.  When you combine them well, it achieves exactly that and this combo is an even more interesting and novel collaboration of sound. I do like to addle my mind musically at times and did enjoy this onslaught. Just wish they kept the fusion predominantly and not the complete deviations with the influence at times. In the end it made it feel like 2 albums mashed together and there was leakage at each end (and too long).

Did I expect to be listening to some Brazilian heavy metal today? No, I did not. But was it a pleasant surprise? Well kind of... This is exactly the type of weird shit I was hoping for when I started this project and I am happy to have listened to it. That said, I doubt I will ever listen to it again. At least not in it's entirety. There were some solid heavy metal moments and I liked the tribal elements that are scattered through the album. No single track jumped out to grab me but it was all fairly agreeable metal noise. It's also way too long and the final track can be avoided unless you want to hear what it sounds like when a man takes ritalin and decides to build a raft out of oil barrels in his garage.

More enjoyable than I expected, but this is the last time I will listen to this. ★★★

Not my kind of thing. However there were some interesting instruments used, excellent production values and I actually acclimatised my ears so I was eventually able to understand the 'singer' I can say I've heard it and kind of enjoyed it

Good heavy metal with a great theme that the band should have leveraged to a greater extend in their percussion and overall songwriting. The Brazilian "musical textures" don't feel like an overarching theme that underpins the entire album, but rather a concept that appears here and there. I also don't enjoy the harsh vocals and would have preferred some tonal variety in the singing. The instrumental arrangements, while dense and energetic, also become repetitive through each song and lack technicality; however, I believe that may simply be a feature of 90's nu-metal influenced music. Nevertheless, I appreciate the band's dedication to their expression of Brazilian culture and heritage in their music, and enjoyed the writing and production of this album that doesn't seek only to find mass public appeal, but a genuine creation of quality for fans of their music.

I quite like their music. I’d be a lot happier without the harsh vocals though.

My thoughts exactly when I listened to this: *Roots Bloody Roots starts* Man, this is awesome! The riffs, the aggression! Why don't I listen to metal more often! *10 minutes later* Huh, well, this sounds all the same. Starting to get on my nerves already. *10 minutes later* Give... me... melodies and harmonies... *puts on Beatles* To be fair, I returned later, and the mixing of metal riffs and growls with Brazilian tribal percussion was awesome. But the point stands. 2.5/5 - okay-ish

3.5/5

Deep riffs, excellent percussion. At points it’s a bit too choppy and intense but overall a good throaty album.

This was very different. The metal was metal, I did not know that metal already sounded like this so long ago. Felt like Slipknot was influenced by it. Also the noises and „tribal“ elements incorporate din the music, that was very special.

This one is pretty top-heavy, purely in terms of the singles. I would probably consider this album better than the other Sepultura one that appears on this list, the group matured a bit after all. In fact, the group literally went back to their roots and met an indigenous tribe in Brazil during the recording process, which then gave them some inspiration for this album's content. The rhythmic drumming and guitar are adept per usual. There's just...a lot of everything. It gets grating as a certain point unfortunately. The instrumentals were an interesting change of pace at least.

mmm i didn't enjoy it as much as i thought i would

Buen sonido, magnífico, pero algo que no soporto en el metal es cuando no hay vocals melódicos. Entiendo los guturales, pero CANTA (y sí soy una ignorante quizás). Me recuerda tantooo a tG el estilo. Breed apart y la fusión con música brasilera? pfff. Me aturde un poco cuando canta jaja

304/1001 Sepultra - Roots Heard before? ❎ Revisit? ❓ There's definitely some interesting stuff going on here, particularly the slower drum based parts. This isn't really my thing, but I didn't have a bad time with it.

I am partial to a screamo album from time to time, and I like the variety of traditional Brazilian aboriginal elements. It definitely is unique and that's a good point in its favour. Saying that there's not a lot that really stuck with me here, the theme of culture and preserving nature are strong but I don't find myself really connecting to how it's communicated. It lacks a little something to push it over the edge. Fav Track: Ratamahatta

Lots of toe-tapping', finger snappin' little ditties on this album, and when the vocals hit, I'm up on my feet and a dancin' like Elaine from Seinfeld.

se fosse um thrash comum eu daria uma 2, pois não faz meu estilo, mas como é um thrash com elementos brasileiros e duas faixas com tribos xavantes estarei dando 3. aqui é brasil, porra!!!

Goeie metal, goofy momenten

beetje te hard op de vocals, rest wel bieno

Imagine my surprise when I misread this as being an album by the band 'The Roots' and then hit play on the first song.

Roots Bloody Roots Ratamahatta

I wasn't feeling this album at first, but it started to grow on me after the first couple of songs.

Started off really strong. Nearly 20 minutes of mostly quiet instrumentals on the last half of the album really hurt the vibe. If you take out those songs, it's a high 4, but with those... it's a 3.

I'm not a metalhead by any means, but I enjoyed through the album. It's probably not one I'd thrown on myself, but I can appreciate it still.

Musically interesting. But screamo's not for me

Okay.

Interesting as a sort of proto-nu metal. Favorite track: Endangered Species

This was a bit of a struggle, mainly because I didn't have a block of time in which I could listen to the whole album end to end. I'm not a great lover of the screeeeeeeem school of vocal delivery, but much of the musical content and rhythm section was very much ok. I will try to give it another listen but for now it's a good 3

If it was a 40 minute album I'd say it was great, but I cannot get through twice that. Some pretty cool stuff going on outside the manchild vocals.

When it leaned into the "tribal" vibe, it was a 4. When it leaned into the "screamy shouty' vibe, it was a 2.

I really liked this when it came out and it's still a lot of fun to come back to.

Like many white males who were teenagers in the ‘90’s I had a nu metal phase. For whatever reason I never listened to Sepultura. This was pretty good-some unique sounds/instrumentation on some tracks (especially for nu metal). Nothing really jumped out at me, but overall I liked it.

Pretty good I guess, sounded a little generic maybe?

To long but pretty good otherwise

Hard. Needed a few listens to work through the layers.

Pummelling

Recognised a lot more of this than expected, clearly a mainstay of dirty 00s rock clubs. Quite like it when it's good, verged on SOAD at its best. Bit repetitive and I expected the traditional Brazilian music to be married better with the metal, it was more just typical rock tracks with some tracks of Brazilian beats every so often. Staying at a hotel with unexpected building work going on so it was the ideal album to drown it out. Scoring overall, it was okay.

I wasn't aware they were Brazilian. I would say not enough double bass - I didn't enjoy the stuff at the end of the album; much preferred the harder, angrier tracks at the beginning. Roots Bloody Roots was great.

I'm a bit familiar with sepultura from my teenage years. Was always more metal adjacent than a metal fan myself. With some exceptions. I always thought the circular things on the album cover were the eyes of some strange doll, but I've just realised the eyes are above these and it's a real tattooed person.... The title track and ratamahatta are my favourites. I think much of the rest is a bit too much for me. That much metal is too much metal.

Great album that I listened to back in the day. My sister was a huge fan and introduced me to them. I love the beats and native samples they use, it really works well and makes something unique. I was just starting to listen to heavy metal so this album was a great starting point. Dumb story: The first concert I ever went to was Green Day's Dookie tour. I wanted to wear something cool so I asked my sister what I should do and she loaned me her Sepultura shirt. I thought I was super cool and there was one guy at the show that saw the shirt and said "Sepultura, fuck yeah!". It was an amazing moment for a young me and I still think about it.

I had never heard this album before and if I had to guess this was the precursor to rap rock and numetal that came just a few years later. Either way there was some decent track on this. Prolly not for everyone but I liked it and am kinda struggling with the rating...

Raw and aggressive. Good groove and heavy riffs but the sounds get mushy at times which is a shame. Best track was hard to choose but I choose Breed Apart.

Not my jam, but clearly dripping with dread and culture.

A bit boring

There are definitely better Sepultra albums

Enjoyed the instrumental stuff more than the rest but still a pretty interesting album. RYM: N Saved a song: N

I've been getting a lot of repeat artists lately. I don't know what's going on, but I can't really call it a bad thing when most of the albums have been good. Roots is a very interesting one. I've already heard one of Sepultura's albums for the project, that being their 1991 album Arise. That one was a pretty great thrash metal album akin to something like Slayer or maybe Megadeth even. Roots on the other hand pulls in a larger variety of influences like groove metal and nu-metal, as well as a noticeable influence from traditional Brazilian music. It's pretty neat that the band decided to bring in some aspects of their heritage with this album. How did it turn out? Good, but I think it could've been better. I definitely preferred Arise. I think Roots just has a little too much going on, with a runtime of over 70 minutes! The style here is very different, and I think it works for some songs, though others aren't really my thing. The album's got some good songs, don't get me wrong. The opener "Roots Bloody Roots" is fucking awesome. I think "Ratamahatta" is where the Brazilian influence is at its strongest. "Attitude" has a cool groove to it. But here's the thing. Those songs are all early in the album. This leads me to one of my bigger problems with the album. It kind of loses its luster as it goes on. There are good songs later on in the album. "Born Stubborn" and "Ambush" are good just to name a few, but I think the album is padded a bit near the end with some tracks that just kind of happen. None if it is bad, but it's a little bloated for my liking. Well, maybe "Lookaway" isn't really my thing. The writing has some respectable influences, with the trademark anger of nu-metal being used to get mad about Brazilian history and politics and such, so that's cool. Max Cavalera definitely has vocal talent, but I do think that the screaming gets a little tiring by the end of the album. While I love the ideas of Roots as an album, I do find the execution to be a bit overbearing. It's got some cool parts to it, but I'd be lying if I called this one of the greatest metal albums of all time. Still, it's a good listen for people who want to see a bit of a different side of metal. High 3/5.

I went into this album thinking I wouldn’t like it but the album cover seems promising enough and then when I read that this was a Brazilian heavy metal band, I was locked in. This is a great album, even if I am not a fan of the genre. There is so much love and respect in the music for Brazilian indigenous culture, for the band’s heritage, and for the rhythms of their ancestors that are nowhere more showcased than in the majestic track Itsári. Great album for anyone who is into this type of music. It speaks to the greatness of this album if even a layman like me can enjoy it.

not my cup of tea. but for what it is, it's great