Roots

Бля ну меня прикольнуло. И хорошо что ребята дали понять что они из бразилии, это тоже плюс. Единственный минус слишком все растянуто

never liked people yelling at me

Reading about the production of this album on Wikipedia was a much more interesting experience than actually listening to it. It sounds just like any other guttural death metal to me. Cool that these guys are Brazilian as opposed to another US or UK band, but the native music is overwhelmed by the metal sound as opposed to being well-interested, although the moments when the native sounds are at the forefront are the most interesting to me. I guess this is a metal album with some intriguing traditional sounds on it also, so two birds with one stone for this list. I preferred listening to this instead of a pure metal album, this had a bit more going for it, like the metal-less midalbum palate cleanser Itsari.

Kept my attention for a bit, but became a bit of a slog after a while. Will check out their earlier stuff though.

Sepultura left a mark with this conceptual trash metal album. Proud to be Brazilian like this guys.

I hated every second of this.

Nope

I’m exhausted from just listening to this album. I can only imagine what this lead singer went through while recording it. Death Metal is not something I gravitate to at all, but it was fun to give this a listen to once…once.

This is what Tipper Gore was trying to warn us all about! But seriously, there’s a thin line between the background battle music for Call of Duty and School Shooter-core. This album blurs that line a little too uncomfortably for me. Maybe that makes me overly judgemental, but I’m okay with that. You keep the terrible vocalist’s whisper-screaming his violent lyrics - I’ll be outside listening to some Kenny G if you need anything. And I’ll never ‘appreciate’ or give extra credit to the musicianship in a metal band like this because, as musicians, you choose how to present your music - it’s a package. The choice here was to serve up a screaming shitburger … so, I award no points for the skill with which you do it. Yes, you slap a mean bass, but you ply your trade in a bad genre and a better musician makes a better choice.

A lot to unpack on this one. I don't care for the gutteral vocals, not my thing and in this case it really takes away from the music...which is a shame because it's actually really good. They do a great job mixing death metal and nu metal to get a really cool sound and feel. I've always loved heavy metal drumming, no exception here and the bass is ripping on top of it. Killer guitar riffs round out the feel. Really tight solid sound, they could have ridden that alone, but they go farther and really do some interesting things. Throwing in Brazilian tribal chants, unique rythms, and just crazy sounds they shifted the mood of the album on a dime. Kept me both on my heels trying to figure out what the hell was happening and on the edge of my seat for what was coming next. Enjoyed the ride. I've always known of Sepultura, but this was my first true listen (vocals always turned me off pretty quick in the past) This album has some single worthy songs, but I think it's best consumed as a whole. Regrettably the gutteral screaming vocals hold this back in my opinion. Without bad vocals it's a strong 3, with bad vocals it's a weak 3. I say that to say the album is a solid three.

Gd shit

Even though it's not for me, this is a good record. My understanding is that this is the first record by Sepultura that significantly deviates from their earlier death metal/thrash, here including South American musical styles, especially in the rhythms. Unsurprisingly, the incorporation of South American rhythm instruments is my favorite part of this record. I just don't enjoy death metal style singing. I liked the chunky metal grooves of many of these songs, but they were driven into the ground. There were several times when my interest was piqued, but no track made me want to pay close enough attention for me to check out it's name. Though I wouldn't call this record nu-metal, there were a few times that the hip-hop influenced nu-metal style dated this album a bit. I've been meaning to listen to this album for a while, and I found my listens today rewarding. I love the concept of blending metal with South American drums. I know Sepultura has its fans, and the band has my respect, but I doubt I will ever seek out this album on my own. Three stars.

Not a fan of growling... but I liked some of the music itself

Good, but not my favorite Sepultura album. Sometimes the nu metal creeps in too much on this album

Sounds like every other metal album

Not my style

It's neat, the tinges of Brazilian musical history that give Roots both its title and its texture. But I didn't really enjoy most of the actual album.

I hate this musical genre. I could listen until half of the album

too heavy and harsh for me.

There’s a song on here called “Dictatorshit” which is a powerful political statement if I’ve ever heard one. Could have hit a lot harder if they named it “Dicktatorshit” though.

liked this much more than i expected, did not like when the man from Korn started screaming.

interesting

I listened to this record several years ago and remember liking the tribal drumming and indigenous Brazilian music aspects but not the aggression and screamed vocals. Listening again I felt the same although the locked into the groove a bit more this time. Admire the fact they tried to do something different but it's a bit too heavy for me.

72 minutes nah

metal music from brazil of all places. best believe you're gonna hear quite a bit of brazilian influence in these tracks, even when a lot of the tracks are sung in english. screaming and growling... really standard metal vocal techniques are paired with REALLY cool distorted guitars and quite possibly some of the best drumming and rhythm sections i have ever heard in a rock album. it's an interesting cultural exchange, both countries equally praise these guys for their work. this is another album i would classify as a true hidden gem.

Heavy

Just couldn't do it... Not a horrible album, definitely loved parts of it but the screaming and growling...

weird album mix of heavy metal and some random like background music drum solo at the end

much heavier than id like but nonetheless enjoyed it. it's also nice hearing something a bit different

brings back memories

Was honestly expecting to not like this cause i'm not much of a metal head and dont really imagine Brazil as a place that screams "metal" but boy was I wrong. really dig all the indigenous mixing and the drums and everything really worked for me. very pleasantly surprised: fav tracks: "Roots Bloody Roots", "Born Stubborn" and "Ambush"

Balsas man silpnokas, noretųsi daugiau screamo. Gitaros ir būgnai labai patinka.

Not my cup of tea, but probably not a bad representation of this genre. This kind of screaming hard metal vocal delivery doesn’t appeal to me at all. Wouldn’t search it out, wouldn’t listen again. Again, I don’t think this sucks per se, it’s just not for me.

Vocals were quite a big turn off for this album. Musically it was alright but gonna give it a 2

I am not a fan of metal music. This was interesting in its use of Brazilian instruments but it's still not for me. 1/5

*No music, just loud, annoying noise. Screaming vocals and banging instruments

Surprised I liked this as much as I did. the screamo I don't really care for but they had a lot of fun and interesting tracks and intstrumentation between the screaming.

Probably would have given this album a 4 rating if the doofus didn’t roar and tried singing.

Crap

i really wish i liked this style of music, because this one is really unique amongst the metal i've heard. the use of brazilian instruments and styles at points on here is really neat and i think it works well. this is a me problem, but i am not a fan of the growly metal vocals (in general) and so despite the interesting spin on the metal formula, this one was a bit of a tough listen for me. pretty neutral on the instrumentals overall, but the vocals bring it down for me a lot.

Loud. Very loud.

I cant stand heavy metal, but this was brilliant start to finish

Actually pretty good but ridiculously long.

Wow/5 (realistically 4.7/5) Even though I'm a metalhead, I didn't really know what to expect. But HOLY FUCK! This album is so much more creative and raw than I imagined. I absolutely love it. This is also #69 on the list, and actually nice! Especially the aggressive nature of this album is what draws me to it. Since I'm a big fan of Arch Enemy, I strive for raw and deep emotions, hard-hitting tracks and energetic sound. "Roots" brings this out in an unexpected manner. The riffs are catchy and make you headbang, the vocals mixed with tribal sounds stand out very positively in a musical environment that's not always known for experimenting to this degree. Some of the songs definitely influenced later sub genres and bands. Easily Top 3 so far out of the 69 albums that (dis-)graced our ears up until today.

Finally a metal album that I've not heard before! I really did not expect this to sound so similar to bands like Korn and at times System of a Down - it's very nu-metal sounding. I guess the 90's got every metal band in the end! The riffs are very heavy and chug away nicely, there are some interesting things happening such as the tribalistic drumming, and I like how angry it sounds, particularly the vocals (although they do wear thin). At times there are some very good blends of traditional Brazilian music and heavy metal which work well together. So that's the good. One not so good thing is it's over an hour long and it does get a bit tiresome in the end. Also because the guitars are so downtuned, there's little dynamics or tempo changes so the tracks do eventually just bleed into one long song. Not an album I'll be returning to that soon, despite the really cool sounds that they manage to blend together seamlessly. I personally think that Slayer's 1998 album 'Diabolus in Musica' is very underrated and if you want an 80's thrash band doing their version of 90's nu-metal, give that a listen instead of this.

A little too much-a couple interesting tracks though.

Not mine

not my cup of tea

later

Ooooooohbyeah!!!

Very very very very very much not for me.

Very likely the best album nu-metal ever spawn. Far too long though and as such, it feels more like a collection of songs rather than a coherent album. Which sadly is the case with way too many 90s albums.

No, no, no, no, no. Not for me at all.

The Brazilian equivalent of what passes for metal at Eurovision (usually by the Scandinavians). Actually found myself smiling because of the vocals

Expalining to the kids youi had to choose the music you bought and listened to seems wild. As an example I never bought this but the artwork is very famillar.

C'mon boys, time to lose the vocalist. He's dragging you (and me) down. *EDIT* Just read the album summary after listening to this and writing my review, seems like the band got the message after all

Mostly screaming until the last track, which was quite cool. I found it unpleasant overall.

I'd heard some Sepultura tracks in the 90s, but never really got into them. Listening today, the constant screaming got too exhausting.

The riffs are great, but I just can’t stand the vocal style

Não sou grande fã de hardrock, mas a junção de vários elementos sonoros para criar a melodia das músicas desse álbum é algo incrível

I surprised myself by liking this. The mix of Brazilian percussion and heavy rock on some tracks was really interesting. If this was 10 to 15 minutes shorter, I might have given it four stars.

Itsári is a wonderful track. Struggled to get through the rest.

If there were no vocals to this I'd give it a 4. Love the sound of the band, but can't do the devil sounding vocals, that you can't even understand.

I don’t like metal. But this is groovy and I like that

Too intense for me to really give a good review

Hey, so uh... This really isn't my thing, but actually it was pretty good! I was particularly surprised by the back half. Probably won't listen to it again, but I'm glad I did once and I feel like my horizons have been broadened in a way that I'm not unhappy with.

Pretty funky tunes, I was a bit apprehensive but it reminded me of the Doom soundtrack.

Teenage me was very happy for this listen.

This is too heavy for my taste, but despite that was musically pretty interesting. It got lucky in that it’s good music to work out to and that happened to be when I was listening to some of it…that almost pulled it up to a 3 but I dislike the screaming vocals enough that it couldn’t quite get there. A strong 2?

I’m sure it’s great if you love death metal, and the cover is great, but I just hate the genre

I don’t really mind thrash metal in general. But the vocals make it really hard to say I enjoy it.

The percussion is quite good, but I could have done without the scream-singing.

This is a tough one for me. I liked about 1/3 of the songs, mostly the tribal-type stuff. I didn't like the screamy, Cookie-monster singing on most of the album, though. The music on those songs was pretty good, though. So yeah, I'm torn. 3.5*, but how to round?

Roots, um, Bloody Roots! I can't tell you how many Sepultura patches on tattered jackets I've seen in my time. And yet actually hearing them was elusive, seemingly quarantined to late-night metal radio. Yeah, this was pre-streaming times, and it's not like I didn't hang with metal heads — in my town, all the punks, new wave, and metal kids had to stick together. This is a long way of saying that hearing Roots is significantly overdue, and it didn't disappoint, despite being more groove-oriented than I expected.

Episk innledning. Veldig headbanging-vennlig. Rett og slett fett.

Ah, high school. Max's vocals are psychotic. Attitude is hard. Ratamahatta was always a favorite. I don't know what the fuck he's saying, but I love it. Kind of a Brazilian Jonathan Davis. This has such a 90's hard-core vibe, it's awesome. Tribal sounding throughout. This will always be a 5.

My my my.....a blast from the past. I remember driving around with friends as a 15/16 year old and listening to this. I'm pretty sure some car speakers at some point were blown out by it. I have to say, if this is on the list (and Kid Rock of all people) then we need to see bands like Deftones, Tool,. RHCP, Primus and Incubus also on the list. Ive always had a love for Brazilian music for quite some time and was always impressed with how the tribal drumming type sound was injected into this album. Also, it's not everyday you get to hear a Berimbau on a metal song. The drummer himself was always impressive on this album to me. I like Max Cavalera and his vocals go with all the testosterone present in the riffs, but dear Lord I could not imagine screaming like that for 13 to 14 songs straight! And then what...touring and doing that night after night? Madness! Even Mudvayne, Pantera and Slipknot have parts in their songs where they mellow out and sing instead of scream. So yeah as an old guy the screaming on every song does wear on you after a bit.

So this album is half groove metal half nu metal. I never cared for groove metal much and the majority of nu metal I've enjoyed is from bands that I don't rlly consider nu metal anyway (Deftones, SOAD, early LP) so my expectations were quite low. At least I wasn't disappointed? It's not very good but not the worst thing ever. Some riffs go kinda hard even if they are a bit corny and not my thing at times. The vocals are mostly not that good but at least the guy is not rapping. The distortion towards the end of Breed Apart is quite cool, the riff of Attitude is quite powerful. There is individual good parts of the songs, but really the best thing I can say about it is that I could name around 20 bands that could do it way worse. Which is not much of a compliment either.

i can’t deal with this style of singing. it sounds so monumentally stupid to me. just a big joke—which is fine, i guess, but it’s probably not great art and it’s definitely not fun enough for me to forgive/overlook the stupidity. however, the musical/instrumental parts of these songs is more interesting and melodic than the other thrash metal we’ve listened to, which really does sound like static to me. i also frequently liked the percussion throughout. but ultimately it’s just such a fucking chore to listen to this kind of music and i would never do it in my free time. it’s not even noise, because i often LIKE noise. it’s less substantive than noise. like a mosquito, or car exhaust.

Burst out laughing when I heard the first song. I really can’t listen to songs like this for more than a few seconds. However they do randomly have a beautiful guitar song towards the end (“Jasco”) which is followed by another pretty nice song with (what I’m assuming to be) cultural rhythmic chants. So I guess these two songs make up the section of the album that’s the most explicit manifestation of the titular “roots” concept before returning to the thrash metal style for the remainder. It’s interesting that they brought forward that influence since it sounds like a foundational part of the composition of the whole album, but I can’t say that I personally hear the common thread between their guitar and thrash metal styles.

This was another album I just couldn’t finish. Instrumentally it sounded really good but I can’t do screamo vocals. They become so grating and hard to listen to, I just can’t do it.

crap

the percussion rocked my socks off. unfortunately they were back on after track 5.. bc i didn't like the rest as much. .

cannot believe i missed out on this when i was 16 💔

faces the same issue i see with a lot of metal albums where it is combining itself with a different type of music that sounds very cool in theory but ends up being very incongruous or just like an album with songs of two different genres rather than an album that actually combines the two styles on individual songs, for instance a song like Itsari is really cool but i would love for there to be more thrash/groove songs that combine typical metal sounds with more of the tribal stuff from Itsari so you are getting both at the same time, as it stands i still enjoy it but also it is so LONG bro, 40 mins wouldve been fine lol. Canyon Jam is cool Fav song: Born Stubborn

This album rules. I’ll always take their thrash stuff over this (Morbid Visions, Schizophrenia, Arise, and Chaos A.D. are all 5 stars to me). But their full embrace of Brazilian percussion and rhythms here is so powerful and just so damn interesting. Metal, more than other genres, seems to have the ability to adjust to geography in really special ways, and this is maybe the best example. Really influential too, seems like most of these riffs ended up on the first couple Slipknot records. More of this! 🇧🇷🤘🏽

Interesting concept, botched execution. I really liked the other Sepultura album on here because it was a refined thrash album. Almost as smart as that can get. This is sort of like that but for nu metal. Problem. Nu metal is not meant to be smart or high concept. It will always kind of suck. And it works best the more it fucking sucks. So that leaves this album in this sort of limbo where I want to praise its risks but also ask why this direction. Bummer.

Certainly one of the classics and one of the refreshing attempts to bring new ideas metal which works quite well. Especially the rhythms and drum beats are great.

Shouty shit. It does have a good bassy driving riff and beat to it but the vocals are whack in my opinion. It like RATM with nothing to say well screetch.

This is really not my bag at all, I enjoyed the drums but otherwise hard going. Maybe would have liked it more if not for the vocals.

Has its place and lots of fans I’m sure. And it did sound better when you turn it up. More variety than I expected, sounded almost like Wah Wah guitars on Ratamahatta, though I enjoyed the heavier songs more, I.e not Jasco and Itsari. Could’ve done without the last really long song. Felt a sore throat thinking about how he can get through a gig. Dare I say slightly better / more fun than Soundgarden.

Couldn't take Soundgarden followed by Sepultura. Didn"t really listen to it properly ,but extrapolating from the first song I'm giving a 1

K, along with System Of A Down my fav so far of this genre. Disparate enough influences as to make it interesting, particularly the percussion.

I’m sure some people like it. I’m not one of them, although I did warm to the favela time ruhmawattmumma or something. Just too aggressive for me.

I really swear I already had this… oh well, always happy for metal albums.

Seriously stellar album, it’s so good. Itsári a real highlight here

I think the inclusion of this album actually tells us a lot about the methodology of this list... there's two Sepultura albums on the list... Arise from 1991 (their best) and this one which I would consider not one of Sepultura best albums but rather one of their most unique and interesting in the ways it uses Afro-Brazilian rhythms and traditional Brazilian music... anyways like a dumb thing to remember but i guess its not a list of the 1001 best albums ever but rather the ones this one guy thinks you need to listen to before death.. but still im mad at him for some of the bullshit hes made me listen to ngl... 4 stars

Well, this is a pleasant surprise. This is what I wanted most out of this list, more new sounds from different parts of the world.

This book is crucially lacking in non-Anglo based music, and I initially thought that while it was missing countless Brazilian classics, Brazilian metal probably would not need to be included due to that genre’s more homogeneous sound. And man, I was really wrong, these guys not only sound so distinct from most of their influences, but their own impact pushed well beyond their country.

I don’t get who likes this music… this music purposefully makes you feel angry… I don’t like that.

Cool riffs and Brazilian folk metal, enjoyed it!

3.5. Heavy and really fun.

I wasn't expecting such a fun album. Some folks don't like nu-metal, but I do. I can't believe I'd never heard of Sepultra before yesterday. One song even features Jon Davis, Mike Patton, and DJ Lethal. The last album I reviewed was my 400th. 4 stars for "Roots".

First things first, I have always loved rock and metal, both have many unique styles contained within. One of the worst to me is the death/doom/black metal crap with a singer that can't sing, just yells and screams. They are usually processed far too much to sound like demons or whatever. So much that you can't understand 1 word in 10. And then somehow... this has become the frigging default mode for all metal ?? I tried listening to early Sepultura way back and was not impressed. I tried again today and can confidently say I am still not. Now, if they had a singer that sang? I would be pretty cool with this. It's got some cool music behind it. A little same-y throughout with the chugga chugga, but not annoying. But with this fella yowling and yelling throughout, it's just broken. I'll give it a 2 because the music pretty good. But i can guarantee I won't ever listen to this one again.

Full of energy and great riffs throughout. Absolute belter of an album.

At first the vocals jarred me and I didn't think I would like this album, but I got used to them and this turned into a decent showing. It's good metal; I don't think I can give it 4 stars because I generally don't like harsh, screamo vocals, but the music was decent nonetheless.

A couple songs are all right, mostly because of the percussion which was fun.

this kind of stuff really isn’t for me but that’s not what i don’t like about it, i think the beat on most of the tracks are really boring and simplistic. it’s still not bad thought i liked a good chunk of songs here

Not for me

Didn't really like this at all.

Biboca garagem favela, biboca garagem favela! Fubanga maloca bocada, fubanga maloca bocada! Ooft

Eine Stunde zwölf Minuten? Meinen die das ernst? Ich komme mit dem Gesang nicht klar. Ich fand, dass die Instrumentals das beste waren, bis das 13-minütige am Ende kam. Da ist gar nichts passiert irgendwie. Gar nicht meins.

Damn such a good album. Lotta good songs here. This was my 2nd sepultura album and the first didnt impress me. I felt like it aged poorly. This album, however, holds up. Feels like this album was a precursor for modern metal. Great listen

A much younger me - before this record even came out - would’ve been all in on this. But wow, that’s a long album. And also has dudes from Korn. Anyhow, as with most anything in this genre, I dig the music a bit and can’t take the guttural scream seriously. It just takes me out of the song every time, whether it’s this or Deafheaven.

1001 Albums Challenge (11/1001) Roots Bloody Roots (1/5) Attitude (2/5) Cut-Throat (1/5) Ratamahatta (3/5) Breed Apart (2/5) Straighthate (2/5) Spit (2/5) Lookaway (3/5) Dusted (2/5) Born Stuborn (2/5) Jasco (5/5) Itsari (5/5) Ambush (2/5) Endangered Species (2/5) Dictatorshit (3/5) Canyon Jam (1/5) Total (2/5)

Not usually my cup o' tea -- but this was quite good. Super tight musicianship, thunderous riffs, great focused anger. Really enjoyed the rhythms that they incorporated. Basically, this is what Avenged Sevenfold wished they were.

Yah this album took a few years to get into. I’ve always been into really progressive and psychedelic metal music, and comparatively, I always thought this band came across as simple sounding and boring. But that just ended up being how I feel about Roots Bloody Roots. Idk why but I’m just super bored with that one song. That being said the album as a whole is sick. There are all these haunting moments throughout including sick parts with really interesting sounds drums. Honestly I really love this album. It’s just barely not a 5 but it’s as close as it gets.

Music great. Singing is not 2/5

BANGER??

meesterwerk... groove metal met tribal invloeden EN een boodschap.. wat moet er nog meer zijn?

A masterpiece!!!

0.5

2.5

0.5

Honestly... If ya wasn't for the vocals I really kind of like this album. But the screaming Cookie Monster sound, especially since it's the primary delivery, I absolutely abhor. Part of me wants to at at least 2½ because I do like most of the groove behind the vocals. But damn, I never want to hear this fucker sing again. (4.45) ★★

Like the Brazilian influences, but not my favourite thing. 2.5 stars

This very much was not my thing. I do appreciate some of the Brazilian elements that pop up, and it makes it ever so slightly more interesting than the average metal album from this era, but the vocals are awful. Highlights were probably "Roots Bloody Roots" and "Ratamahatta". 2 stars.

An album that is very brutal. Brutally shit that is. Whether it’s music or politics, tribalism is something that is very damaging although it’s nu-metal that brings more misery to society and needs to be stamped out at its roots entirely.

Previously rated: Arise (3/5) ********************* Anything good on this one was ruined by the edgy, angry, vomit vocals. So uncomfortable to listen to. We finally get a reprieve from that on the last 13:17 long track, and it's just gunshots and scrubbing pots and pans. At least that's what it sounded like. Just unpleasant sounds all around on this thing. I'm rather surprised to see I gave their other album a 3/5. I guess the vocals didn't bother me as much on that one.

Bloody awful nu metal assault. Not my thing.

Day 37 Really enjoyed this, some absolute bangers. Only managed 2 listens as had a busy day but first impressions were good so I’ll be playing it a lot more over coming days 8/10 Highlights Roots Bloody Roots Cut-throat Dusted

6/10 Mommy, why is Cookie Monster angry? 9-18-2025

I don’t usually gravitate towards the growling heavy metal bands, but Sepultura does it so well that it’s hard not to like them. I don’t listen to them enough to have a favorite album of theirs, but this is genuinely good stuff 3.75 easily rounds up to 4 stars.

I forget how much I enjoy Sepultura. Also weirdly on point for 2025. Sigh.

Chaos A.D. is probably my favorite Sepultura album, but this is a close second! I had forgotten about all the line-up changes that were to come shortly after this record...

i can appreciate it, but really not my genre

I understand that for the genre this is foundational etc but the style is too abrasive to be anything other than a very occasional listen.

Have you ever asked yourself, what is groove metal? Well, this is it. Sweet dreams, music connoisseurs.

Nope. Just going to say nope

This changed me

I’m not super into the encroaching nu-metal influence, but I’m quite fond of the textures incorporated from various indigenous Brazilian cultures that add a nice bit of flavor to the usual metallurgic milieu.

THIS ALBUM IS SATANIC. listened while erging and it lowkey scared my shitless. but lowkey still fucked w it idk... but the vocals were so disturbing i thought i was gonna be part of an exorcism eeeek

hmm, sehr schwere kost, aufgelockert durch indigene klänge. nicht meins.

Wuchtig, wie Nur Rock sein muss, vermischt mit interessanten Elementen. Top!

#700. This one starts out with a fucking banger, but the rest of the album isn't as good. 3/5: decent

I thought this was going to be the band Roots, not the album. My ears were caught off guard to say the least. Overall, not my jam.

Man, definitely mixed feelings on this one. The groove metal instrumentals were no less than a high 4 for me. But the guttural screaming on each track kind of killed my vibe, especially when compared to Iron Maiden or Megadeath. Averages out to a mid to high 3, but I'm going to round down.

This was way more fun than I expected. So not my genre, but this album started hitting from the beginning and I held on for dear life. I'm now bruised and bloody, but oddly sated. Ratamahatta was a stand out. Great interplay between rhythmic styles and sounds. And I liked how nearer the end it was more about Brazilian indigenous music, sounds and rhythms. The 13 minute last track was hypnotizing at times. Rounding up because it was such a surprise.

# Playlist Track - Roots Bloody Roots # Notes - Not a huge trash metal fan, but this is pretty amazing! - Incredible mix of rhythms, instruments and cultures. - Dare to say it's worth the listen, even if you are not a heavy metal fan.

The percussion and driving riffs deserve applause, and I love that they leaned into Brazilian tribal rhythms; it’s angry, it’s proud, it’s got real force behind it. But those vocals… oh no. He’s giving me a sore throat just listening, and I want to hand him a warm mug of honey water. Sir, please hydrate.

Decent. But not quite my thing for metal. I love metal, but for some reason this didn’t connect with me.

Once again, as with all the speed metal grunty music, I see the musicianship and skill, but they’re not doing anything I want to hear. A couple of instrumentals weren’t bad mostly no thanks.

I am really not a fan of this type of growling metal vocal. But the rest of this band was fantastic and, musically, they ripped hard. I enjoyed Ratamahatta and the throat singing stuff. Like so many albums that I don’t inherently enjoy, I thought this was too long. The jam at the end was cool, but unnecessary. If you took the best 30 - 40 minutes of this and made an album, it might’ve gotten a 4.

The occasional bits that weren't nu-metal were ok.

Musically this was great, vocally I just couldn’t get into it. It’s a shame, I like metal but I just didn’t like this guys vocals.

I LOATHE the vocals on the 1st track but I'm ok w the rest of the album. I could see this on a long run.

Not my thing but kind of worked for bashing out some work to

As a big metal fan, I'm certainly familiar with Sepultura and their controversial history. This album is a big dividing point with their fan base. They mostly dropped their thrash/ dark metal roots for a more downtuned numetal sound popularized by bands such as Korn and Slipknot, but while introducing more Brazilian ethnic influences. Old fans scoffed at the 90s influences invading the classic thrash sound, while others declared it a brilliant new direction for the band. Whatever it was, it was short-lived because the classic lineup imploded shortly after it's release. From its ashes arose the former Sepultura frontman Max Cavalera's numetal project Soulfly, and a reinvented Sepultura with the remaining 3 members and new frontman Derrick Green. Arguably, neither subsequent band reached the heights of classic Sepultura. But for a short time after the release of Roots, Sepultura were one of the 3 biggest metal bands in the world along with Metallica and Pantera. Personally I think the current version of Sepultura has finally hit their own stride while Max has reunited with his brother and former Sepultura drummer Igor in a project called Cavalera Conspiracy which seems content to rehash Sepultura classics. It's one of the great feuds in hays rock and metal for sure. Anyway, I prefer the old thrash era of the band, but Roots is fine with me. It's definitely one of the most unique metal albums to hit the big time. 3.5/5 #173

This is not my type of music, but having said that it isn’t objectively bad

Ratamahatta was fun. Always good to have Mike Patton popping up unexpectedly. That being said, it's all a bit monotone for me.

Better than their other piece of shit but still crap. Sounds so dated and lasts forever. Genuinely lasts forever Crap Canyon Jam fucking sucks

01) Roots Bloody Roots - 7,0 02) Attitude - 7,0 03) Cut-Throat - 6,5 04) Ratamahatta - 7,0 05) Breed Apart - 6,5 06) Straighthate - 6,0 07) Spit - 5,5 08) Lookaway - 6,5 09) Dusted - 5,5 10) Born Stubborn - 5,0 11) Jasco - 7,0 12) Itsári - 7,5 13) Ambush - 5,0 14) Endangered Species - 5,5 15) Dictatorshit - 3,0 16) Canyon Jam - 6,0 TOTAL: 6,03 (60/100) Current ranking: 516/658

No me gustan ese tipo de voces.

Not my style but the recording is pretty good so sounds good on a decent stereo. I add a star for the recording quality.

Nah.

Brazilian heavy metal was new to me, I enjoy HM in general and world music so this was a nice mix.

this is pretty good, all things considered

It's not really my cup of tea, but the guitar riffs are great and there's some cool rhythmical stuff and bass lines in the first half of the album. But screaming is too much.

This feels like...1999, although I see now that it's more like 1996. Moderately ahead of its time! Feels cohesive and innovative in a way that a lot of nu-metal simply is not. I hear this and I can hear my college roommate's voice chastising me for not lifting heavy, but hey, it's pretty good. Like so many of these older, edge-of-radio albums, best when it's integrating other sounds (which it does fluently) and at its worst when it's evoking what are now and maybe were then nu-metal tropes.

Jesus I just wasted an hour I’ll never get back. I’m not a metal fan at all so I was scared going into this but I found myself handling it and even enjoying some songs. But after the first 4 songs it just dragged on with songs that all sound the exact same. So boring. I also hated the vocals in this I can be a fan of some metal vocals but these one were just talentless and hard to listen to. I’m never returning to this again one word to describe this “boring”. Does it deserve to be on this list maybe but I disliked this a lot and overall giving it a 3.9/10 1.9/5

Not my cup of tea but was decent!

Served in a bite-size it’s great. I like the sound of the first couple of tracks. But I don’t need a 72-minute three course meal with the same flavours.

This one is rough. I tried, but it's just not for me. Nonstop yelling and noise with very little room to breathe. The brief breaks into tribal beats and rhythms were cool, but they're gone before they can settle in. Honestly feels like the soundtrack to breaking things in a garage. One listen was enough. Spins: 1 Playlist Additions: - Itsári - Canyon Jam

Just. Not. My. Thing.

I somehow sorta enjoyed this. I am so surprised.

Meh not my style for metal

Interesting listen - I probably would have liked this more in middle/high school (when I listened to Slipknot and other metal adjacent bands). I applaud their incorporation of indigenous Brazilian elements, its always interesting when bands get outside of their comfort zone from a place of genuine experimentation.

Sepultura has mastered the “art” of whisper screaming. Anger is the obvious message. However the lyrics are often unintelligible making the intended direction impossible to detect. It was difficult to listen to and I was glad when it was over.

Oh god. How did I get two Sepultura albums in a row? I like this less than the album before as this is even more aggressive and scream-y. I cannot decipher the lyrics at all. It sounds like this emoji: 👹 The album art is great. That’s my favorite part of this.

I don’t know if I hate the drums or the screaming (oh sorry singing) and I decided the screaming was the worst part of this album. The only redeeming part of the album was the songs Jasco, Itsári, Canyon Jam and parts of Ambush since these songs thankfully didn’t have either screaming or the modern drum kit. To pour salt into an open wound, this was the second album in two days from Sepultura - how can there be 2 of these Sepultura on this list?!? So I took one star away for back to back Sepultura! Now if it this consisted of just the indigenous Brazilian music and expanded that into a full blown album, I’d have given that at least a 4 star!

I get and love what they're doing here, this is a very good album I'm glad it's on the list. Not super for me, but I definitely like it better than Arise.

Sepultera has one mode, and that mode is hard and angry and loud as fucking hell. Some riffs undeniably rock, but the unrelenting guttural screams of the lead and the punishing wall of sound wear out their welcome.

metal

The metal is just metal, I suppose. Well done. But the blending of traditional instruments and rhythms into the metal, that is brilliance. Only a couple songs of that, so I won't judge the album as a whole too high. But I love the work. 3.5/5

I really like the instrumentation, the guitae riffs,… but the constant screaming really put me off

No thank you

Always liked chaos ad More. Still really solid.

2,5

Not my bag.

Would have never expected a Sepultura album be in this. I do know how big this album is. I have never really heard it. I know max mostly from Soulfly. I dug Soulfly a bit but never heard much of Sepultura.

cool record

Not as good as the other one on the list but still enjoyed it!

Decent stuff. I saw them support this album back in 1996 and really enjoyed the show. The vocals are not the best thrash vocals around but the percussion is excellent. Would I listen to this everyday? No, I wouldn't but I still rate this.

Really

++: Roots Bloody Roots, Attitude, Cut-Throat, Ratamahatta, Breed Apart, Straighthate, Lookaway, Born Stubborn, Jasco, Itsári, Endangered Species, Dictatorshit, Canyon Jam +: Spit, Dusted, Ambush 9,0/10

Metallica I get, but this is just garbage listed as metal. 1 star or F- .

ROOOOOOOOTS

I liked Arise better but these guys are lowkey groovy

There probably is a chug chug album somewhere that I need to hear before I die but I don't know if it was this chug chug album. It felt so long

3.0 rym

Surprisingly amazing. I can listen to this genre normally, but I never find it amazing. But this unique combination of South (and native) American sounds with thrashing electric guitars just hits. Sadly a little too long, last track wasn't necessary at all tbh.

4+/5

godflesh 🙂 + korn 🙁 + tribal stuff 🤷🏼‍♀️

Nice ideas and riffs

I don't like this kinda music :/

A really solid album. Took some interesting influences and when it gets heavy, it’s some of the best riffage I’ve heard. Great album 5/5

Probably best album opener I’ve heard in awhile! Love the rhythms, love the instruments. Thought the song in Portuguese was great. I should have skipped the last song though… 13 minutes of rubbing some metal.

This is absolute peak Sepultura. This is an album I actually own and haven't listened to for a long time. I really enjoyed re-visiting it and fell in love with Sepultura all over again.

Asså absolut det är mest skrik, men gick ju faktiskt att digga till?!

Some of the best and grooviest metal you’ll ever hear, though I think you could easily trim 4 or 5 tracks without sacrificing the quality of the album.

Man… maybe I didn’t get it the first time (Arise), but these mfs are throwing DOWN. This is a straightup hardcore record. There’s really not a miss on here. I think the tie ins to the heritage of Brazilian music does wonders for them. This feels like an embrace of identity. And it’s metal as fuck. I love this band

Kakva nostalgija!! Oni mi bili jedni od dražih bendova iz te faze kad sam bila mlađa, rasturačina. Jaka 3/5, 6.5/10

Very heavy, it was good but not my favorite.

So, I work as a counselor, and about a week ago, I had a younger hispanic guy come into my office to talk about the guilt and shame he feels over cheating on his wife. We got to talking, and he's a musician that really loves Latin rhythms and musicianship. I asked if he'd ever listened to Sepultura's Roots. He said he'd never heard of them, so I sent him home with part of his assignment being to listen to Roots. It won't fix the guilt or shame that he feels, but this record might give him an hour of respite from those feelings because it's so badass. I'm sort of kidding about that story. Obviously, we talked about the real issues and we're working on strategies to become more trustworthy and honest. But, for real, Seputura's Roots rules so hard, and everyone ought to hear it at least once. 4.5/5

Apparently, some people love this stuff.

Unhinged (complimentary)

Heavy with an interesting mix of Brazilian percussion

Comes across like a novelty act. I’m accustomed to banal metal vocals, but boring guitar riffs is a cardinal sin. It got a bit better with the guest vocals on Rotamahata, but nowhere near good. No idea why I had to hear this one.

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.

No

I really dig the music a lot, but the vocals are a little harsh for me

a blast from the past....still loud.

I can see why the two more popular songs are liked, but generally this was gross and depressing.

Nothing better than getting your album, being able to get it out of the closet andputting the needle to the record. As I own this, I'm more than familiar with it. Which makes me unable to be objective. I could say that it's way too long,Ross Robinson overproduces, it's quite a departure from previous albums and Max Cavalera isn't exactly Yeats or Neruda. But I've lost my heart to Roots a while ago, and that will probably never change. Both Sepultura and Soulfly tried to carry on with this formula but ended up with better albums ditching those inspirations.

What a challenge for me! Starting off with Heavy Metal.. I am probably not so objective on this one. I wanted to find one song that I liked. Canyon Jam. That is not a reflection of if the album is good or not. I do not typically like this music. Rating 2

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

Surely one of the greatest metal albums of all time. Down tuned guitars and South American indigenous music.

I'm surprised by my high rating if this album. The interlude and final track are responsible for moving this from a 2 to a 3

Can’t get past the ridiculous screeching vocals.

13 year old me liked this sort of thing. Was a big fan of Chaos A.D. I've since grown out of it. Could be worse, but too much screaming for me anymore.

The parts without vocals weren't so bad?

An all time great.

Not loving the vocals.

Some cool riffs, some cool percussion. But the scream didn't age well for me.

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

Too heavy

Interesting drumming, but those vocals. Oof. Standout track: Ratamahatta

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.

Never got into this album.

3.5/5. Very angry.

As brutal as it was 30 years ago. I don't think there's a better example of extreme music. Simplistic aggression, incredibly produced, with elements of Brazilian folk and even surf music in places. Will clearly not be the everyone's taste, but deserving of a place on this list. As a metal fan, this is an absolute peak of the genre.

Obviously an acquired taste.

Not for me The vocals are unpleasant. The music samey

It’s a good album but definitely need to be in the mood for it

2 stars for roots bloody roots.

Back to my roots

Solid metal album from the 90s. Was expecting nu-metal ish sound but solid all around.

I fucking love Sepultura. Not their best album, but compared to the shitty albums I've had to listen to before I got to them, this is a masterpiece.

In today's episode of I can't rate anything that's not a rock album, Roots - Sepultura. It was pretty okay.

Never enjoyed music like this. Guitars too heavy , vocals too shouty. Not for me

I like to think I’m fairly open to listening to different music but I really have no idea how anyone can actually listen to this sort of noise. There was a glimmer of hope in the middle but it was quickly snuffed out again.

While I like the energy of the songs and some of the riffs, as soon as the singer opened his mouth it was awful! A very tough listen.

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

Just fucking no

I let out an audible "Not again" when this one came up. The other Sepultura album on the list was one of the least enjoyable experiences I've had going through the list. But I had a much better time with Roots.

I could tolerate this more than the previous albums but I’m still not a fan of this sort of heavy metal with the singer just yelling at me angrily. lol

I had been meaning to listen to them for ages despite loving a bunch of adjacent artist, and what an introduction. Fucking AWESOME stuff.

If I could give this trash heap of screamo negative stars, I would. Nearly unlistenable.

I am a fan of heavy metal, but I like my metal toned down a bit. I am into more classic bands in this genre. This is not a bad record, and musically it rocks, but the vocals can become grating throughout the album. I would like this in smaller doses, but there are some bright spots.

As noted earlier, this heavy metal is not my genre, even if it is from Brazil. I listened to the original release, not the later editions. Besides the last track, there was 72 minutes of a guy screaming. The percussion/drums were very good, but otherwise there was nothing of value to me.

Tough week, man. At least this is *90s* screamy guitar stuff, so there's like, one iota of nostalgia since I've heard its ilk before. But mostly I hate it. Seeing Jonathan Davis from KoRn featured made me wish I were listening to KoRn instead, which is something I'm pretty sure I never wished before. This vs yesterday's Venom is a real tough call, but I think this might be even worse (to listen to, I mean, I'm not rating objective merit or anything). 'Ratamahatta' started out like it might be good for 20 seconds, and it's in Portuguese, so that's probably the highlight, but yikes. Oh, and the last track is 13 minutes of sparse vibra-noises, so that one is relatively fine. Still, I'm dropping my first 1 here, since if not now, when? So much screaming! Stop yelling at me!! >:(

Took some adjusting mood-wise to get me to be up for this one, but by the middle and end I was mildly enjoying it. 6/10

Never been a fan of this style of singing. Instrumentally very talented, and I might like similar instrumental bands. My favourite tracks were Jasco and Itsari. Otherwise I am unlikely to listen to this again.

nice head bobbing music

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

J - 3/5 Best Track - "Ratamahatta" F - DNL

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

Not for me, not listenable

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?

Not a fan but they do have a vibe.

Sounds a lot more like Deftones, Korn, and maybe even Slipknot than I was expecting.

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

I like a lot of heavier bands but I’m just not into this thrash stuff. The vocals are just really, really fucking irritating.

Liked the drums and underlying native feel, but couldn’t understand the lyrics and not my cup of tea

I was hoping that the fact they're a Brazilian band would bring something new to the heavy metal table, but it's like they have just 2 modes: up to 11 with screaming and a heavy sound or quiet guitar/percussion/whatever Itsári is. There was maybe one song that was a bit of a mix. Disappointing

Just nor for me

I have mixed feelings on this one. The instruments really stood out. Some intense drumming. The vocals were not for me. Too aggressive and rough so I hard time connecting with it. Glad I gave it a shot, even if it is not something I would put on my playlist.

Not super into heavy but this ruled

I loved it. I thought it was bad ass. It will definitely be in my workout playlist.

Pretty sick

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

Super interesting album. I was really into the front side, but an hour long really wore on me. I bet this was insane to hear when this dropped in 1996. The instrumentals are amazing, the vocals are perfect at times. I'm glad I listened to this, but I'm not sure how often I'll go back to this. If I do, it'll be a track or two from the front half.

Brazilian heavy metal

1/5 as I really dislike songs with singers screaming instead of singing

I'd prefer this album to consist entirely of generic tribal jams, but sadly it does not.

Screamo. Not my favorite, but the music is alright!

Meh. I remember loving this album in middle school.

This was fine.

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

Groovy, pummeling, and all nü metal. I actually liked Roots a lot, but I feel like the album's too narrow in it's vision, which causes the album to drag a bit towards the end. If I had heard it as a younger person, maybe I'd be more forgiving or more patient. That said, still great

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.

Heavy metal. Pass

Just can’t get past the singing

Nope, not gonna listen to this for an hour

Sounds exciting