Sepultura

This is where sepultura actually began to jump the shark and ignore what they did best, which way straight ahead thrash. Not to say that bands cant progress and change styles, but this just did not work out for sepultura. Beneath and Arise were great thrash albums, they were never at the level of a prime Slayer but if they continued to play good fast heavy stuff and improve their songwriting things would have turned out better. This is not as obvious a decline as their next album Roots would be, but looking back you can see this had the makings of a change for the worse. A couple songs save this from an utter disgrace but the lyrics and songwriting are embarrassing bad on most of this material. Biotech is godzilla????? come on, this is corny stuff. Max sounds like he's trying to be punk and pissed but just cant master the english language enough to say anything close to intelligent. Sepultura idolized Metallica and I think this was their shot at the black album, although nowhere near has well written or accessible. If you must seek Sepultura, buy Beneath and Arise, thats it..

this is the most drive cd sepultura did ever cutting edge.extremely heavy and pure aggression.I saw them on this tour and they could have put bands like megadeth to shame easily great stage show power and the set covered all cd before it but was mainly comprised od beneth the remains,arise and choas mattereial with alot of old claasic for the prior 3cd too.you need to buy this it's classic

Sepultura's 5th studio album really displays the band at their best. Sepultura started as amateurs, believe it or not, still learning how to play each of their instruments still while they were building their reputation as a great pioneering Death Metal band, one of the best out there in my opinion. 1993's "Chaos A.D." is ther best album, followed by 1996's "Roots" in my opinion.

Highlights include "Refuse/Resist", "Territory", "Kaiowas" "Propoganda" "Biotech is Godzilla", "Nomad, "We who are not as others", "Manifest", and "The Hunt", although every song on here is pretty amazing in it's own way. With this version of the album, you also get 4 bonus tracks marked by a star on the back of the album to show which songs are bonuses and which are originals. "Chaos B.C." is a good (remix) song, however it can get annoying after a few listens. It's the song "Refuse/ Resist" remixed with more of a techno-influenced sound, and every line of every verse remixed and repeated 4 times. The next one, "Kaiowas (Tribal Jam)" is a cool track (I actually like it better than the original "Kaiowas". It has very loud tribal drums (although it is still an acoustic, nonetheless. I didn't want the word LOUD tribal drums to throw you off). You can dance to it, it's catchy. "Territory (LIVE)" is the 2nd track of this album performed live. The studio version has some excellent drumwork, and the live version has outstanding drumwork (I like it better than the guitars and vocals). Amen/ Inner Self performed live are also some good tracks that definitely deserve a place on this album.


I only reviewed the bonus songs as the original songs have already been thoroughly broken down and rated.


OVERALL: I hope I've been helpful and I would totally recommend any fan of Sepultura, Death Metal, Pioneering Death Metal, etc, etc. This is a great album, mastered and mixed to the highest standards possible (every track has been remastered, including the extra/bonus songs). This is worth the price completely! A MUST BUY! BUY THIS TODAY!!!

I also reccommend:

"Roots" by Sepultura

"Arise" by Sepultura

"Beneath the Remains" by Sepultura

"Vulgar Display of Power" by Pantera

"Far Beyond Driven" by Pantera

"The Great Southern Trendkill" by Pantera

"Reinventing the Steel" by Pantera

"Kill Em All" by Metallica

"Ride the Lightning" by Metallica

"Master of Puppets" by Metallica

Chaos A.D. was a brilliant album from Sepultura however I don't consider this album to be one of my favorites, it seems both BTR and Arise were when Sepultura were at their peek both creatively and it showed how far this group could go when it comes to thrash and death metal music. Chaos A.D. also shows a slight change in their music having more of a hardcore punk sound mixed with thrash and death metal creating a very unique sound. The chunky guitars and busy percussion makes everything sound more aggressive and the lyrics deal with some political issues like the social injustice in Brazil, there are some pretty good songs in here which makes this an essential album for any heavy metal fan with the awesome opening song Refuse/resist and one of my faves Territory with its fast building heavy riffs even though they did give up the breakneck speed and long progressive passages from their previous albums it still manages to keep that heavy sound. Bio-tech is Godzilla being another great song shows more of a punk influence and Kaiwas which is a beautiful acoustic instrumental song which also shows how Sepultura experimented with tribal drums and rhythm which they later did in Roots and the song Slave new world which was about global domination was a terrific song and shows the great songwriting abilities of Max Cavelera, there were also a couple of dud songs like We who are not as others with its repetitive and annoying chorus line and Clenched fist but still this was a great album I wouldn't call it a masterpiece but it was pretty close.

which is not a bad thing at all, for this album. They slowed down a bit and added little more of a tribal, Native American sound on this album.

Stand out tracks are 1-5. Although, pretty much every track is great, especially the live songs at the end of the album.

After this album, Sepultura sorta began to lose their edge. This is the case with 95% of the artists in the music industry. If you want an artist's best work, it is wise to start with their earliest material, as an artist is much like the blade of a frequently used knife. Overtime, the blade begins to become less and less sharp.

Anyway, check this album out because it is definitely a classic!!!

This album is the best for me. I think Sepultura was at the top on this album Beneath The Remains!!!

At this point in the evolution of Sepultura, the band had already released two full-fledged albums(Morbid Visions & Schizophrenia). While 'Morbid Visions' is your typical sub par produced death metal album, 'Schizophrenia' went up a peg on the production factor and overall musicianship; Max Cavalera & co. included their influence of American and European thrash into the album, a choice that would later lead to their defining sound heard in 'Beneath the Remains'.

'Clarity', a term not really adored by Metal Heads, but in this case it was actually a high note in Sepultura's catlogue. The instruments, Max's grunt/'war cry' and overall sound of the album sets it apart from their previous efforts. The lyrics, consisting of self power, evil doings, government corruption and destruction, still utilize the same Sepultura formula we're used to-'Pure Anarchy'. Their next album, 'Arise' was along the same vein as 'BTR'; incorporating more of the indigenous tribal tone, a common Sepultura reference, and merging varying styles of music(Hardcore,Punk,Industrial)with their sound.

Highly recommended album in the Death/Thrash Metal scene. If you don't have this album, purchase it. Definite 5 outta 5.

this is the cd that most people noticed sepultura as a certified thrash band with they reminded me of slayer hellawaits a bit with this cd but they had alot more to offer.I wish they could realy clean up the recording it has alot of hiss and extra noise on it.but simply a must have for thrash fans.

my god what a brutal metal album. this album is for true metal fans. max and igor in their prime. anyone who has never heard them needs to check it out they are the real deal. if you like this check out roots and chaos a.d. then go get the brand new cavelero conspiracy the brothers reunited.

This album has a perfect combination of rhythm and speed and will get you pumped the #@%K up.

Favorite tracks are 1,2, and 3.

Also check out the last two tracks, which are drum and bass versions of tracks 2, and 3.

Pick this one up along with Chaos A.D. and any of their previous albums!!!

utterly classic, it retains the 3rd world metal vibe of their earlier discs but starts to show glimpses of their later more "progressive" sound. A lot of true metal purists will frown on their later discs, but have a hard time finding any problem with this one.
Gone also are the horrendous recording of the guitars heard on earlier discs.
Anyone else wonder if they got the title from Amebix? They definetly show the influence in their later days!

Right at the dropping hour of grunge, this tasty sonic assault emerged, and it was good. VERY good. Sepultura was about as heavy as it got back in 1991, other than the then laboring in (mostly) obscurity, fledgling death, black and grind scenes...

Heavy, brutal, raw, primal, aggressive, antisocial, tribal, throbbing and pounding... nothing else in 1991 sounded anything like this. And it's still extremely good today. Most death metal has easily surpassed this disc in terms of sheer brutality, but Sepultura ain't far behind. The throat on Max FAR eclipses most death grunters and croakers in brutal, as you could UNDERSTAND and FEAR him. That's how it's done RIGHT. Max had something intelligent and socially relevant to say (that didn't fully emerge until a bit later, on "Chaos A.D.") and he ROARED it!

The drumming and rhythm work has always been what made Sepultura for me... very tribal, and they GROOVE like mad, even when thrashing like lunatics. Much more rhythmic and catchy than most death metal, and just as heavy.

HIGHLY recommended.

Arise is the fourth album by Sepultura and its their best its probably in my top ten favorite thrash albums of all time along with Rust In Peace and Seasons In The Abyss, after the release of the brilliant album Beneath The Remains Sepultura decided to release an album that would top the previous one and I think that they've succeeded. Not only is this album more innovative and technically faster but it manages to even sound more devastating than BTR, you have songs that have more of an apocalyptic vision so it sounds abit like death metal this also proves itself as a worthy progression and yeah I'm not talking about the stuff they did with Dereck Green blah!. The album starts of with Arise and what a great start this is one of my favorites and then theres Dead Embryonic Cell the first single release which was brilliant and it has some nice chugging riffs courtesy of Andreas Kisser who is the lead guitarist and Max Cavalera's singing or growling and great guitar playing, then we have another excellent track Desperate Cry which is a thrash metal classic and is one of Selpertura's best songs ever. Another highlight is Altered State which has an intro which sounds like ancient Brazilian tribal music then the song starts thrashing along and becomes relentless and has a grinding detuned main riff and also combines some acoustic guitars. You also have other great straight forward thrash songs like Infected Voice and Under Siege and the amazing cover song Orgasmatron which was originally done by Motorhead and yet it sounds even better than the original, they definitely made it sound like their own which is great. Anyway these guys have quite possibly made one of the best thrash metal albums I've ever heard and there was not one single filler track in the entire album it thrashes from start to finish, I highly recommend this excellent album.

I think its fair to compare Arise to maybe Beneath the Remains or the awesome Chaos AD, but unfair to compare it too other thrash albums. This stuff destroys and lays to ruins all heavy metal acts on the planet. That said, when I reach in my CD case for a sick thrash CD - I usually grab this one before Chaos or BTR. This one is just retarded from beginning to end. If you are reading this review.. run out jump in the car the drive 100 mph to the nearest record shop and PRAY they have it in stock. Absolutely mind boggling stuff.

In fact, the 2 arent even in the same genre (Arise = Thrash Metal > Roots = Nu Metal). Arise is Sepultura at their fiercest, most talented and creative form. Outstanding riffs populate this release as well and a true headbanger's delight.

Don't listen to those kids out there saying Roots is better/their best album..their knowledge of music history obviously only goes back as far as 1996...>>

I popped this in after having spent almost 10 years away from it... and I have to say that this album inspires.

It is not as technical as any of their previous works, but does leap off where Chaos AD left off.

The goal here... was a return to simplicity. We all know they can write technically inspired and classical riffs... they knew that too. The goal is no more apparent than when you look at the cover and title of the album. The fact remains that an album of this type has not been repeated by any other band since.

The riffing is very simplistic at times, but to beat the dead horse: that was the point. I challenge metal listeners to find another song that sounds like Itsari... the native singing and dancing combined with some well-crafted Spanish acoustic. Only the Swedish metal bands were doing anything remotely similar, specifically Dark Tranquillity and In Flames.

Another reviewer commented that the historical relevance of the album is what contributes to its greatness; I agree, but take the other view.

In 1996 we also had Tool's "Aenima" and Manson's "Antichrist Superstar." This is the only other album that year that stands in line as a memorable performance with those three, and to contrast the Scandinavian release that year was In Flame's "The Jester Race," and all four are albums I can come back to 12 years later and say, "that was f#$%^ good."

You can see the birth of Soulfly on Roots...at the time a pioneering CD where the fast slowed down, and tuned down...to create a crushing new sound. Highly recomended, along with Skinlab...SkinnedAlive the live Cd that's new is incredible!Skinned Alive

Ok, first of all...is this soulfly or Sepultura. All the tracks on this album sound like a heavy Soulfly. Sepultura has now totally lost their edge with the off-time thrash/death metal that their REAL roots were, what made one of the top metal acts of the 80s and 90s. This album all the makings of a nu-metal(Soulfly) album. Very basic riffs, very stupid lyrics, and very basic jams in the songs. The complexity of Igor's drumming, Andreas' guitar and riffing and Max's growling has all left for nu-metal styles. Igor's playing sounds as simple as Lars Ulrich, Andreas' playing is no longer complex, he sounds we came out of Soulfly with the basic riffs. Max yells at the top of his lungs and no longer has the growl he is known for. The album even has DJ scratching and Jonathan Davis from Korn on the track "Lookaway". You can't any more nu-metal than having Jonathan Davis cameo on a track.

THis album is major disappointment for any one who knows the REAL Sepultura, the pre-"Chaos AD" Sepultura.

I believe this was one of the best metal album of the 90's. Sepultura are much more influential the they are given credit. Finally there was a band that used the heavy death metal sound with lyrics with actual meaning rather than just relying on shock value. I'm not saying the lyrics were splitting the atom but they were much more mature than what death/black metal had been doing for the last 10 years. The funny thing is when I first heard Roots I did not realize they were the same band that I had read about in the mid 80's who were said to have a sound similar to the great Celtic Frost. If you love heavy music and have not listened to Sepultura than buy this cd.

I grew up on thrash metal back in the 80's and no matter how much I tried I could not get into the older Sepultura albums, I know they're classics but I find them generic and mediocre. So that leads me to say Roots and Chaos A.D. in my opinion, are the best Sepultura albums. They're both innovative and experimental..world music meets metal...pure genius. Thick as a brick guitars, pounding drums and brutal vocals...and I love the tribal beats mixed in as well. The only downfall about these two great albums is it may be responsible for giving birth to Nu-Metal which I detest.

I had this CD before and lent it to a friend and never got it back, so I finally got it back.

B sides, rare versions and live tracks. Just to complete your sepultura collection. Outstanding tracks: ¨War¨, ¨Refuse/resist¨ and ¨Policia¨.

Warning: only buy this if you are a big fan of the Chaos A.D. and Roots CDs. As all of these songs are B-sides, Demos, Live or a remix from that era. The majority of them are covers; the most interesting of which is War, a Bob Marley song, but it isn't the best, just the most interesting. The Song Procreation (of the Wicked), actually outdoes the original by Celtic Frost. Other stand outs include the Symptom of the Universe, (Black Sabbath) even with its poor quality and Drug Me (Dead Kennedys). The main difference in the remix of Lookaway is that you can hear Jon Davis (Korn vocalist) a lot better then on the original. The disturbing song Mine, sounds like an alternate version of Lookaway, since both have Mike Patton on them.

I agree with another reviewer that this should have been a 2 disc set, with b-sides, remixes, and demos on one disc and a live concert on the other. The songs from the concert are of EXCELLENT quality, and Max's introduction to propaganda is quite cool, as well as the non-acoustic version of Kaiowas. 3 more songs from the same concert can be found on Chaos A.D. Well, hoped this helped, it's a great addition to any Sepultura fan's collection.

If you're a Sepultura fan, then here's some good news and some bad news for you. First, the good news: you have a lot of money. That's quite nice really, we all want to be rich. So what could be the bad news? Well, the bad news is you're an idiot. Roadrunner Records seem to think you are anyway.

Roadrunner have always been notorious for re-releasing albums in numerous, ever so slightly different formats. When they saw their greatest ever cash cow imploding, Roadrunner panicked, and started grubbing round to see how much Sepultura material they could find. The archives were quite full, with a heap of studio outtakes and enough concert material for a killer live album. So did they put together a live album and a B-sides album? Nope, this is Roadrunner. Instead, the live stuff and the outtakes were split in two and mixed up, almost at random, on two different releases. One of the releases was a repackaged bonus disc version of `Roots', and `Blood Rooted'. This meant completists would have to buy a new, more expensive version of `Roots' and another separate album in `Blood Rooted' if they wanted to get all of Sepultura's unreleased and live material.

As for the "idiot" bit, try this on: on the front cover of `Blood Rooted' a little stamp says "Over an hour of live and rare material". How rare is something which is bundled onto a CD and released through major distribution channels world wide? A lot of these songs had never been released, like the demos (which wouldn't have been intended for release anyway) and the live tracks. If these songs had been released on hedgehog-shaped four-inch blue vinyl on an Icelandic New Age record label, limited to 17 copies, then trumpeting them as rare would be fully justified. The cover of the Dead Kennedy's "Drug Me", storming and violent as it is, appears on both releases, and had also already appeared on at least one compilation and an EP, so you be the judge as to how "rare" it is.

Complaints aside, `Blood Rooted' gets off to a decent enough start. Celtic Frost's "Procreation Of The Wicked" would be heavy and menacing no matter who played it. This is as heavy as a truckload of bricks, with a nice line in stressed guitar effects. "Inhuman Nature" is a `Chaos AD' song, right? Well, no, it's a Final Conflict cover, so now we know where the inspiration for the sound on that album came from. Then there's "Policia", a cover of a song by Brazilian Hardcore band Titas, and it's fairly straightforward, traditional Seps material, as are the versions of "Drug Me", and Ratos De Porao's "Crucificados Pelo Sistema"

But then it gets messy. Next up is a cover of Bob Marley's "War". Cool, Bob Marley, ganga and grooves, right? Nope. This sounds more like U2 and Neurosis having a fight, and someone has recorded it on a Walkman. Think that's bad? Try this then! Sepultura manage to wreck up the unwreckable- Black Sabbath's "Symptom Of The Universe". It has two redeeming features- Igor's drumming, which is incredibly precise, and Andreas' solo. Otherwise, Max half-heartedly strums his way through the rhythms, and listlessly moans and grumbles through the lyrics. What could have been a powerful tribute to a Metal legend ended up a flat and lifeless embarrassment.

The Mike Patton collaboration "Mine" was recorded during the `Chaos AD' sessions, but sounds more like a half paced `Roots' track. Patton's trademark vocal acrobatics are wasted on yet another half-baked mess of a song. "Lookaway" is a poorly conceived Korn collaboration.

The live environment is where bands live and die in the eyes of fans, and if the previous few tracks had drained the life from Sepultura's corpse, the live tracks reanimate it as a homicidal zombie intent on bringing about Metallic Armageddon. Long time fans were not at all keen on `Chaos AD' as the band had drifted from their Thrash roots. In a live environment, the tracks sit perfectly comfortably next to much older material. The powerful percussive lead in to "Propaganda" could have come off any Sepultura album from `Schizophrenia' onward. The electric version of "Kaiowas" makes for a change of pace, and proved the track wasn't just a studio construct. The live tracks are reasonably clear in recording quality, and don't sound like they've been interfered with much in the studio. The energy and Metal feel they convey almost belie the fact the band had metamorphosed into a much-despised Nu-Metal entity.

On the whole, this album is very uneven, and would have been a very unsatisfying epitaph for a once great band had it been the final release. The studio tracks are hardly worth the effort, and the half-a-live album is too short. Approach it with eyes and ears wide open.

Great cd..its got the cover for Celtic Frosts "procreation of the wicked",and symtom of the universe [...]to,its got some Roots throw away tracks..which i dont see why they threw them away..awsome tracks,And its got some Chaos A.D throw aways,And some killer live tracks,that were taken from the Chaos A.D tour in michigan.

this is one of the best sepultura albums i have ever heard.
even if you did not like the last 3 albums i think this will blow you away.
caos ad... 5
roots..... 4
against... 3.5
nation... 3.5
roorback.. 4
hope this helps

Is it that hard to find good vocalist? This guys sucks donkey balls, plus all this hype went into this cd but it's one boring cd with 3/4 unecessary intro's. You want good heavy album that does stand out get SOULFLY "Dark Ages".

Dante XXI

What a fantastic album! A huge achievement by a band that continues to produce excellent music despite a huge amount of criticism from fans of Cavalera-era Sepultura.

It's surprising that people can't get over the fact that Max Cavalera left a whole decade ago. Since then Sep have moved on and I doubt they would have made Dante XXI had Max still been at the helm. Frankly, bands should be applauded for pushing the boundaries of themselves and their fans. If you follow a band, it's sometimes worth having a little faith in them, I feel. I guess we fall in love with a band after hearing a couple of albums and that those albums become the band. But the band themselves have a totally different perspective! The music they produce is a product of the dynamics of the members of the band, their abilities, relative strengths, experience, musical preferences etcetera. All of these factors can change over time; indeed SHOULD change over time. Hence, aspects of Sep's music have changed also. How sad would it be to say that Sepultura had learnt nothing new in the last 10 years? That their music had been influenced by nothing that has happened to them? Why would anyone want them to keep copying the sound of their earlier work? Would you really want Sepultura to just regurgitate Arise and Chaos AD tracks? Wouldn't that just put them on a par with bands like Status Quo? How utterly tragic that would be.

When playing live, they play a huge number of older songs because they know we want to hear them too. So, if you want older stuff, don't expect it on a new album - go see them live. They're better live than on a disc any day!

Dante XXI is certainly more consistently thrashy than their other post-Cavalera output. (So, if you've been missing that aspect of Sepultura: here it is!) Green's vocals are awesome; there are terrific riffs and fantastic rhythm. It's hard to pick a favourite, but if pressed, I'd recommend you listen to 'Fighting On' - and turn it up VERY LOUD!

With Dante XXI, Sepultura continue to successfully broaden the musical boundaries of both themselves and their fans.

So, set aside your preconceptions and give this album a good listen - you'll love it.

Listen to this with open ears. This is a creative album. It is based on the Divine Comedies. When I first heard the songs on this album I instantly thought this was Sepultura's best album with Derrick Green.Some of my Favorites are Convicted In Life, False, Crown and Miter, and Fighting On.

Sepultura were one of the most influential discoveries for me as a budding metal player and fan in the late '80s. "Arise" was, and still is, for me, a timeless and progressive metal classic, and my most lasting influence in the death metal style. After losing singer Max Cavalera to his project Soulfly, Sepultura seemed to drift a bit, album after album seemed uninspired and uninteresting to me....

Then in 2006, the avant-garde, intellectual and political "Dante XXI" comes along. This is exactly what this band needed to reinvigorate their sound, and it is one of the best and most artistic metal releases this year. A loose storyline juxtaposes modern society alongside Dante's literary legacy, and everything from the eerie soundscapes insterspersed between songs to the surreal and graphic comic-inspired artwork really works together to propel this release to epic, cinematic conceptual heights. Heavy and impassioned playing and absolutely feral singing from vocalist Derrick Green also put this one over the top. A fine job from a very influential band for me, and a huge step in the right direction. I am now looking forward to the next Sepultura album, which is something I haven't said in a long time....nice job, guys!

Schizophrenia has got to be one of the best albums to come out of the 80's metal scene. Andreas Kisser's guitar solo's are mind blowing and Igor Cavelera's drumming is absolutely stunning he is one of the best drummers in heavy metal music history, even though Sepultura gradually became a better band through out the years their earlier stuff indicated the raw talent and high energy that these guys had, they could easily blow away any other thrash metal group with their fast and aggressive riffs and brutal music. Troops of doom, Escape to the void and Screams behind the shadows are just the top of the line this album has plenty of classic thrash metal songs, GET THIS NOW!!.

I wrote you that this DVD did not work, it was would not play. I have no other problems with any other DVDs. You did not respond!!!!!!!!!!!11 You took my money and gave me something worthless!!!!!!!!!!11

I finally got this cd, I have been looking for this CD for awhile now, a great by well worth it.

I started listening to Sepultura when Beneath The Remains first came out, in '89. I later found out that they had 2 previous albums, but I wasn't interested at the time. with each album after B.T.R. there was slight improvement and maturity. Sepultura evolved with Arise, and even more so with Chaos AD, and finally with Roots. after 15 years of being a Sepultura fan, I finally decided to go back to the beginning and venture into the pre-Beneath The Remains material. I was pleasantly surprised with Schizophrenia. don't get me wrong, it is definitely raw, and primative compared to B.T.R., but on Schizophrenia they were still a pretty tight and solid thrash metal band. of course each album after that was an improvement on the previous one, but think of Schizophrenia as the Slayer's Hell Awaits, or Anthrax's Spreading The Disease, or Metallica's Ride The Lightning. it is simply put, the prequel to their upcoming masterpiece. the best songs are definitely the new version of Troops Of Doom, and Escape From The Void.

Well after listening to this album I can tell ya one thing's for sure, Brazilians know how to thrash! But is this really thrash or death metal? Honestly who the hell cares because if you're a true metalhead you will inevitably be headbanging to this in no time! (watch out for whiplash though)

You see it's the early era Sepultura albums that are my favorite, they are simply the rawest, dirtiest, and most evil. It kinda pisses me off that they don't get much credit, everyone knows the awesomeness of BTR (which I love), Arise, and Chaos AD but I think more people need to check out the early releases. Oh yeah and I'm sorry but I thought Roots SUCKED! Yep I said it, so sue me. Hey I'm all up for experimentation but I just didn't like it in that case.

Anyway this is where Andreas Kisser comes in and shows his stuff. Does he kick ass? HELL YEAH! The entire album is a riff machine churning out a myriad of crazy guitar licks. I mean listen to "From the Past Comes the Storms", the immortal instrumental "Inquisition Symphony" (one of the greatest metal instrumentals EVER) and "Septic Schizo" and you'll surely see what I'm raving about, unless you're a nu-metal queer or something. The vocals are straight out of hell with Max doing mostly a death metal growl and yell but there is a little bit of clean vocals here and there.

The only problem I see with the album is the muddy production which for once does affect the listening experience for me (usually I really don't give a sh*t), there's pretty much no bass but overall it's not that bad. However, I have the original pressing of the CD so perhaps it's a tad better on the remaster.

Even if you like later Sep better albums (which is understandable), you have to give these guys for really trying to make it while nestled deep out there in Jungleland and only being 18! My recommendation- get all Sep albums up to Chaos AD, get some Kreator, Possessed, Celtic Frost, Early Slayer, etc for more extreme thrash! Well that's my opinion, LATER.

Agree with other reviewers, the early Sepultura was very influenced by Slayer, Bathory and Celtic Frost. Their primitive sound and the production delivers a thrash/black metal with attitude. I prefer the raw and primitive sound of this album for this type of music is welcome.

"Morbid Visions/Bestial Devastation" is where it all began for Sepultura. This album is actually a combination of Sepultura's first ep and first record. Sepultura almost didn't get discovered in fact. A record promoter (I don't know his name) was listening to a large hand full of demos from Brazilian metal bands and according to him almost all of them were really lack luster and run-the-mill. At least until he heard Sepultura's EP "Bestial Devastation" and something caught his eye. Thank the metal gods he didn't pass this band up. Sepultura would be band that would forever influence the world of heavy metal and have one of the most loyal fan bases for the next 10 years.

Granted "Morbid Visions/Bestial Devastation" is far from Sepultura's best, however it was the beginning of something great. Moreover, the tracks "Troops of Doom" and "Necromancer" are Sep classics. Although the album heavily took from a Celtic Frost record, plus it is very easy to hear a huge Slayer influence in the record as well. But one has to over look this because the band members were only 18 years old at the time of the album recording. They also had a hard time speaking and writing English as well. They wrote their own music but used a lot of Celtic Frost's lyrics. "Morbid Visions" is by far the most death metal sounding record that Sepultura has recorded. Max's growls and Igor's fast paced drumbeats are quintessential death metal sound. Although there is also strong thrash feel as well. Max has stated that Slayer's early materia was very influential to Sepultura at that time. Now I won't go so far as stating that Sepultura invented death metal but this is a very early recording of that style of music. There were not too many bands to my knowledge that sounded like Sepultura at that time. In fact "Morbid Visions" and especially their second album "Schizophrenia" showed some the first combinations of death and thrash metal.

This album is Sepultura's roots, it laid the ground work for what was to be one of the heaviest, and intense metal bands to ever come. It wouldn't be for at least another 5 or 6 years until with the help of Andres Kisser, Max and the boys would create that true signature Sepultura sound we all know and love in the blazing release of "Arise". I think that is what make most of Sepultura's albums so good is that one can hear their sound evolving with each album they produce. "Morbid Visions/Bestial Devastation" will forever be Sepultura's roots.

Whats there to say about this that hasnt been said about Show No Mercy and Kill Em' All? This is rough, no frills pure thrash metal thats kicks you in the face as soon as you press play. Sure, production is lousy, but so what, this is an unadulterated rollercoaster through Hell!

While all the songs are good, my favorites are Necromancer, Troops of Doom (which sounds alot like the Slayer song "the Antichrist), and Morbid Visions.

If your a Max-era Sepultura fan, this is a must, but if your new to Sepultura, I suggest Arise instead.

not that this is a horrible album, because it isn't. but when you compare this album to Schizophrenia, or Beneath The Remains, you can definitely tell that Morbid Visions was merely just an album made by a bunch of rebellious Brazilian kids on a tight budget. the sound quality of the recordings are below average, and back in '86 they were pretty much just emulating their influences - Venom, Slayer, Celtic Frost - especially since they barely spoke any English. its somewhat amusing when you compare this album to say Roots for example. it sounds like 2 completely different bands. although they actually still play one or two songs from this album in their live set - Necromancer and Troops Of Doom... the bottom line is, if you enjoy generic non-American mid 80's death metal, then you might enjoy this. but for the hardcore Sepultura fanatics and completists this album can only be appreciated for its historical and nostalgic qualities.

I listened to this only a couple times...It's hoorible. However, they were inexperianced, didnt have a lot of money and couldnt speak a lot of english at the time, so I dont hold it against them...if you;re a diehard fan, pick it up....if not, then pass....get Chaos AD instead

I have been a sepultura fan since morbid visions. I can not believe what happened to this album. there previous album roots was so good. I do not like derrick green. The lyrics are not so good, and the drums and the bass and everything is not great at all. It has seem that the music has turned into pop metal.

This just doesn't sound like Sepultura. Derrick Green brought in too much hardcore/punk influence on Sepultura's signature sound. The vocals are irritating. Derrick can't play guitar, which makes them les heavy. And while the guitarist still plays solos,they are a lot less abundant and the overabundant punk influence kills his playing and makes it simple. The tribal themes aren't used the same way anymore. The rhythm section also suffers. Get the Max stuff first. The only good Derrick album is Dante. This Cd is a big disappointment. BRING BACK MAX!

This has to be one of the worst albums I have ever heard. I got this album for my birthday as I was and still am a keen listener of metal and heavy metal music. I have albums of Metallica,Queens of the Stone Age, Faith No More, Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson, Slayer, Korn, Slipknot and Disturbed that I like, but Sepultura's Against is a joke. The first track seems promissing with some cool guitar riffs and a solid heavy rythm. Afterwards, it just goes downhill. Every song seemed to mimic the next, with its repetative guitar solos and awful vocals from Derrick 'The D!*$' Green. Sepultura were a much better band with Max Cavalera and now the lead singer sounds like he has no teeth. All of my friends (who are metal heads) agree with me 100% that this is Sepultura's WORST album. Totally dreadful. After 10 minutes of flicking through each song, I had to stop it, take it out and throw it out the window. My advice: AVOID.

The proof has to be in the end product. Personally, I don't care how or why Max was kicked out. In so many cases, a new singer means trouble. The band does not sound the same anymore. Well, in this case, Sepultura still sound like Sepultura. Great choice. Also, while this album is heavier in many ways, they have not abandoned their great tribal rhythm backbone. This album is heavy and memorable.

Sepultura's first album with Derrick Green on vocals is actually a pretty good and sufficient follow-up to 1996's "Roots." It's plenty creative, because tracks like "Tribus" and "T3rcermillennium" are instrumentals which explore the band's Brazilian roots (with foreign instruments like rattles, whistles, and tribal drums). Plus, "Kamaitachi" is an Asian flavored track with Japanese percussion. But, since this record incorporated some groove metal and hardcore punk influence, there are still plenty of catchy, heavy, groovy guitar riffs, here (especially on songs like the title track, "Choke," and "Drowned Out"). "Floaters In Mud," which features some great drumming by Igor, and "Hatred Aside" (a song with Jason Newsted on guitar and vocals) are two other standout tracks. Derrick's vocals may be somewhat one-dimensional, and no one can replace Max, but Derrick's yelling is still quite powerful. The bottom line is "Against" won't go down in the history books as being a classic, rip-roaring, thrash-metal masterpiece, but if you give this album a shot, you'll realize it isn't half bad. Recommended for the hardcore Sepultura fan.