Roots is the sixth studio album by Brazilian heavy metal band Sepultura . It was released in Europe on February 20, 1996 ( 1996-02-20 ) and in the U.S. three weeks later on March 12 by Roadrunner Records . It is the band's last studio album to feature founding member and vocalist/rhythm guitarist Max Cavalera , who left the band in late 1996 while the band was on tour to promote the album.
40-541: [REDACTED] Look up against in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Against may refer to: Against (album) , 1998 album by Brazilian metal band Sepultura "Against" (song) the title track song from the Sepultura album Against (American band) , 2006 American thrash band Against (Australian band) , Australian hardcore punk band Topics referred to by
80-403: A blurry dream I had about going to the rainforest. Wine may have been involved. In the end, when we actually went into the forest to record, it was unbelievable. The whole album was a huge personal journey for me, and as a Brazilian, it felt as an incredible achievement. Everyone was inspired and Igor was at the top of his game. The percussion was crazy and we worked with so many great musicians, in
120-605: A contribution to humanity. It's like, "We have something beautiful to contribute to humanity—and, by the way, here we are suffering. We want people to know who we are and that we exist." And so when they got this proposal from a musical group that wanted to come jam and share music with them, they loved it. A spokesman for the tribe looked back on the collaboration: "We had seen pictures of Sepultura and we knew that they were different, with their long hair and many tattoos. We also knew that they had been discriminated, like we were. Because of that we were very curious about them." Meeting
160-536: A genre full of bands that are creatively bankrupt." Music critic Robert Christgau gave the album a negative "dud" rating. Looking back on the album 20 years later, PopMatters contributor Saby Reyes-Kulkarni described Roots as "inarguably one of the most radical [stylistic] departures from convention in heavy metal history," an album that "blew the doors open on our perceptions of metal and so-called 'world music,'" adding that "we haven't heard anything quite like it since." In April 2005, Decibel inducted Roots into
200-408: A lot of caution about incorporating them in the right way, and not doing it for the sake of just having them there. It took us a lot of research and time to make sure that we did it in a way that felt completely natural. It wasn't just like "OK, we like this and it makes sense, so let's just do it." It took a lot to develop. Disparate elements of Brazilian culture permeate every aspect of Roots , from
240-416: Is "about believe in yourself, about be proud of your heritage, proud of where you come from. Really powerful but simple lyrics. So it's really about just be down with your own roots and believe in your roots". (In a 1996 MTV Europe clip, Max Cavalera explained the meaning behind the song as: "Don't give in. What you believe is for life, even if people try all the time to change you. The song is about 'don't let
280-465: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Against (album) Against is the seventh studio album by the Brazilian metal band Sepultura , released in 1998 through Roadrunner Records . It is the band's first release with new frontman Derrick Green , who replaced group founder Max Cavalera in 1997. Like Roots that preceded it,
320-517: Is heavily based on that in "The Hunted" which appeared on Kodo's Ibuki album and was originally composed for the soundtrack of the movie of the same name . The song "The Waste" (a vocal version of "Kamaitachi" featuring Mike Patton on vocals which appeared on the single B-sides) is featured in the movie Freddy vs. Jason and its soundtrack. The band supported Metallica in the latter's May 1999 tour in Brazil. Songs like "Choke", "Boycott" and
360-448: The 1964 Brazilian coup d'état . "Endangered Species" addresses environmental destruction. "Cut-Throat" is about Epic Records . (The last words in the song are "Enslavement, Pathetic, Ignorant, Corporations". This spells EPIC , the record company with which Sepultura had some trouble during their previous album, Chaos A.D. ) The lyrics to "Attitude" were co-written by Dana Wells, Max Cavalera's stepson, whose death (in part) led to
400-407: The 50 Heaviest Albums Of All Time . Rolling Stone Brasil named it the 57th best Brazilian music album. Rolling Stone contributor Jon Wiederhorn gave the album three stars out of five and said, "Sepultura play a violent game of sonic overload... the band uses its catharsis as a creative force, funneling torrents of noise into a tunnel of hate" and called the album "a refreshing step forward in
440-670: The Against tour. This performance included guest appearances from the Xavante tribe, who had featured on Roots (as documented in the "Choke" video) as well as Mike Patton , Jason Newsted , Carlinhos Brown , original Sepultura guitarist Jairo Guedz and Coffin Joe (whose "blessing" of the band performed during this concert turned up as a B-side entitled "Prenúncio" on the Tribus EP). The flute section of "Kamaitachi" performed by Kodo
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#1732772726899480-1080: The Decibel Magazine Hall of Fame, becoming the third album overall to receive a coveted spot in their Hall of Fame. Since the release of Roots , there have been cases where other metal bands who are not of Western (i.e.: European or American) origin have combined metal with music from their own native regions, though none of those bands have reached the same level of visibility or commercial success that Sepultura achieved with Roots . Chthonic , for example, blend symphonic death metal with traditional Taiwanese music and mythology; Melechesh play black metal while drawing from Assyrian/Babylonian/Middle Eastern mythology and symbology; Tengger Cavalry combine metal with Mongolian throat singing and classical Chinese instrumentation in both electric and acoustic settings; Alien Weaponry play thrash and groove metal with Māori lyrics, often with Māori cultural and historical themes. Speaking to Kerrang! in 2008, Max Cavalera looked back on Roots: Roots came from
520-572: The Xavante was by several accounts a life-changing experience that has continued to resonate with the members of Sepultura ever since. Igor has also said that the band identified a lot with the natives: "In a certain way, I think that we, as a band, had a lot of things in common with the Xavante Indians. We also lived on the edge of society, and our music and lifestyle is a long way from being assimilated and respected by that society." After
560-474: The album has a variety of guest musicians and incorporates tribal influences – Japanese percussion elements are added with the assistance of Japanese taiko group Kodo . The songs "Against", " Choke " and " Tribus " were released as singles, with a music video accompanying "Choke". The video featured footage from the Barulho Contra Fome ( Noise Against Hunger ) concert that was the first gig of
600-535: The album positively. Martin Popoff , author of the book The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal , ranked Roots as the 11th best metal record of all time. "This is a spectacular metal and futurist hardcore LP", wrote Popoff, "a masterpiece, accomplished by a band with an enormous heart and an even larger intellect". Kerrang! magazine awarded Roots second place in the list of "100 records that you have to hear before dying". In 2001 Q magazine named Roots as one of
640-441: The album saying: "Sepultura reinvented the wheel. By mixing metal with native instruments, the band resuscitates the tired genre, reminding of Led Zeppelin times. But while Zeppelin mixed English metal with African beats, it's still more moving to hear a band that uses elements of its own country. By extracting the sounds of the past, Sepultura determines the future direction of metal". Specialized heavy metal critics also reviewed
680-418: The amount of stuff we had going on was quite crazy. We had to make sure not to let anything really special slip by. It was tricky to go through all of it, and it took a lot of time to find out what would work with what we were already writing." According to Korn guitarist Brian Welch , in a November 1996 interview, his "own Bigger Muff guitar pedal " that he had initially modified and then used for his band
720-489: The band along with Carlinhos Brown. Of the album's prominent Latin influence, Igor Cavalera told Nashville Scene : I'd always wanted to do a little more stuff with a Latin feel, but it took until Chaos A.D. to realize how we could make that into something that wasn't too clichéd. That was always my fear. I'd been exposed to samba and the African Brazilian rhythms before I played the drums, and I'd always had
760-603: The band's part to embrace its Brazilian heritage. On many levels, the album reflects Sepultura's heightened focus on the music, culture, and politics of their native country. The overarching concept for the album was inspired by the film At Play in the Fields of the Lord (particularly the scene in which Tom Berenger 's character parachutes onto a tribe ). The movie inspired Max Cavalera to want to record with an indigenous Brazilian tribe. After convincing Roadrunner Records to support
800-507: The bastards grind you down. ' ") "Ratamahatta" is "a celebration of life in Brazil's favela slums, sung all in Portuguese, which tells the stories of people like Zé do Caixão ( Coffin Joe ) and Lampião , the leader of an early 1900s outlaw gang from north Brazil, whose head was put on public display after he was captured". "Ambush" is "a tribute to murdered South American rain-forest activist Chico Mendes ". "Dictatorshit" addresses
840-470: The end coming out with a 15-minutes drum jam that someone likened to a crazy Brazilian Pink Floyd . When we took the album to Roadrunner they loved it except for the title. They thought it would sound like a Bob Marley tribute album. We explained it to them, and thankfully they got it. As for the Xavantes, both their leader at the time of the band's visit (Cipassé) and Pappiani agree that Roots helped
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#1732772726899880-628: The events which caused Max to leave the band. Dana also came up with the concept for the video for the song, featuring Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu experts the Gracie family . American newspapers like The New Times , the Daily News and the Los Angeles Times reviewed the Brazilian band: "The mixture of the dense metal of Sepultura and the Brazilian music has a intoxicating effect", wrote a Los Angeles Times reviewer. The Daily News praised
920-513: The evolution of people having time to 'ingest' all the changes and everything. It's such an important album for keeping the band together. Against was a commercial disappointment compared to Roots , selling only 18,000 copies its first week in the US. It has sold over 130,000 copies in the United States. AllMusic gave the album 3 stars out of 5 and said that "there are enough flashes of
960-604: The music to the lyrics to the artwork and visuals to the videos the band made for the songs "Roots Bloody Roots," "Attitude," and "Ratamahatta." The album cover features an indigenous man of the Karajá tribe taken from a 1990 banknote of the discontinued Brazilian cruzeiro , to which artist Michael Whelan added a locket with Sepultura's "tribal S" logo and a background of red roots. Much of Roots references Brazilian culture, history, lore, and politics, either directly or indirectly. According to Max Cavalera, "Roots Bloody Roots"
1000-592: The music. They couldn't just write a lyric or a melody. It has to be transmitted to them in a dream. From a musician's point of view, it was like, "Wow, this is a completely different way of approaching music." University of Iowa anthropology professor Laura Graham explained the role of music in Xavante culture to PopMatters in 2016: For them, music functions as a medium for entering into other realms—whether they be other dimensions of existence or other cultures. Well before they had any contact with white people, part of their culture has always entailed that men engage
1040-509: The old Sepultura brilliance to suggest that great things are still to come". *on the Vanishing Point soundtrack as "Freedom of Expression" Roots (Sepultura album) Following the shift to slower tempos and Latin -tinged rhythms on the album Chaos A.D. , Roots delves even further into Brazilian musical textures and features significant contributions from iconic Brazilian musician Carlinhos Brown , who guided and arranged
1080-423: The project, Cavalera contacted Angela Pappiani, at the time the communications coordinator for Brazil's Núcleo de Cultura Indígena (Indigenous Culture Center). Nearly one year after Cavalera's initial contact with Roadrunner, Pappiani arranged for a small party including band, herself, Robinson, and then-manager Gloria Cavalera to travel to Mato Grosso , Brazil to visit the Xavante tribe and record with them. At
1120-411: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Against . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Against&oldid=1074071414 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
1160-723: The sections throughout the album that feature ensemble percussion playing. Both in sound and overall aesthetic, Roots is also a conscious nod to Brazil 's marginalized indigenous population and cultures. The song "Itsári" features a Xavante chant that re-appears on the song "Born Stubborn" and serves as a loose thematic thread for the whole album, which on the whole showcases the band's increased affinity for experimentation and collaboration. "Lookaway" features guest appearances by Korn vocalist Jonathan Davis , then-Korn drummer David Silveria , House of Pain / Limp Bizkit turntablist DJ Lethal , and Faith No More / Mr. Bungle vocalist Mike Patton . Riff-wise, Roots also draws influence from
1200-484: The song 'Itsári' as his signature walkout music before his fights. All lyrics are written by Max Cavalera , except where noted; all music is composed by Sepultura , except where noted The Roots of Sepultura is a double-disc album by Sepultura , released in November 1996. The second disc contains a collection of unreleased tracks, B-sides, alternate mixes, and live recordings. This release differs from Roots and
1240-429: The songs on Roots draw from these styles, with the band often blending them in unconventional ways and at times super-imposing them onto one another through creative mixing and editing in post-production. Several songs feature Brazilian instrumentation that had up to that point never been used by a metal band (certainly not one of Sepultura's stature), and the album is peppered with ensemble percussion sections played by
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1280-648: The spirit world, especially through music. This happens in their dreams. Not all, but most of their music is inspired—you could say "composed", although they say received —in their dreams through encounters with other worlds. When people come and visit the community from the outside, one of the things the Xavante ask them to do is sing them a song. Music is this medium for entering into relations with others—others meaning spiritual beings or, for example, white society or other cultures. The Xavante want to be known and they want their culture to be known. They want their music to be known because they think it's beautiful and view it as
1320-418: The then-surging nu metal movement, specifically Korn (whose first two albums were also produced by Roots producer Ross Robinson ) and Deftones . After leaving the band, Max Cavalera would continue to pursue the nu metal and "world" stylings of Roots with his solo project Soulfly . Since its release, Roots has sold over two million copies worldwide. Roots is the product of a concerted effort on
1360-413: The time, the members of Sepultura were only peripherally aware of the indigenous tribes residing in Brazil's interior. In a 2016 interview with Nashville Scene , Igor Cavalera remembered: Every second of that trip was insane in a very inspiring way. But there's a few things that really stand out. Like when they explained to us that the only way they wrote music was if someone in the tribe dreamed of
1400-556: The title track were still being played live during Machine Messiah era (2017–2018). In 2019, many years after the album release, singer Derrick Green stated "I feel so proud and happy about it, because it has affected so many people that I didn't realise (back then). At the time when we were playing the shows, people had just gotten into the changes of the band, but so many people have great stories from their first time hearing this album. So I really feel it now when we play these songs, how excited people get, you know? It's great to see that
1440-592: The tribe gain some visibility, to the point that people would actually identify them as Xavantes instead of just calling them "indigenous people". Pappiani noticed an increase in people's interest for information on the tribe and their music. On March 25, 2021, French heavy metal band Gojira released the single "Amazonia", a song about anti-deforestation of the Amazon and the protection of Brazilian indigenous peoples' rights. Shortly after its release on April 15, frontman Joe Duplantier in an interview with Blabbermouth.net
1480-441: The trip, recording resumed with Robinson at Indigo Ranch, at the time Robinson's studio of choice. According to the same 2016 Nashville Scene article, by that point the band had amassed "an overabundance of material." Igor Cavalera remembered that it was a challenge to prevent the album from becoming "a gigantic jam that didn't turn into actual songs." He added: "It was quite a difficult record to finish. We did so much recording that
1520-445: Was asked his thoughts about comparing "Amazonia" to Sepultura, to which he said: I go, "Yup." And it's a compliment, and there is no shame here. And we ripped them off, but we didn't do it on purpose. But we realized it right after. We were, like, "Oh, that sounds like SEPULTURA. Ahhh, whatever." It's a tribute to Sepultura — how about that? It's about Brazil. It's about the Amazon. It's tribal. Brazilian UFC fighter Alex Pereira uses
1560-453: Was reused to his "great dismay" for recording the Roots album. Roots represents a significant shift in direction for Sepultura. On several levels, the album reflects a concerted effort on the band's part to embrace its Brazilian heritage, with a heightened focus on Brazilian culture that is strikingly apparent in the music. Musically speaking, the inspiration for the shift was twofold: One
1600-642: Was the desire to further experiment with both Latin and indigenous strains of the music of Brazil , including the percussive style of the Salvador, Bahia samba reggae group Olodum . Roots was also inspired by Korn's self-titled debut , with its heavily down-tuned guitars . Roots is a groove metal and nu metal album that incorporates strong elements of aforementioned nu metal, thrash metal , death metal , world music , various Brazilian musical styles (including Brazilian folk music ), tribal music , and ambient field recordings. All of
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