Search - Sepultura :: Roots (Bonus CD) (Reis) (Dig)

A Disappointing Re-Release

Gunther Haagendazs | Up High in the Trees | 01/19/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Ok let's face the obvious; Roadrunner has been constantly spitting out these 25th anniversary Re-releases as an easy cash grab from the fans. Since they already re-released the rest of the albums from Max Cavalerea years, why not re-release roots? Well, when I had first heard this news, I was excited and jumping with joy. Roots was my first Sepultura album and one of my personal favorites, I practically have the thing memorized word for word and note for note. Now I realize this is a long review so if you want a short version, then skip to the last paragraph. If you want all the details, then read on from here.



I checked websites weekly for updates as to what the bonus track would be on the second disc. Roadrunner stated that it would be 15 songs, but they didn't release the track list till months later. When they finally did, I was shocked to see that it was 13 songs instead of 15. I looked back at the roadrunner website and there were still banners up on the website claiming that it would have 15 songs! What happened to the three missing songs?! And to top it off, most of the songs were previously released on the B-Side/Live disc Blood Rooted.



Now I'm a Sepultura fanatic so eventually, my curiosity got the best of me and I gave in and bought it. This is the third time I've bought Roots. I have the original copy, the rare import The Roots of Sepultura and now this one.



The most interesting part of the whole package is probably the artwork and the 23 page booklet. The lyrics part of the booklet has been changed, having the colors screwed around with (it actually looks pretty cool) as well as pictures of Jon Davis, Mike Patton, the tribe, Ross Robinson, members of the band and so forth. The main problem was that most of it dealt with the recording process so much that they weren't able to include all the info they could have. The Re-release of the Soulfly album does a better job (in terms of the booklet) because it gave some info about every song. The Lyrics for Lookaway are still not present because they were written by Jon Davis. They don't mention the guitarists from Korn helping out with Ratamahatta on percussion, nor do they mention anything about Carlinhos Brown (who also played on Ratamahatta and Ambush). A large portion goes into the recording process for the untitled track at the end of the album. This 13 minute improve jam goes by two names. The booklet refers to it as Canyon Jam, if you insert it in your Computer or look online it comes up as Little Wood-Music, so which is it? There are other things included such as their journey to the Xavantes tribe, but there are still several things that are left unanswered to the die hard fanatic. Like with the bonus material, why did they decide to cover Celtic Frost and Bob Marley? They are great songs but I would like to know why. It feels incomplete and a bit of a let down. Just compare the booklets from Roots and the Soulfly album and the Soulfly one ends up as the winner. It was simply done better. However if you compare the overall music, Roots annihilates the competitor.



Alright, enough with the booklet, does the bonus material make it worth the cash? Well let's go over all the previously unreleased material and that which was left off Blood Rooted.



5. Mine (Andy Wallace Mix): I don't understand why the reviewer Wobby praises this track as much as he did, but this is not a remix, this is an extended Mix, not a remix. There is an additional 4 seconds at the beginning and probably a minute and half added to the end. If there is an actual difference, then it's not easily noticeable.

8. R.D.P. (Demo): I'm convinced that this is demo cover of a Ratos De Porão song, but I'm not too sure which one. Sepultura previously covered their song Crucificados Pelo Sistema. It's Definitely an awesome song.

9. Untitled (Demo): An instrumental that was never improved on, probably the best song here, it could have been a second We Who Are Not As Others.

10. Attitude (Live): This was on an Ozzfest CD so its nice to have it on an actual sepultura CD for the first time.

11. Roots Bloody Roots (Megawatt Mix 1): very strange, not too good, but definitely better then the next track.

12. Roots Bloody Roots (Megawatt Mix 2): absolutely unbearable. It sounds like a really bad Soulfly remix. With the exception of Max yelling, you couldn't be able to tell what this was in the first place. Horrible, horrible remix. I will bet that these two remixes were made recently at the last minute by someone at Roadrunner.



The next time Roadrunner decides to release some old Sepultura rarities (which they probably will within the next five years) they better just make a Blood Rooted vol. 2. There is plenty of live bootleg material that they can place on it and if you look hard enough, there is a rare Desperate Cry Vinyl Single that has a track titled Sweet Leaf (probably a Black Sabbath cover) and I'm sure there are plenty more demos.



Alright here's my conclusion as to whether or not this Re-release is worth the money. If you do not have any version of Roots, then definitely buy this version. If you already have the original version; you can skip this entirely or buy one used at a cheap price or get it as a gift. I personally do not like to support these cash grabbing re-releases so that's what I did; I received it as a gift. The music is definitely worth 5 stars, but the overall letdown of unreleased material removes a star. Hoped this helped and thanks for reading."

The best gets better

Wobby | Toledo, OH | 10/04/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This classic Sepultura album is among the best metal albums of all time. The tribal beats with hardcore metal is a winning combination. The addition of the second disc with the intense cover of Bob Marley's "War," "Lookaway" Remix with Mike Patton and "Mine" also with Patton are worth it alone. The remix of "Mine" is intense and furious and the other remixes are good as well. A live version of "Attitude" is a nice addition to this package. If you don't already own "Roots," this is the version to get!"

Classic 90s Metal

Gregory Wild-Smith | Oakland, California | 09/22/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"While not as balls out brutal as their Chaos A.D. album Roots was the album that caught the publics ear.



It is a much more diverse album than many of their others, acoustic guitar tracks like Jasco contrast with the infamous brazillian drums and breakneck guitar riffs of Ratamahatta, all the way to tracks completely composted of native brazillian tribal music. The title isn't just a word, its a description. This is a band getting back to their roots, and being frank and honest about it.



This 2005 re-issue (to celebrate the excellent label RoadRunner's 25th birthday) is the best version to own by far. Adding a second CD of demos and remixes, as well as adding the bonus tracks that were present in the original Digipack release, it is a much more complete look at the band and its, now faded, glory.



If you like clever modern interpretations of Brazillian music, then you should own this album. If you like metal... well then you shoudl already own this album. If not buy it now. There is no excuse with such an excellent double CD on the market.



Certainly one of the best Metal albums the 90's produced, and largely better than anything so far this decade. A must have for all fans of heavy guitars."