Band:	Sepultura
Album:	Roots
Style:	Alternative metal, Groove thrash metal
Release date:	February 20, 1996
Guest review by:	ScreamingSteelUS

Disc I
01. Roots Bloody Roots
02. Attitude
03. Cut-Throat
04. Ratamahatta [feat. Carlinhos Brown, David Silveria & Ross Robinson]
05. Breed Apart
06. Straighthate
07. Spit
08. Lookaway [feat. Jonathan Davis, Mike Patton & DJ Lethal]
09. Dusted
10. Born Stubborn
11. Jasco
12. Itsári [feat. Xavante tribe]
13. Ambush
14. Endangered Species
15. Dictatorshit
16. Canyon Jam [Hidden Track]
17. Procreation (Of The Wicked) [Celtic Frost cover] [Brazilian edition bonus]
18. Symptom Of The Universe [Black Sabbath cover] [Brazilian edition bonus]

Disc II [Roadrunner Records: The 25th Anniversary Series bonus disc]
01. Procreation (Of The Wicked) [Celtic Frost cover]
02. Mine [Feat. Mike Patton]
03. War [Bob Marley cover]
04. Lookaway [Master Vibe mix]
05. Mine [Andy Wallace mix]
06. Dusted [demo]
07. Roots Bloody Roots [demo]
08. R.D.P. [demo]
09. Untitled [demo]
10. Attitude [live at Ozzfest]
11. Roots Bloody Roots [Megawatt mix 1]
12. Roots Bloody Roots [Megawatt mix 2]

Roots was Max Cavalera's last album with Sepultura before his departure, and he did not exactly go out with a bang. The predecessor to Roots, Chaos A.D., saw the band move away from thrash and towards a simpler, moderately-paced death metal sound that, while differing from their previous material, showed promise. Roots takes this stylistic change further, abandoning thrash-inspired death for death-inspired nu metal. Truthfully, this is largely a nu metal album punctuated by Max Cavalera's recognizable growls, Igor's trademark drumming, and some traditional Brazilian instrumentation provided by Brazilian musician Carlinhos Brown and the native Xavante tribe. The genesis of Soulfly is here, and is not entirely welcome.

Max Cavalera has never been a particularly unique songwriter. Not every band needs an artist at the helm, but Max has an annoying tendency of re-writing the same song over and over again with the same determination as AC/DC and none of the success. Early Sepultura stands out as an exception, but by the mid-'90s he had run out of new ideas. Roots, Soulfly, Nailbomb, Cavalera Conspiracy? there was no need to separate the material by band. It all sounds the same. Simplicity is as much of a songwriting tool as complexity. Used correctly and strategically, it provides for greatness and memorability; used improperly or too often, as is the case here, it leaves the listener with nothing to grasp and nothing to take away from the listening experience.

The incredibly down-tuned guitars mingle with Igor's powerful drumming and Max's raspy exhortations in the same sludgy, Slipknot-Korn-not Sepultura atmosphere on just about every song, and it gets old after "Cut-Throat." This connection to nu metal is only strengthened by the presence of Korn vocalist Jonathan Davis and drummer David Silveria on a couple of tracks, who do nothing to liven up the stagnant swamp of sludge and laziness that encases every song. "Lookaway," which features Davis and Faith No More's legendary Mike Patton, utilizes approximately none of the guest talent and is merely disappointing.

There are three, and only three, songs on this album that are worth a listen. The very first song, "Roots Bloody Roots," is a grinding, pounding anthem that shows the great potential for Max Cavalera's newfound sound. Max has stated that "Roots Bloody Roots" is his absolute favorite song to perform live, which is quite understandable. This is followed up by "Attitude," which, while not exactly a masterpiece, is decent enough (qualifying as head-and-shoulders above the rest of the album). "Ratamahatta," featuring a very noticeable amount of traditional Brazilian influence, essentially finishes off the album at the fourth overall track. Listening to any one of the following songs will provide an accurate representation of what all the rest are like; there is no point in wasting more time on Roots than is necessary.