Sepultura - Roorback
SPV
Sepultura Metal
12 songs (47'15)
Release year: 2003
Sepultura, SPV
Reviewed by Jack
Major event

Once upon a time there were four young guys coming from one of the poorest countries of the third world, but a country of all dreams for us, Brazil. After an EP Bestial Devastation and a couple of albums Morbid Visions and Schizophrenia, they came up to the face of the world with an album full of hate Beneath The Remains. The world would never be the same again. Now 14 years later (I can't believe it's been 14 years since they released it...), can we still believe the three remaining guys are still angry at the world now that they have sold millions of albums ?

Roorback's opening track Come Back Alive says it all. They are still @#?!ing angry. And all the fans of their metal era such as me will only be pleased to hear the band playing it loud and heavy again. Indeed Sepultura went back to their metal roots to come up with a strong heavy album. Unfortunately heavy doesn't necessarily mean quality and that's my only complaints with this album. Gone are the usual guests and that's not too dissatisfying for me, on the contrary. The band decided to focus on the music itself and they come up with real heavy songs. The problem is that songs roll one by one during 36 minutes (the outro song lasts 11 minutes and consists of only the three last minutes) and suddenly the album is over and there's a "that's all" that comes out of your mouth (if you know what I mean). Roorback sounds as a cross between their latest two albums Nation and Against with Chaos A.D. and a bit of Arise and Beneath The Remains. Alas, no song really emerges on Roorback as some did on their previous albums. No Roots Bloody Roots, Refuse Resists or Inner Self. Some songs such as Corrupted, The Rift or Activist are really good tunes, but I doubt they might become some day Sepultura's classics. Bottomed Out is an untypical slow song for Sepultura. It's a good one though with a great guitar solo. And that's a fact on this new album, Andreas surpasses himself with his guitar work, and sometimes it feels like going back to their Beneath/Arise/Chaos era. Derrick (... I mean the singer, not the guy on the German tv show) finally proves he was a good choice. And probably the best choice. I know some of you might disagree, even violently, but I think Derrick really outdoes what Max does nowadays with Soulfly. With that kind of performance I don't see how Max could ever pretend one day to return home, but never say never... history has proved it.

Finally I don't know what to think with this new album. In fact after a dozen of listens, I still don't know if I am going to buy it. The album is to be found in it's regular edition or on a double digipack edition coupled with their last year Revolusongs EP. Had I not bought their Revolusongs EP in Montreal (30 $), I would have bought it in any case. Let's see if I found it here in Switzerland under 15 $ I will... but since I own all their discography I might buy it anyway because after all it's not such a bad album, of course alot better than their two previous works, but far from the trio Beneath/Arise/Chaos.

Killing Songs :
Corrupted, The Rift, Activist
Jack quoted 75 / 100
Other albums by Sepultura that we have reviewed:
Sepultura - Quadra reviewed by Goat and quoted 75 / 100
Sepultura - Machine Messiah reviewed by Goat and quoted 70 / 100
Sepultura - The Mediator Between Head and Hands Must Be the Heart reviewed by Goat and quoted 70 / 100
Sepultura - Kairos reviewed by Goat and quoted 80 / 100
Sepultura - Roots reviewed by Goat and quoted 74 / 100
To see all 13 reviews click here
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