The many changing faces of Sepultura… from their obscure Death Metal
beginnings to their progressively complex later workings showed that
this was a band willing to cross borders and accomplish success on their
own terms. While many may argue that their Hard-Core influences
suffered in favor of exploratory musical surgery, the band's carried on
through several albums, tours and personnel changes to arrive
confidently poised to deliver "Sepul-Nation…"
The fittingly titled
opening track is a thunderous number that offers little mystery as to
where their true allegiance lies -- the album in fact becomes more
imaginative and complex the further we go, but their trademark sinister
riffs and brutal rhythmic pounding has remained the true strength as
they strive to move forward. Ccall it evolution, innovation or sheer
lunacy but here's an album, "Nation" that is as critical to this band's
future as anything they've ever done. With new vocalist Derrick Greene
now having had time to really blend in and get comfortable for his
second album with the band, there's little to suggest this new model is
not functioning on all cylinders.
"Border Wars" is another bruising
example of what first endeared this band to the many legions of
followers they've accrued. The point-shearing guitar riffs and savage
vocals account for the impending deafness the listener's likely to
suffer…
Another example is the minute long "Revolt," a continual
speed-driven bombardment designed to obliterate the enemy in true
revolutionary style. In fact, if there's an overall theme to this
record, it's a coming-together of sorts stemming from a common
cause -- that which lies in their continued acceptance to not only
persevere as a unit but thrive, move forward and subsequently dominate.
Sepultura may never regain the glory of their past where the then Max
Cavalera-led mob created some truly masterful recordings ("Beneath the
Remains," "Chaos A.D.," "Roots…" albums that further solidified their
reputation as one of the premiere forces in the heavy Rock industry), but
then again they could well surpass that once their newer recordings have
had time to age. Judged solely on their merits of today, they won't
fall short of expectations with this album, which I'm finding far better
than its predecessor, 1998's "Against…" but we'll allow some margin for
error considering the circumstances.
Back to "Nation," "One Man Army"
is another aggressive retaliatory strike against dissidence and
downplay. Aside from the traditionally rooted malevolence, "Nation"
also features a wealth of outside contributors (including the likes of
Dead Kennedy's singer/spoken word artist Jello Biafra as well as a
Finnish string quartet Apocalyptica) all lending their own unique skills
to provide the extra breadth of range to the bands vision without
completely filling in the carved niche which Sepultura continues to
create for themselves.
