Albums That Have Not Stood the Test of Time: Sepultura: Roots

I am listening to this album as I type this. I remember being absolutely blown away by this album when I first heard it. It was my favorite album for quite awhile. I had just recently discovered the band when this album came out. It was the most brutal album I had heard to that point. What made it even more interesting was the use of tribal drumming, something that had not been done as effectively prior to this album.

So what happened?

Well for one, I discovered the band's back catalog was much more interesting. Their early raw, brutal thrash was one of the influences on the formation of death and black metal. In general the band put out better material earlier in their career.

Secondly, Max Cavalera left the band soon after this release and the band went straight downhill from there.

Third, and most important, my tastes have changed. You see, this is basically a nu metal/groove metal album at its core. It may be dressed up a little bit, but the music is mostly simple and dumbed down. That was not what Sepultura created earlier on. The riffs were simple and non-melodic, the guitar solos were basically gone and there were few, if any dynamics.

So no, Roots did not stand the test of time.