Once leaders in their field, Sepultura are getting psyched-out. They've hit a wall and their career is on a downturn, with poor album sales and a serious negative hit on the coolness scale. One nail in the coffin is the sad fact that former singer Max Cavalera has struck gold with Soulfly, embracing North America's glut of hardcore hip-hop. Two records strong Max has achieved a very lucrative solo career, surpassing his old mates with ease. It's almost like the crazy Ozzy/Sabbath scenario - frontman leaves the band who die slowly in the dust. New frontman Derrick Green has been accepted fully into the Seps fold, yet the Seps fanbase have had problems relating to the raspy, towering menace at the mike. His live abilities have been questioned and perhaps his underground beast of a voice just isn't clicking with young fans. With odds against them, the Derrick debut, Against, was a fine slice of moody, aggressive, jungle-inspired metal. In fact, as most dismissed it, it was easy to embrace the future without Max and Against stands as one of the band's most impressive efforts. Sadly, Nation pales in comparison. The brimstone and fire have left the band?s inner soul. Maybe it was Roadrunner guiding them along the disastrous way, but the 15 tracks on Nation are uninspiring and rather bland. The pieces are all there but the puzzle is quite difficult to get into focus. 'Sepulnation' and the brief mosher 'Revolt' set the tone, but it's short-lived. 'One Man Army' adds a serious Faith No More influence to the occasion, while 'The Ways Of Faith' dooms and glooms the occasion while failing to broaden horizons like a good chunk of Against did. The paths are shorter and the writing perhaps a tad less challenging which is disappointing. On cuts like ?Water', Green truly stretches his vocal swath - clean, crisp and clear, giving him that ultimate dual personality. But he's not the weakness on Nation, the songs are. Album closer 'Valtio' is a blinding and building instrumental, but like most of the record, song abruptness tarnishes the affair. I was real damn frightened the first time I heard Against, but once it sunk, it stayed there. With the desolate Nation, I'm afraid longevity has been truncated.