SEPULTURA - Roorback
June 27, 2003, 21 years ago
(SPV)
Ah, the mangled, confused, Max-dependent Sepultura. The mighty Seps haven't been so mighty since mainman Cavalera's departure during the mid-'90s - this once-proud institution is fading away (in terms of relevance, at the very least) dangerously fast. And that's kind of a shame, not necessarily because Roorback is a roaring comeback, but because Igor, Paulo, Andreas and Derek's hearts are in the right place, trying to follow-up on the groove of Roots but getting tangled in the sea of nu-metal pretenders only cuz Sepultura still sounds poser nu-metal, even if the band helped invent the genre (and, on that point, how come Faith No More doesn't get royalties from Jonathan Davis?). Seriously, Sepultura was once a thrash-death beast but now rests only on the cusp of metallic debate: the spiky haired kids kinda get them, some of the diehards still roll on, and yet the record sales decrease with each new one. Roorback is adequate in all its down-tuned, aggressive, chanty glory, and its ability to get the head buzzing early in the AM is admirable. But, beneath it all, you can sense that Sepultura is at a loss, confused identity and bitter bank accounts angry at those nu-mavens who stigmatized, watered down and cashed in on Roots' glory.
