Additional personnel: Carlinhos Brown (vocals, berimbau, timbau, wood drums, lataria, xequere, surdos); Mike Patton, Jonathan Davis (vocals); David Silvera, Ross Robinson (percussion); Xavantes tribe, DJ Lethal.

Recorded at Indigo Ranch, Malibu, California and live in the "Aldeia Pimentel Barbosa," Mato Grosso, Brazil on November 5, 1995.

Not to be confused with the similarly titled Sepultura albums Roots or Blood Rooted, The Roots of Sepultura was a promo-only CD compilation of the band's strongest tracks and hard-to-find rarities. Released just before the groundbreaking Roots album, it predated the 1997 rarities/outtakes collection Blood Rooted. Interestingly, there is almost no overlap between the rare tracks included on Roots Of and Blood Rooted. It would make sense for Roadrunner to officially release this disc since it would serve as the ultimate final chapter of Sepultura's inventive thrash metal (leader Max Cavalera and the group split in 1997). Whereas bands like Metallica and Anthrax peaked early on in their careers and eventually ran out of ideas, Sepultura's songwriting only improved over time, which is obvious when listening to this album from beginning to end. Included are the band's breakthrough songs, "Refuse/Resist (Live)" and "Territory," perfect covers of both Black Sabbath's "Symptom of the Universe" and Motörhead's "Orgasmatron," and the early transitional track "Dead Embryonic Cells." The only reason why this release isn't the ultimate essential Sepultura overview is because it doesn't contain selections from their most accomplished album, Chaos A.D.. Still, The Roots of Sepultura is heavy metal at its most gripping and passionate (two words usually not associated with the music). ~ Greg Prato

Listeners intrigued by the rhythmic innovations and Brazilian influences of Chaos A.D. will be quite pleased by Sepultura's sprawling, frequently brilliant follow-up. True to its title, Roots wholeheartedly embraces Sepultura's native Brazilian rhythms, augmenting their music with field recordings of the Xavantes Indians, vocalist/percussionist Carlinhos Brown, and expanded percussion sections. The guitarists create an array of noisy, textural effects, so their technique and riff writing are not as impressive for fans of old-school thrash, but that's more due to the growing influence of alternative metal on the band, with Korn being a particular touchstone (vocalist Jonathan Davis even guests on one track). The songs sacrifice the tight structure of Chaos A.D. for extended percussion jams, plus some acoustic instrumental work. At 72 minutes, Roots inevitably loses focus in spots, but when the music connects (and it does so often), it carries tremendous visceral impact. Roots consolidates Sepultura's position as perhaps the most distinctive, original heavy metal band of the 1990s. ~ Steve Huey

On its sixth album, Brazil's most famous head-banging outfit takes a page from the nu-metal book but, more importantly, combines its brutal thrash-metal sound with indigenous music from its homeland, occasionally utilizing the percussion and chants of the country's Xavantes tribe to powerful effect. The biggest standouts are the lively, acoustic-guitar-driven "Itsari" and the epic closer "Canyon Jam," both improvisations with Xavantes musicians that make for welcome contrasts to the record's intense bombast. Elsewhere, Brazilian percussionist Carlinhos Brown drives the rhythm-laden "Ratamahatta," a track that exemplifies the quartet's distinctive brand of "tribal metal."

ROOTS marks a big step forward for the thrash-metal genre because of the way Sepultura matches its carefully controlled mayhem with the dynamic nature of its influences and collaborators. Faith No More singer Mike Patton, Korn frontman Jonathan Davis, and Limp Bizkit's DJ Lethal all pop up on "Lookaway," a dark, grinding tune with Eastern-inspired vocals. As a whole, ROOTS is a visceral synthesis of groove and aggression, especially when drummer Igor Cavalera lets loose with flurries of tom-tom fury. ROOTS also closes a major chapter for the group, since after recording the album, vocalist/guitarist Max Cavalera departed to form Soulfly.