Sepultura - Dante XXI

[Liu]

Sepultura - Dante XXI
SPV

Sepultura are if nothing else a controversial band. Following the firing of founding member Max Cavalera, the Brazilian band went on to hire an American, Derrick Green. They adopted a more hardcore sound, leaving behind the band's thrash roots. In their defense, the band was already going in that direction while Max was still in the band (and his subsequent projects proves he wasn't the voice of dissent). Despite being all but blackballed by their former metal fanbase, the band trudged forward.

The band still has many of the hardcore elements on Dante XXI, but there is a renewed interest in the thrashing of old. Following a quick intro track, Dark Wood Of Error sets things in motion. With a simplistic, yet compelling riff pattern that recalls Chaos AD, the beginning of this song will have you banging your head in short order. Chaos AD is one of my favorite Sepultura albums, so revisiting this sound is certainly a step in the right direction. The next few songs, like Convicted Of Life and City Of Dis are in the same vein.

It should be noted that Dante XXI is a concept album, based on Dante's The Divine Comedy. The album is structured into 4 acts, each with its own intro track. The second act has the band in a more modern direction, almost metalcore-ish. Ostia and Buried Words are among the album's best tracks. Ostia starts out in typical fashion but halfway in cellos are introduced bringing a mournful mood. Buried Words stands out with a very hurried pace and memorable chorus. Repeating The Horror is mostly notable for its scattered song structure and drum outro by Igor Cavalera. There are no flat-out bad songs on Dante XXI but a few that should have been better, such as Crown And Miter and Nuclear Seven. Closing out the album is the very peculiar Still Flame, which starts out with chanting that builds to a midsection with tribal drums and scant guitar chords. Heavy guitars are introduced near the end with an ominous synth that brings to mind a movie score.

In just under 40 minutes, Sepultura delivers their best album since Chaos AD (has it been 13 years already?) and will hopefully silence some of their naysayers. Fans of old will no doubt want to pay a little more attention this time around. And if not, well, you still have a copy of Arise, dontcha?


01. Lost (intro)
02. Dark Wood Of Error
03. Convicted Of Life
04. City Of Dis
05. False
06. Fighting On
07. Limbo (intro)
08. Ostia
09. Buried Words
10. Nuclear Seven
11. Repeating The Horror
12. Eunoe (intro)
13. Crown And Miter
14. Primium Mobile (intro)
15. Still Flame

Score: 7/10