Sepultura - Arise

I start this review with severe trepidation because when I was al ot younger, I worshiped this record and this band. I wanted a B.C. Rich Warlock simply because Max looked cool as hell with it. I always found Beneath the Remains a bit messy, and its predecessors were not without its charm but on Arise, it all came together and just gelled. Although Sepultura got lumped in with all the death metal bands at the time, to call them death metal would be incorrect. More a thrash band with slightly guttural vocals, they appealed to a wide audience because their music was heavy but not to f*cking heavy (think Obituary) or too fast or complicated (Morbid Angel). Even to this day, I get goose bumps listening to the title track or what is to me the standout track on this record, "Desperate Cry". The intro to "Altered State" is simply one of the heaviest riffs, ever. A lot has been made of Igor's drumming on subsequent records and the infusion of Brazilian accents on those records. I call BS on that one. Although he's not playing as fast as on Beneath the Remains and there is a lack of ethnic tones here, to me, its here that he really proved himself as a versatile drummer. Song wise, the jungle boys were on top form, and songs like the title track, Desperate Cry, and Under Siege (Regnum Irae) are all classics. The production on this record is typical 1990s Scott Burns, meaning a bit thin but the best afforded at the time. I've got to mention that bizarre cover though. Just what the hell in the world is going on with the crab thing? Something definitely must have been lost in translation. I was lucky enough to catch these guys on the Arise tour and let me tell you, they slayed! Unfortunately it all went to shit after this, but if you own any Sepultura record, there's no better place to start than here.