Top 10 Best Sepultura Songs

Sepultura may have made a fierce impression on diehard metal fans with their early releases, but it was this third LP from 1989 which served as a benchmark for the band's ever-evolving songwriting. "Beneath the Remains" was the title track from this record, and immediately set off a statement of intent for Sepultura: a raging death/thrash epic with intricacies and maturity to spare. The song moves easily between breakneck thrash sections and neck-wrecking breakdowns, while the short clean guitar intro only provides the calm before the storm that is "Beneath the Remains", and its relentlessly focused musical attack. This one pulls NO punches.

1993 signified a turning point in the career of Sepultura, a transitional period which was represented musically by their fifth album, "Chaos A.D." This effort began to incorporate the traditional Brazilian influences which would permeate future records by the band, combining tribal rhythms and instrumentation with a more stripped down and simplistic groove-metal sound. "Territory" was one of the first singles from "Chaos A.D.," hinging upon its primal riff power and front man Max Cavalera's brutal-yet-discernible growl. Add in a memorably muddy music video clip to the mix, and you have a song which is both a live staple and fan favorite.

The song "Attitude" is one with a strong personal connection to Sepultura's co-founder Max Cavalera, as its lyrics and music video concept were both developed by Cavalera's stepson Dana Wells. Sadly, Wells would die shortly after Sepultura's "Roots" album was released in 1996, making "Attitude" something of a poignant reminder of his relationship to Max and his family. The track is pounding, plodding and heavy, and benefits from the accompanying video's depiction of mixed martial arts footage, including appearances from Brazil's legendary Gracie family of Jiu Jitsu artists. Meanwhile, the drumming of Max's brother Igor is particularly important to this track, as it drives home "Attitude's" sense of physical intensity and aggression. It's a perfect metal storm for fans of Sepultura during this era, an honest and direct track destined for the live arena.

If "Territory" showcased the beginnings of Sepultura's romance with world music instrumentation, "Ratamahatta" represents an even stronger and more focused example of that vision. The song featured a unique, stop motion music video as a promotional tool, and also utilized Brazilian tropicalia musician Carlinhos Brown on guest vocals, as well as Korn drummer David Silveira on percussion. "Ratamahatta" may not possess the fervent, death and thrash metal instrumentation of old, but the track's grooving, primal rhythm provides a sense of urgency which makes it one of the band's best known compositions.

The roots of Sepultura were a far cry from the complex and experimental avenues the band would eventually explore, instead showcasing a harsh and raw take on early, blackened death metal. "Troops of Doom" remains a cult classic from this era, however, and still receives spots in the band's set list to this day. The track was even recorded twice, both on the band's "Morbid Visions" debut, as well as on their 1987 sophomore effort, "Schizophrenia." "Troops of Doom" benefits from a grim-yet-catchy opening riff, before rallying into speedier territory as the short, yet memorable song reaches its crushing climax.

"Inner Self" wastes absolutely no time before launching into what might be one of the most crushing riffs in all of Sepultura's back catalog. Indeed, this track from "Beneath the Remains" is devastatingly heavy, while this power is made even more impressive given the fact that the album was recorded in standard "E" tuning. This proved that not only were Sepultura masters of making heavy music from a songwriting standpoint, but also didn't need to hide behind down tuned guitars in order to make their creative statements known to an audience. "Inner Self" may be nearing thirty years in age, but this one still sounds as fresh as it gets for many Sepultura fans around the world.

Double kick drums, vicious vocals and that haunting intro guitar melody. These were just a few of the musical ingredients that went into concocting one of Sepultura's most definitive musical statements, "Dead Embryonic Cells." As one of the first singles from the band's 1991 LP "Arise," "Dead Embryonic Cells" distills to its purest essence some of the strongest traits of Sepultura's death/thrash period, particularly during the track's raging middle section, which is virtually guaranteed to get fists, heads and bodies furiously moving. The song's music video also received heavy rotation on late MTV during this time, pushing the name Sepultura further into the international lexicon of important heavy metal acts.

Judging from this song's opening salvo of tribal drums and savage riffing, it quickly becomes apparent that Sepultura meant some serious business when they wrote "Refuse/Resist." The song opened up Sepultura's "Chaos A.D." record with a bang, combining the band's thrash heritage along with their growing focus shift towards a more intimate and physical groove. "Refuse/Resist" also brought in Sepultura's growing influences from tribal percussion, driving home its musical message with renewed simplicity and extreme aggression. Max Cavalera's vocals also became less guttural, just as his lyrical messages focusing more upon the injustices of everyday society. This combination proved worthwhile, as "Refuse/Resist" has gone on to become one of Sepultura's most popular live favorites.

Sepultura's fascination with Brazil's music heritage truly rose to the forefront on their 1996 album, "Roots," as it dove headfirst into a nineties musical movement known as nu-metal. "Roots Bloody Roots" was the title track from this record, and further simplified the Sepultura sound into one which was still heavy, but now more firmly focused upon expanding that heaviness into new territory. The band achieved this by tuning down the guitars, simplifying the arrangements and relying upon a more direct and physical connection with their audience. To Sepultura's credit, it succeeded, as "Roots Bloody Roots" quickly earned a rabid fan following, with its accompanying album going to become one of the band's best-selling efforts.

Before we name our number one Sepultura banger, here are a few heavy honorable mentions!

"Slave New World"
Chaos A.D. (1993)

"Lobotomy"
Beneath the Remains (1989)

"Slaves of Pain"
Beneath the Remains (1989)

The title track to Sepultura's 1991 masterpiece "Arise" says all it needs to in a remarkable three minutes and eighteen seconds, delivering what amounts to a death/thrash metal symphony with no wasted musical movement. The song showcases Sepultura at perhaps their most dynamic and assured, presenting heaviness with a remarkable attention to both melody and detail. The end results are furious, urgent and tight, showcasing arrangements which broke the death metal mold of the early nineties. As a result, "Arise" stands the test of time not only as Sepultura's finest hour, but also as one of the death/thrash metal genre's ultimate, certified classics.

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