Sepultura is one of those bands that never really interested me. I saw them live back in 04 or 05, opening for Motörhead. Being really impressed by the show, I went out and bought a couple of records; Roots, Beneath the Remains and Chaos A. D. I soon tired of all of them, Beneath the Remains held up a little longer then the rest
They have been on my radar, and I have listened to most of their releases in one form or another, most of them not really cutting it. I hated A-lex, it was just horrible from start to finish, and the Dante record I just didn’t understand.
Anyhoo, one day I was checking out new releases on my chosen streaming service and Phantom Self came on and I loved it straight away. It was an instant reaction. The riff is just super heavy and groovy, the vocals are distinct and catchy. I had to check out the rest of the album, when one of the songs was this great.
The album starts off strong; the title track is a slow moody number. It reminds me of Beneath the Silth off of Machine Heads Bloodstone & Diamonds or maybe Planet Caravan. I am the Enemy is a super heavy song, but kind of predictable; fast paced complete with the scream along chorus are known for. Iceberg Dances is the kind of track that grabs a hold of you and doesn’t let go. Great song!
Sadly, the next four songs don’t cut it for me. They’re predictable and sound a bit by numbers. They’re so formulaic that they turn annoying.
The final track is a good finish. Cyber God is punishing and grueling and extraordinary heavy. With a full on headbanging beat, this must be a great live track, it just has to.
I’m not going to join a Sepultura fanclub after this release, it brought them higher on my mountain of metal bands to listen to. But the four song, or the middle part of the album, just … bleh
Recommended tracks: Machine Messiah, Cyber God, Phantom Self
Rating: 3 / 5
tungmetal 