Against (album)

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Against
Studio album by
Released6 October 1998
Recorded1998
Studio
GenreGroove metal
Length47:26
LabelRoadrunner
Producer
Sepultura chronology
Blood-Rooted
(1997)
Against
(1998)
Nation
(2001)
Singles from Against
  1. "Against"
    Released: November 1998
  2. "Choke"
    Released: 1999
  3. "Tribus"
    Released: June 1999

Against is the seventh studio album by the Brazilian metal band Sepultura, released in 1998 through Roadrunner Records. It is the band's first release with new frontman Derrick Green, who replaced group founder Max Cavalera in 1997.

Album information[edit]

Like Roots that preceded it, the album has a variety of guest musicians and incorporates tribal influences – Japanese percussion elements are added with the assistance of Japanese taiko group Kodo.

The songs "Against", "Choke" and "Tribus" were released as singles, with a music video accompanying "Choke". The video featured footage from the Barulho Contra Fome (Noise Against Hunger) concert that was the first gig of the Against tour. This performance included guest appearances from the Xavante tribe, who had featured on Roots (as documented in the "Choke" video) as well as Mike Patton, Jason Newsted, Carlinhos Brown, original Sepultura guitarist Jairo Guedz and Coffin Joe (whose "blessing" of the band performed during this concert turned up as a B-side entitled "Prenúncio" on the Tribus EP).

The flute section of "Kamaitachi" performed by Kodo is heavily based on that in "The Hunted" which appeared on Kodo's Ibuki album and was originally composed for the soundtrack of the movie of the same name. The song "The Waste" (a vocal version of "Kamaitachi" featuring Mike Patton on vocals which appeared on the single B-sides) is featured in the movie Freddy vs. Jason and its soundtrack.

The band supported Metallica in the latter's May 1999 tour in Brazil.[1]

Legacy[edit]

Songs like "Choke", "Boycott" and the title track were still being played live during Machine Messiah era (2017–2018).

In 2019, many years after the album release, singer Derrick Green stated "I feel so proud and happy about it, because it has affected so many people that I didn't realise (back then). At the time when we were playing the shows, people had just gotten into the changes of the band, but so many people have great stories from their first time hearing this album. So I really feel it now when we play these songs, how excited people get, you know? It's great to see that the evolution of people having time to 'ingest' all the changes and everything. It's such an important album for keeping the band together.[2]

Reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Chronicles of Chaos9/10[4]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal8/10[5]
NME7/10[6]

Against was a commercial disappointment compared to Roots, selling only 18,000 copies its first week in the US.[7] It has sold over 130,000 copies in the United States.[7] AllMusic gave the album 3 stars out of 5 and said that "there are enough flashes of the old Sepultura brilliance to suggest that great things are still to come".

Track listing[edit]

No.TitleMusicLength
1."Against"1:54
2."Choke"
  • Cavalera
  • Kisser
3:36
3."Rumors"
  • Cavalera
  • Kisser
3:04
4."Old Earth"
4:28
5."Floaters in Mud"
  • Cavalera
  • Green
  • Kisser
4:58
6."Boycott"
  • Cavalera
  • Kisser
3:10
7."Tribus"
  • Cavalera
  • Kisser
1:39
8."Common Bonds"
  • Cavalera
  • Kisser
  • Paulo Jr
2:58
9."F.O.E." (Jimmy Bowen cover*)Jimmy Bowen2:08
10."Reza" (Pray – featuring João Gordo from Ratos de Porão on vocals)
2:16
11."Unconscious"
  • Cavalera
  • Kisser
3:37
12."Kamaitachi" (featuring Kodo)
  • Cavalera
  • Kisser
3:03
13."Drowned Out"
  • Cavalera
  • Kisser
1:28
14."Hatred Aside" (featuring Jason Newsted from Metallica on baritone guitar, percussion, theremin and vocals)
5:13
15."T3rcermillennium"
  • Cavalera
  • Kisser
  • Paulo Jr
3:56
Total length:47:26
Brazilian bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
16."Gene Machine/Don't Bother Me" (Bad Brains cover)2:51
17."Prenúncio" (Prenounce – featuring Coffin Joe and Jairo Guedz)5:10

*on the Vanishing Point soundtrack as "Freedom of Expression"

Personnel[edit]

Singles[edit]

  • "Choke" – released in 1998
No.TitleLength
1."Choke"3:36
2."Gene Machine/Don't Bother Me" (Bad Brains cover)2:51
3."Against (demo)"1:38
  • "Against" – released in 1999
No.TitleLength
1."Against"1:54
2."The Waste" (featuring Mike Patton and Kodo – a vocal version of Kamaitachi)3:39
3."Tribus (demo)"1:45
4."Common Bonds (alternate mix)"3:04
  • "Tribus" – released in 1999
No.TitleLength
1."The Waste" (featuring Mike Patton and Kodo – a vocal version of Kamaitachi)3:39
2."Tribus (demo)"1:45
3."Common Bonds (alternate mix)"3:04
4."Unconscious (demo)"3:42
5."F.O.E. (extended mix)" (Jimmy Bowen cover)3:04
6."Prenúncio" (Prenounce – featuring Coffin Joe and Jairo Guedz)5:10

Chart performance[edit]

Album – Billboard (United States)

Year Chart Position
1998 Billboard 200 82[9]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "MusicMight :: Artists :: SEPULTURA". Rockdetector.com. Archived from the original on 7 June 2011. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
  2. ^ DERRICK GREEN em Kaza! - entrevistado por Gastão Moreira. "Derrick talks about his carrier and the production of Against, Nation, Roorback and more..." YouTube. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021.
  3. ^ AllMusic review
  4. ^ "CoC : Sepultura - Against : Review". www.chroniclesofchaos.com. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  5. ^ Popoff, Martin (2007). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 3: The Nineties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. pp. 392–393. ISBN 978-1-894959-62-9.
  6. ^ Johns, Darren (19 October 1998). "NME.COM - SEPULTURA - Against". NME. Archived from the original on 17 August 2000. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  7. ^ a b "SEPULTURA Frontman Says His Band Is Better Off on a Smaller Record Label". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. 5 October 2003. Archived from the original on 22 April 2009. Retrieved 18 March 2009.
  8. ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "AGAINST, NATION & ROORBACK | Storyteller - Sepultura album covers part III". YouTube.
  9. ^ "Top Music Charts – Hot 100 – Billboard 200 – Music Genre Sales". Billboard Music Charts. 1998. Archived from the original on 3 September 2015. Retrieved 31 May 2008.