| Chaos A.D. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 1993[1] | |||
| Recorded | 1992–1993 | |||
| Studio | Rockfield Studios (Monmouth, Wales)Chepstow Castle (Monmouth, Wales) | |||
| Genre | Groove metal | |||
| Length | 47:04 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer | Andy Wallace | |||
| Sepultura chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Chaos A.D. | ||||
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Chaos A.D. is the fifth studio album by Brazilianheavy metal bandSepultura, released in 1993 byRoadrunner Records. After the success ofArise, the band decided to expand the experimentation of that album and depart further from their earlierthrash metal sound. The album incorporates multiple genres such asgroove metal andhardcore punk,[2] and features the band's first fully acoustic song.
Chaos A.D. is also Sepultura's only album onEpic Records, which handled its release for North American distribution. It is also the first album to featurePaulo Jr. on bass after having played with the band in a live capacity since 1984.[a]
The album peaked at 32 on theBillboard 200, becoming Sepultura's highest charting record at the time and Roadrunner's first album in the top 40. The album received widespread acclaim upon release and has come to be regarded as one of Sepultura's best albums, and a landmark in heavy metal.
The band considered numerous producers, includingavant-garde jazz composerJohn Zorn andAl Jourgensen ofindustrial metal pioneersMinistry. They ultimately choseAndy Wallace, who had previously mixedArise. Sepultura wanted isolation, and for that Andy Wallace suggestedRockfield Studios, located inSouth Wales.[4] The recording sessions marked the first time Sepultura had recorded as a quartet as opposed to a trio, which sawAndreas Kisser handling both bass and guitar duties on their previous three albums; as such,Chaos A.D. was the first album to includePaulo Jr., who had been playing live with the band since joining in 1984.[a]
"Kaiowas" was recorded live among the ruins of the medieval castle ofChepstow. It was an entirely acoustic track, with Kisser andMax Cavalera on the guitars and drummerIgor Cavalera and Paulo Jr. on percussion. When they recorded "Kaiowas", the quartet never even considered playing the track live, because they thought it would be too difficult to recreate the drumming on stage. They changed their minds after seeing a video of the American bandNeurosis: "We saw in that live video that the Neurosis guys put down their guitars and everybody started to play the drums on stage", lead guitarist Andreas remembers. "We decided to try the same thing. We rehearsed it once and it was wonderful. We haven't stopped playing the song live since."[5]
During recording sessions, Sepultura recorded severalcovers: "The Hunt", fromNew Model Army, "Polícia", fromTitãs, "Inhuman Nature", from the Americanhardcore punk bandFinal Conflict, and "Crucificados pelo Sistema", from BrazilianRatos de Porão. Igor, a New Model Army fan, convinced the other band members to include "The Hunt" on the record. Paulo joked that the money of the LP would go straight to newdentures forJustin Sullivan, the toothless singer of New Model Army.[6] The latter 3 covers would be included as B-sides and also on the compilationBlood-Rooted. "Polícia" is also included as a bonus track on the Brazilian edition of the album. Up until the time the album was due, the title was originally Propaganda after track 6, but Max Cavalera changed it toChaos A.D. after theMisfits'Earth A.D.[7]
Out of the boredom of playing theArise songs for two years straight and concerned about the threat of musically stagnating, Sepultura pushed the envelope onChaos A.D.[8] The new material came out slower, with more emphasis ongroove than speed.[9][10][11] The first track, "Refuse/Resist", revealed the band's new direction.[12] The song starts with the heartbeat ofMax's then-unborn first son,Zyon,[13] followed by some Afro-Brazilian drumming reminiscent ofSalvador, Bahiasamba-reggae groupOlodum.[6] About the track's introductory guitar riff, Max said it "could have been created by adeath metal band."[2]
According to Max Cavalera, "diversity was the key toChaos A.D.", also saying "Biotech Is Godzilla" was "pure hardcore".[2] "Nomad", with its characteristically slow riffs, was described by lead guitaristAndreas Kisser as their answer toMetallica's "Sad but True".[5] The album also featured Sepultura's first all-acoustic incursion, "Kaiowas". "It's like a mixture ofLed Zeppelin,Sonic Youth and Olodum", said Max of that particular song.[12]
Chaos A.D. was their first record to use some lowerguitar tunings. Half of the songs in the album are tuned down toD standard, except for "Kaiowas", which is in drop C♯ tuning.[14] Max Cavalera said he "had to fight Andreas over" retuning the guitars to D, partly because all of Sepultura's songs, until then, were written instandard tuning. He argued thatBlack Sabbath also played in D, and they could do the same.[15]
After traveling extensively abroad for theirArise tour, the band came to see their home-country in a new light. Brazil's political issues and music then came to the fore. Sepultura targeted and denounced racism, discrimination,xenophobia andneocolonialism, and how they fueled destructive policies and power-hungry politicians. Writing forVICE, authorJ.J. Anselmi declared that the "social messages ofChaos A.D. are timeless and universal, making it one of the most important metal albums ever recorded."[16]
The lyrics of "Refuse/Resist" mention "tanks on the streets, confronting police, bleeding the plebs."[13] Its chorus ("Refuse! Resist!") resembles a protest march slogan,[17] and when released as a single featured a photograph of a South Korean student rushing atSeoul's riot police contingent while holding aMolotov cocktail.[18] Speaking toKerrang!, Max Cavalera remembered: "This certainly got in touch with the dark side of Sepultura. "Refuse/Resist" is an anti-police song – a real piece of anarchy. You could call the album riot music. It was full of heavy shit and some of it was risky, but it was just where we were coming from at the time."[19] The next song, "Territory", dealt with the conflict between the Palestinian and Israeli peoples.[17] "Slave New World" — with its lyrics co-written byBiohazard bassistEvan Seinfeld[5] — was a protest against censorship.[20]
Massacres were a major part ofChaos A.D.'s overall theme. "Amen" tackled the massacre ofDavid Koresh's followers inWaco, Texas. "Manifest" had a faux-radio report of theCarandiru massacre,[5] and "Kaiowas" was made in honor of a Brazilian Indian tribe that committed collective suicide in protest against the government that wanted to drive them off the land of their ancestors.[21] "Nomad", written by Andreas, talked about people expelled from their homelands.[5]
OnChaos A.D., Sepultura honored one of their biggest idols,Jello Biafra. Max had called Biafra asking him to contribute to the album with a song about the growing neo-Nazi movement. "I asked for something like 'Nazi Punks Fuck Off - Part 2'", remembers Max, referring to the anti-Nazi song "Nazi Punks Fuck Off" by theDead Kennedys. But Biafra wasn't interested in recycling old ideas, and suggested a song called "Biotech Is Godzilla", that he had written during his visit to Eco '92, a world conference about ecology organized inRio de Janeiro. "Jello spent ten minutes explaining me his crazy theories", said Max to Anamaria G. ofBizz magazine, "he said thatGeorge Bush had sent a group of scientists toBrazil to test germs and bacteria on human beings and use them as guinea pigs. The lyrics claim thatbiotechnology createdAIDS. But they don't say that technology is bad, just that it's in the wrong hands."[22]
By the timeChaos A.D. arrived, Sepultura were the biggest act of Roadrunner's roster. Aware of the band's increasing popularity, the label spent nearly$1 million on a "marketing blitz" which quickly guaranteed them silver and gold records in Belgium, France and the UK.[23] The group also signed an exclusive distribution deal with a major label, Epic Records, home ofPearl Jam andRage Against the Machine.[24] This deal eventually went sour: Epic paid little attention to Sepultura,[25] preferring to invest inFight andProng.[24]
TheChaos A.D. tour launched on October 23, 1993, withgothic metal bandParadise Lost as theopening act. The tour went well, except for an incident whereBerlin's police received a false tip claiming that Sepultura'stour bus was loaded with a major cocaine shipment.[23] Enraged by the unjustsearch and seizure procedure, Max re-wrote "Antichrist", from their 1985Bestial DevastationEP, as "Anti-Cop",[26] and then the band proceeded in playing the song live throughout the tour (a recorded version is available on the combined re-release ofBestial Devastation/Morbid Visions andThe Roots of Sepultura albums).[27] While touring Europe, rumors floated around that Sepultura would be part of the latest edition ofBrazil'sHollywood Rockmusic festival, taking place in January 1994.[26] The event would happen simultaneously onSão Paulo and in Rio de Janeiro.Chaos A.D. has sold more than 2 million copies worldwide. The North American leg, which was co-headlined byPantera, coincided with the1994 FIFA World Cup, with the concert inIrvine, California, taking place on July 17, a few hours after thetournament final, in nearby Pasadena. Sepultura, whose members attended the match, took to the stage decorated in the Brazilian colors in celebration of the national team's triumph in the tournament.[28]
In October 1994, the Black Sabbath tribute albumNativity in Black was released. It was the brainchild of producer Bob Chiappardi, a project two years in the making.Nativity in Black featured mostly "up-and-coming" bands such asWhite Zombie,Biohazard,Type O Negative andTherapy?. Sepultura's contribution was their "Symptom of the Universe" cover, a song they played live since theBeneath the Remains (1989) tour. According to the band, the invitation came due to their good relations with Concrete, Chiappardi's production company.[29][30] In November, Sepultura did a brief Brazilian tour withThe Ramones. Fellow countrymenViper andRaimundos were the opening acts. The tour spanned five dates, with shows inCuritiba,Florianópolis,Belo Horizonte,Porto Alegre andSanto André. The joint tour came about as happenstance: both bands wanted to tour in Brazil in the same time period.[25][30][31]
Sepultura's secondhome video,Third World Chaos, was released inVHS format in June 27, 1995. It features interviews,music videos,behind-the-scenes footage, and portions of concerts andjam sessions from theChaos AD tour. The video starts with a live (and sped-up) rendition of theirMotörhead cover "Orgasmatron" from their 1994Monsters of Rock show, atDonington Park, UK. It segues to a series ofpress clippings withRoy Mayorga's "Chaos BC" remix serving as background music. The "Slave New World"promotional video comes next, with a briefmaking of scene and Max explaining to a Japanese interviewer the song's theme. This leads toIron Maiden singerBruce Dickinson interviewing both Max and Andreas, and they clarify the concept behind "Kaiowas" title and how it was recorded. The band plays the song live onMTV Europe and on their Monsters of Rock gig. More backstage antics are shown, now with tourmatesBiohazard together in a percussive jam. The promos for "Refuse/Resist" and "Territory" are next.[20][32]
There's also older archival footage onThird World Chaos. One example is the "Arise" video, whoselocation shooting wasCalifornia'sDeath Valley, where the infamousManson Family resided for a time in the late 1960s. There's also their first ever promo —"Inner Self"—a track taken from theirBeneath the Remains album.[20]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [33] |
| Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal | 10/10[34] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B+[35] |
| NME | 6/10[35] |
| Q |  [35] |
| Rolling Stone | [36] |
Chaos A.D. received positive reviews from music critics, with many commending the album's experimentation and sense of the band coming into their own.AllMusic declared it one of the best heavy metal albums of all time, calling it "a remarkable achievement not only in its concentrated power and originality, but also in the degree to which Sepultura eclipsed their idols in offering a vision of heavy metal's future."[33]Entertainment Weekly proclaimed that "Sepultura will separate casual headbangers from rabid addicts fast... even non-metalheads will be impressed by the variety in [Chaos A.D.]: they're not averse to slowing things down."[35]
Chaos A.D. was a watershed moment for the band. The quartet faced many challenges with the record. For one, they made a risqué transition from their earlier death/thrash sound. Sepultura also traversed the radical shift in the rock music scene of the 1990s, with the sudden popularity ofalternative rock. "We made a record that was very metal", said Max Cavalera; there "was an explosion ofgrunge and nobody wanted anything to do with metal." Despite everything,Chaos A.D. was ultimately a triumph. "It was a magical and very inspiring time" remembers the elder Cavalera.[37]
Sound of the Beast authorIan Christe creditsChaos A.D, along withPantera, for developing the groove metal style, which would later influence other artists in the '90s.[38] It is one ofJoe Duplantier's top ten albums, guitarist-songwriter forGojira. In his opinion,Chaos A.D. "gave birth to the wholenu-metal scene."[39]Korn were inspired by the album when they started out.[40] At least two members fromSlipknot attested howChaos A.D. was important to them.[41][42]
Chaos A.D. was ranked 29th onRolling Stone's and 63th onNME's 100 greatest metal albums lists.[43][44] "Refuse/Resist", the album's firstsingle, charted at number 26 inVH1's "40 Greatest Metal Songs" list.[45] InRolling Stone Brasil's list of the 100 greatest MPB records,Chaos A.D. held the 46th position. According to the magazine, the album was a "point of inflection" for the band and the heavy metal scene. It paved the way to "another essential record"—Roots[46]—ranked No. 57 in the same list.[47]
Sepultura's newfound interest in the music and socials ills of Brazil inspired—or ran parallel to—their fellow countrymen's ownMPB/metal experiments. One particular case was Overdose, Sepultura's formerCogumelo labelmates. Overdose's 5th album,Progress of Decadence (1993), opened with "Rio, Samba e Porrada na Morro", anindustrial-meets-samba intro five years in the making. The rest of the album segues into their own brand of groove metal.[48] Furthermore, Overdose inserted political themes in their lyrics, although they had been doing such before Sepultura.[49]
Saravá metal groupGangrena Gasosa's debutWelcome to Terreiro (1993) opens with "Troops of Olodum", a spoof on Sepultura's "Troops of Doom" complete with the song's intro riff and Olodum-styled percussion.[50]
On Brazilian bandAngra's concept album,Holy Land,[51] lead guitar playerKiko Loureiro said that, when composing for their second album, the MPB influence "came naturally".[52] Despite this statement there was, indeed, a concerted effort by the group to explore their Brazilian musical identity. It was partly a response to the criticism directed towardsAngels Cry (1994), which drew many comparisons toHelloween,Iron Maiden and others.[51]Holy Land and Sepultura'sRoots were released a month apart from each other, and they both highlighted a major moment for Brazil's metal scene.[53]
Although it became a popular trend in the 1990s, the mixing of metal and percussion remains a controversial topic in the Brazilian scene. One example is the "tribal" thrash metal of Krucipha, which takes inspiration fromPernambuco'smaracatu through the states'manguebeat movement. The band's music still divides opinions, enraging metal purists.[54]
All music is composed bySepultura, except where noted
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Refuse/Resist" | Max Cavalera | 3:20 |
| 2. | "Territory" | Andreas Kisser | 4:47 |
| 3. | "Slave New World" |
| 2:55 |
| 4. | "Amen" | Max Cavalera | 4:27 |
| 5. | "Kaiowas" | (instrumental) | 3:43 |
| 6. | "Propaganda" | Max Cavalera | 3:33 |
| 7. | "Biotech Is Godzilla" | Jello Biafra | 1:52 |
| 8. | "Nomad" | Andreas Kisser | 4:59 |
| 9. | "We Who Are Not as Others" | Max Cavalera | 3:42 |
| 10. | "Manifest" | Max Cavalera | 4:49 |
| 11. | "The Hunt" (New Model Army cover) | 3:59 | |
| 12. | "Clenched Fist" | Max Cavalera | 4:58 |
| Total length: | 47:04 | ||
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13. | "Chaos B.C. (from the 1996 albumMortal Kombat: More Kombat)" |
| 5:12 |
| 14. | "Kaiowas (Tribal Jam)" | (instrumental) | 3:47 |
| 15. | "Territory (live)" | Max Cavalera | 4:48 |
| 16. | "Amen/Inner Self (live)" |
| 8:42 |
Notes
| Chart (1993-1994) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[56] | 27 |
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[57] | 19 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[58] | 21 |
| Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts)[59] | 4 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[60] | 11 |
| Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[61] | 23 |
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[62] | 15 |
| Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[63] | 16 |
| Scottish Albums (OCC)[64] | 84 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[65] | 11 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[66] | 15 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[67] | 11 |
| USBillboard 200[68] | 32 |
| Chart (1996) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[69] | 21 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[70] | Gold | 35,000^ |
| Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[30] | Gold | 100,000* |
| Indonesia[71] | Gold | 25,000[71] |
| Netherlands (NVPI)[72] | Gold | 50,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[73] | Gold | 100,000^ |
| United States (RIAA)[74] | Gold | 500,000^ |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
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