Sepultura - Dante XXI

Let me preface this review by saying I am a Sepultura fan. I like all of their albums. There are songs from the earlier albums that I think are a lot better than songs from the later albums and there are songs from the later albums that I think are better than the earlier albums. As much as I enjoy their thrash material with Max, I must say I think their music got more interesting with the later albums. You can tell they are playing music they want to. They are becoming more experimental and are constantly reinventing their sound (with the exception of Roorback). Dante XXI could be the most ambitious Sepultura CD to date. When I say ambitious I don’t mean best. I simply mean it seems like they pushed their limits as a band on this album.

First of all, this album is a concept album based off of The Divine Comedy. Lyrically, it is very mature. They take the concepts from The Divine Comedy and apply them to current events and beliefs. It is more of a lyrical application/analysis than a story telling session.

Musically, the album is divided into three parts: Hell, Purgatory and Paradise. Each section is split up with orchestrated interludes. The Hell section, as you could have guessed, is very raw and aggressive. It contains probably their fastest and heaviest material since Chaos A.D.. In a way, the music reminds me of a more modern approach to Chaos A.D.. Derrick also never sounded better. It seems like he is extremely confident and comfortable in the band.

The experimentation starts with the Purgatory section. They start embellish their trademark sound with horns and strings. Note that I said embellish. Don’t think Metallica’s S&M album. It is more of an added ambience. The arrangements are done very nicely. It makes it sound almost like a heavy metal film score. I know that was the sound they were going for and they successfully pulled it off.

Lastly, the listener arrives at Paradise with the song “Still Flame”. “Still Flame” sounds nothing like the rest of the CD. It is an instrumental track that is very similar to “Valtio” from Nation. It has strings, horns, chanting and electronic drum loops. It is a very cool song and shows Sepultura playing music outside of the thrash metal spectrum.

Overall, this album has a little of everything for Sepultura fans. Songs like: “Dark Wood of Error”, “Convicted In Life”, “City of Dis”, “Buried Words” and “Fighting on” will please fans of pre-Roots era Sepultura, while songs like: “Ostia”, “Nuclear Seven”, “Repeating the Horror” and “Still Flame” offer something completely new for Sepultura fans. If you are a fan of the Derrick era there is no doubt in my mind that you will enjoy this album. If you are a Max purist who can’t stand Sepultura for the sole reason that Max isn’t singing, don’t even waste your time on this album. If you are a fan of older Sepultura and can get over the fact that Max isn’t singing you may find some stuff you can really thrash to. My hat goes off to these guys for pushing themselves and creating a truly classy thrash metal epic.