Review by Rexorcist for Sepultura - Beneath the Remains (1989)

So let's take a quick look at Metallica's openers for Master of Puppets and Ride the Lightning, and how they start off with a couple catchy and beautiful acoustic melody before going right into the thrash.  While I adore both albums, the acoustic intro of Beneath the Remains SLAYS BOTH.  Our opening title track is switching between death and thrash like it's absolutely nothing, and we can expect this to happen a lot in this album.

I'm on this album right now because I am in a serious need for a metal kick after watching some of Lords of Chaos again and having gotten through the new Burzum album, The Land of Thule (kinda lame), and since I still have to be careful about my metal intake in comparison to other genres I want to explore even further, going back to a couple albums I need to review here for the lists is the way to go.

Sepultura are Brazil's dominant thrash band for a reason: they understand what heaviness really is.  They display a variety of different ways to bring out the brutality of thrash and death even on Inner Self alone.  If you like thrash metal at all, then this is one of those perfect examples of how to endlessly thrash with a constant and never-wavering selection of riffs and rhythms that pretty much keep you on your toes at all times.  Since the songs are all following largely the same vibe, it's easy to day that it's not the most original or even groundbreaking release.  But since all of these songs are so damn good despite this old tricks, this also makes the album a perfect introduction to anyone looking to get into thrash, or even maybe to slowly break into death.  In fact, it also makes it hard to pick favorites out of this bunch of thrashers.

This is a fan-favorite for many, largely because it's their darkest and likely even their heaviest, despite the fact that it's not the most original.  I'm glad I came back to this today because I really needed some serious metal energy.