Review by Daniel for Sepultura - Chaos A.D. (1993)

I think it’s fair to say that Brazilian thrash metallers Sepultura were more of an obsession than a passion for me from the time I first discovered their classic third full-length album “Beneath The Remains” in late 1989 right up until the release of this divisive fifth full-length. The timing of their infamous breakout from the underground was perfectly aligned with my own period of extreme metal discovery so they represented somewhat of a cult figure in my formative years & if it would have been up to me then the world would have waited until their arrival as a premier thrash act before deriving any sort of Big Four of thrash metal. But………. this brings me to the “Chaos AD” album from 1993, a record that would see the band dramatically altering the course of their careers via a fresh & innovative new sound.

I can still remember excitedly rocking up at Sandy’s Records in the Northern Beaches of Sydney on the day of release, racing home to experience “Chaos AD” for the very first time & the feelings of confusion I battled with as a result. It wasn’t that I found the music I was hearing to be unpleasant in any way. It was that it was so clearly very different from what I was expecting after the thrash metal icon that was 1991’s “Arise” album. The production job on "Chaos AD" is very solid with the rhythm guitars offering a chunky, heavy-weight platform that enables the fairly simple & uncluttered song-writing to do its work in workman-like fashion. Igor’s drums possess an organic depth, particularly the toms which were clearly meant to be a highlight of the record thanks to the continued focus on tribal rhythms that had been experimented with on “Arise”. There isn’t the brightness & energy to the guitars that I was expecting to hear though which is in large part due to the band having experimented with down-tuning their instruments for the first time. That’s not to say that the experiment didn’t work though as these more rhythmic & groovy riffs certainly benefited from the approach. It’s just that they sounded a little foreign to my fanatical thrash-trained ears at the time. You see, unlike the Sepultura of old, this Sepultura was in no hurry whatsoever with the songs given plenty of space & sticking predominantly to mid-paced tempos, the result of which was a more accessible product that was capable of seeing Sepultura crossing over into an as yet untapped market. Despite my initial hesitation though, I couldn’t deny that they'd managed to achieve this without losing much of their creative street credibility because “Chaos AD” is a long way from a sell-out.

Pantera had changed the face of the global metal scene in the very early 1990’s with their groove metal sound seeing a trillion bands adopting a more rhythmic approach to metal guitar playing & we can definitely see that influence on “Chaos AD” as there’s really very little that you can call legitimate thrash metal on this album. There’s an obvious hardcore punk edge to a lot of the material with Andreas Kisser having now turned all of his attention to creating dissonant, textured interludes rather than flashy, melodic guitar solos. The lyrics are predominantly politically focused which suits the material very well too. Igor is certainly the star of the show as far as the performances go as the groove metal platform afforded him additional room to move given the more rhythmic nature of the riffs around him. I saw Sepultura play live on the tour in support of the album back in 1994 actually & it was no surprise to find that the new material came across brilliantly in a live environment. I’d been lucky enough to see them two years earlier on the tour for the “Arise” album & they were just as impressive the second time around to be honest.

It didn’t take me all that long to find a level of acceptance for “Chaos AD”. My major challenge was accepting that the Sepultura I’d loved & adored was now a thing of the past & to treat the new Sepultura as almost an entirely different band. Once I was able to do that I found that it’s actually a very consistent, well written & professionally produced metal record that achieved a feat that so many have failed at. It had created something fresh & different that could draw the attention of a wider audience but still appeal to a large percentage of their existing fans (at least those with an open mind). I have to say that the New Model Army cover version of “The Hunt” was a poor choice as it stands out very clearly in an otherwise quite cohesive artistic statement & there aren’t many genuine classics here either but the majority of the album is very strong nonetheless with “We Who Are Not As Others” (the least popular metal track on the album unsurprisingly) being my clear standout. There’s no doubt that “Chaos AD” was a step down from the two classics that preceded it but I actually think it sits very comfortably next to the Sepultura’s earlier material these days. In fact, I’d probably take it over “Bestial Devastation” & Morbid Visions” & don't place it too far behind “Schizophrenia” either. Fans of the band’s earlier work really should give “Chaos AD” a chance as you may just find yourself buying what it’s selling.

For fans of Soulfly, Cavalera Conspiracy & Machine Head.