Neha Patil (Editor)

Roots Bloody Roots

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Released
  
18 February 1996

Length
  
3:32

Format
  
CD single, 7"

B-side
  
“Procreation (Of the Wicked) ”, “Territory” (live), “Beneath the Remains/ Escape to the Void” (live), “Symptom of the Universe”, “Propaganda” (live)

Recorded
  
October - December 1995 at Indigo Ranch, in Malibu, California

Genre
  
Groove metal, death metal

"Roots Bloody Roots" is a song by Brazilian band Sepultura. It was released in February 1996 as the lead single from their sixth album Roots. The song is the band's best known and remains a concert staple to this day, usually being performed on encores. A music video was filmed for the single which features the band performing in an underground cave as well as on the streets with a tribe of percussionists. This video can be found on the VHS We Are What We Are, which was later released on DVD as part of Chaos DVD.

Contents

The song also appears in live form on the band's live releases Under a Pale Grey Sky and Live in Sao Paulo. Another live version appears on the limited edition digipak version of the band's 2000 album Nation. Former Sepultura frontman Max Cavalera has also played the song live numerous times with his other bands Soulfly and Cavalera Conspiracy. Recordings of their version can be found on the limited edition versions of the albums Soulfly and Prophecy and as iTunes bonus track on Conquer, as well as on the DVD The Song Remains Insane, plus on the bonus DVDs of Omen and Archangel.

Music video

The music video was directed by Thomas Mignone and won the Kerrang "Video Of The Year Award" in 1996, as well as a nomination for the MTV Brazil "Best Rock Video" Award. Filming was done in the catacombs underneath the city of Salvador, where the Brazilian slaves were sold. The video is distinguished from other heavy metal imagery by its atypical use of the natural beauty of Brazil, including its traditional capoeira fight, Timbalada percussionists, and Afro-Brazilians people, as well as the reference to the religion of Candomblé. The video also shows scenes of Catholic churches.

Releases

The single was released on 2 CDs and 7” vinyl. The first CD was presented in a card foldout digipak case, while the second was in a standard slimline jewel case. Early copies of the digipak version were embossed with a stamp of the band's thorned ‘S' logo. The vinyl was a strictly limited edition and was red in colour.

Track listing

Disc 1 (Digipak)
  1. "Roots Bloody Roots"
  2. "Procreation (Of the Wicked)" (Celtic Frost cover)
  3. "Refuse/Resist" (live)
  4. "Territory" (live)
Disc 2
  1. "Roots Bloody Roots"
  2. "Procreation (Of The Wicked)" (Celtic Frost cover)
  3. "Propaganda" (live)
  4. "Beneath the Remains/Escape to the Void" (live)
7” Red Vinyl
  1. "Roots Bloody Roots"
  2. "Symptom of the Universe" (Black Sabbath cover. It also appears on Blood-Rooted and the limited edition of Roots)
  • Refuse/Resist, Territory, Propaganda, Beneath the Remains/Escape to the Void were recorded live in Minneapolis, MN in March 1994

    • Cover versions

  • Soulfly covers the song live. A recording of this can be found on the DVD The Song Remains Insane as well as on five of their studio albums.
  • The Cavalera brothers often play the song to close a show as Cavalera Conspiracy.
  • Dreadnaut covers the song in their 2008 album A Taste Of What's To Come.
  • JBO covers the song (singing replaced by a tenor-like voice) in their 1997 album Laut (as "Pabbarotti & Friends").
  • A Punch's Pilot covered the song live featuring Waylon Reavis from Mushroomhead.
  • Suicide Silence covered the song with Max Cavalera at the Mitch Lucker Memorial Show
  • Canadian industrial band iVardensphere released a cover of the song in August 2014.
  • The song was also played by many musicians at once, at the show by Roadrunner Records, Roadrunner United, The Concert, with the following team-up:
  • Robert Flynn (Machine Head) - Vocals
  • Corey Taylor (Slipknot, Stone Sour) - Additional Vocals
  • Howard Jones (ex-Killswitch Engage) - Additional Vocals
  • Jesse David Leach (Killswitch Engage, Seemless, The Empire Shall Fall) - Vocals
  • Tommy Vext (ex-Divine Heresy) - Additional Vocals
  • Andreas Kisser (Sepultura) - Lead Guitar
  • Scott Ian (Anthrax) - Rhythm Guitar
  • Dino Cazares (Fear Factory, Divine Heresy, Asesino, ex-Brujeria) - Rhythm Guitar
  • Paul Gray (Slipknot) - Bass
  • Adam Duce (Machine Head) - Bass
  • Joey Jordison (Slipknot) - Drums
  • Roy Mayorga (Stone Sour) - Percussion

    • Personnel

  • Max Cavalera - Vocals, Rhythm Guitar
  • Igor Cavalera - Drums, Percussion
  • Andreas Kisser - Lead Guitar
  • Paulo Jr. - Bass
  • Produced by Ross Robinson and Sepultura
  • Recorded and engineered by Ross Robinson
  • Mixed by Andy Wallace
  • Assistant Engineer: Richard Kaplan

    • References

    Roots Bloody Roots Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA