The Best of Sepultura in Bloomington, MN

The first true greatest-hits album to cherry-pick highlights from the band's back catalog,
The Best of Sepultura
was compiled as well as it could have been as part of
Roadrunner Records
' 2006 series of best-ofs (also including
Fear Factory
,
Type O Negative
, and others). The underlying issue is that
Sepultura
's four major albums --
Beneath the Remains
(1989),
Arise
(1991),
Chaos A.D
. (1993), and
Roots
(1997) -- are so stellar, they deserve to be heard in full, not piecemeal like this. However, for those consumers not inclined to go out and buy four individual CDs (each of which does have its own unique characteristics, it should be noted), a single-disc sampler like
certainly fits the bill. It includes two songs from
(
"Beneath the Remains,"
"Inner Self"
), three from
"Arise,"
"Dead Embryonic Cells,"
"Desperate Cry"
), four from
. (
"Refuse/Resist,"
"Territory,"
"Slave New World,"
"Biotech Is Godzilla"
), and three from
"Roots Bloody Roots,"
"Attitude,"
"Ratamahatta"
) -- indeed, the highlights from each. Plus, there's one choice song from the early (and seldom-heard) album
Schizophrenia
(1987),
"Troops of Doom,"
and thankfully, no songs whatsoever from the post-
Max Cavalera
lineup of the band. All the songs are sequenced chronologically, as they should be, and there's not a bum one to be heard throughout. If you're already a
fan, you likely won't have any need for
. You'll want (or already have) each of the four major albums in their entirety, or at least some of them. But if you're new to the band, or not sure if you're all that fond of these guys,
is a good place to begin exploring. Just don't be surprised if you end up buying each of the albums afterward, once you get a sample of them. In fact, there's a valid case to be made that you should just go out and buy
. instead of this compilation, since it's the most representative, or maybe
, which was the mainstream breakthrough, or
, which is a
thrash
classic and underground favorite, or perhaps even
, which is also excellent, if more experimental and Brazilian in nature. ~ Jason Birchmeier