UMUR
"Roorback" is the ninth full-length studio album by Brazilian thrash/groove metal act Sepultura. The album was released through SPV Records/Universal Music Group in May 2003. It´s the successor to "Nation" from 2001, although the two full-length studio albums are bridged by the 2003 "Revolusongs" covers EP. The digipack and limited edition versions of "Roorback" feature the tracks from "Revolusongs" as bonus material.
"Roorback" sees Sepultura refining and fine tuning the thrash/groove metal style of the two previous releases and also expanding on the sound. Lead vocalist Derrick Green for example sings a few clean vocal parts. Although few they still add to the variation of the album and shows the versatility of Green´s voice and vocal abilities. If the two previous releases with Green on vocals both featured high quality material, they also featured quite a few more standard quality tracks, and they weren´t exactly consistent quality albums. "Roorback" on the other hand is exactly that. A consistent quality release. The songwriting is relatively strong, the musicianship is on a high level, and the album also features a powerful, organic, and well sounding production job, which suits the material perfectly.
To my ears "Roorback" is the album where this incarnation of Sepultura came into their own, and began sounding like a tight knit unit. The heavy and quite adventurous grooves and riffs, the aggressive vocals, and the solid songwriting. The latter could have been slightly more memorable and instantly catchy, but "Roorback" is a grower, and it is overall a high quality thrash/groove metal release. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.