SEPULTURA — Dante XXI (review)

Album · 2005 · Groove Metal

4.5/5 · 2011-03-02
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“Sepultura is one of those bands that has never been able to recover from the process of switching vocalist.” That seems to be the majority opinion about the Derrick Green era of Sepultura. However I have to say that I do not fit into that majority, and this album is mainly the reason why. But the funny thing is I actually hated it when I first heard it.

Dante XXI is not perfect, and I wouldn’t even consider it quite in the range of a classic album, but what we have here is a set of songs that in my mind are the best Sepultura have done since the days of Beneath the Remains and Arise. The major complaint that I can send it’s way however is the fact that is has not one, but four ‘intro’ type tracks, each beginning a different section of this musical journey through The Divine Comedy. The first one, Lost, at least does a decent job of beginning the record, and has the sort of feel to it that makes you think that as soon as track two (Dark Wood of Error) cuts in you’re going to be hit full-on with the metal. It does exactly that. Limbo, the second ‘intro’ is okay, but really is just forty-four seconds of the same line of music repeated over and over. The third, Eunoe, is useless, it’s really just twelve seconds of wasted time. I can’t even tell what the instrument is. Primium Mobile is like Limbo, just repeating the same thing over and over. Overall their inclusions seems a pointless exercise that does nothing to do Sepultura’s talent justice.

Now onto the review proper. Generally speaking I would rate the proper songs on Dante XXI between 3 and 5 stars each. Closer Still Flame is the only exception, because it sounds to me as if the band were experimenting and it went wrong. It just does nothing for me. It does not really help that it serves as an outro to the album and it alone has it’s own intro track. An intro for an outro. It’s different I suppose but actually a pointless exercise. Sometimes it sounds as if Sepultura were trying to get the total running time higher. As it is it doesn’t quite make 40 minutes, but quality over quantity always comes first with me so the problem here is that this would be a better album if it were just that bit shorter.

But elsewhere we have some really great songs. Dark Wood of Error showcases some great riffs and when the vocals come in about half way through the song it feels like Dante XXI really has stepped up a gear. Green’s vocals are varied and strong. His performance here actually makes me want to hear these songs performed live, because I can imagine a great atmosphere by listening to Dante XXI.

Easily the best songs though are Fighting On, Ostia and Convicted in Life. Fighting On features some excellent and varied guitar patterns and a mix of spoken words and screams from Green. The song title is really appropriate too. This band has been fighting on ever since they parted from Max Cavalera, but there is no doubt in my mind that Dante XXI won them their fight. Based on this, I don’t want Max back, it’s that good. Ostia actually features orchestration, which instead of my fears of spoiling the song, actually adds depth to it, making it a welcome addition to this greatly varied album. Convicted in Life is fast, heavy track which features a drum solo at the start, before launching into a barrage of heavy riffs and great vocals. None of the album really brings back the exact sound of their thrash days but it gets a hell of a lot closer to the greatness of the material than anything they’ve done, with either frontman, since the Beneath the Remains/Arise era. I recommend this to anyone who considers themselves to be a fan of the band, no matter how much they may want Max back, Dante XXI is an album that deserves a chance. Actually I do recommend that listeners give it more than one chance because as I said at the start of this review, I hated it at first too, but it really grew on me after a couple more plays through. You may just be surprised by this album.