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
The Best of Sepultura certainly fits the bill. It includes two songs from
Beneath the Remains (
"Beneath the Remains," "Inner Self"), three from
Arise (
"Arise," "Dead Embryonic Cells," "Desperate Cry"), four from
Chaos A.D. (
"Refuse/Resist," "Territory," "Slave New World," "Biotech Is Godzilla"), and three from
Roots (
"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
Sepultura fan, you likely won't have any need for
The Best of Sepultura. 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,
The Best of Sepultura 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
Chaos A.D. instead of this compilation, since it's the most representative, or maybe
Arise, which was the mainstream breakthrough, or
Beneath the Remains, which is a
thrash classic and underground favorite, or perhaps even
Roots, which is also excellent, if more experimental and Brazilian in nature. ~ Jason Birchmeier
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