It’s hard to explain the impact an album as “Schizophrenia” had in 1987. It’s even harder to explain the feeling of being able to listen to all the album in a perfect clear sound due to the perfect recording. Now we know all the buzzing have the perfect form of riffs and bridges and licks. Back then, we all thought they were part of the song. Really, I mean it. I was one of the lucky guys who could listen to the album in its original vinyl incarnation. The album is also the debut of the axeman Andreas Kisser who brought the band his six string skills and gave them a more polished sound. Polished, not softed or sugared. A thing that instrumental “Inquisition Symphony” showcases the fan without a shadow of doubt. Mr. Andreas Rudolph Kisser brought Sepultura the musicianship and musicalitty the band needed to give the step ahead into Metal stardom. It was the breakthrought the band needed. Take a look at the main guitar riff of “From the Past Comes the Storms” and tell me about the ungodly speed he puts into it. The band had the spirit, the heart and the soul, he added what it was lacking.
“From the Past Comes the Storms” opens up the album with the intensity Sepultura were already known for. Its ungodly speed plus the cadenced riffing surprises the fan. Remember it’s 1987 were talking about. Speed was the opposite of cadenced. Bands were struggling to reach the speed of light. “To the Wall” adds some spice to the mix with its breaks and more speed where necessary. Its following track “Scape to the Void” adds a downpicking that would be a stapler of Thrash Metal plus the urgent and desperate vocals Max impresses to it. It’s possible to notice that Iggor Cavalera has also given the step ahead into his instrument. For the years to come he would become a reference when talking about Extreme Metal drumming. Within some years Sepultura would also become a reference about Extreme Metal. Back then, after this album everyone would look to them with fresh, and curious, eyes. Pay close attention to the guitar work at “Screams Behind the Shadows.” See how the downpicking technique plus the breaks and the speed turn the song into something unique so far. Its intense and frantic guitar riffing is something Extrreme Metal owes to Sepultura.
It’s true “Schizophrenia” was a milestone not only for Sepultura, but also to Metal music. With this re-recording the Cavalera brothers finish their “Third World Trilogy,” a homage to what many thing is the true Sepultura. History goes “Schizophrenia” was the album a young, but willing, Max Cavalera put under his arms, took a plane to New York and showed to everyone he knew to promote it. The rest is history.
Cavalera “Schizophrenia” will be released on June 21st via Nuclear Blast Records.
Track Listing:
- Intro
- From the Past Comes the Storms
- To the Wall
- Escape to the Void
- Inquisition Symphony
- Screams Behind the Shadows
- Septic Schizo
- The Abyss
- R.I.P. (Rest in Pain)
- Nightmares of Delirium
Watch “Scape to the Void” official music video here:
1997
I’m just a lucky guy who has chosen metal to live with for a long time. Metal changed my life for good. It made me more confident and stronger. Metalheads are naturally far away from the mass mediocrity and don’t accept impostures from anybody else. Metal is more than music, it’s a life changing oportunity!
