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Rating: “ES CASI UNA GRANDE MIERDA!”. This was the phrase I read on a Spanish website shortly before listening to the album. A year later, I realize that the guy who made that judgment was superficial. “Against” in fact is not “almost a big piece of crap”... IT'S JUST A PIECE OF CRAP!!!! The ugliest metal album (metal? what an exaggerated word!) I have ever listened to.
This recorded catastrophe (so to speak) from 1998 by Roadrunner was generated by the departure of Max Cavalera, which took place a year earlier. And it is precisely the performance of the new and unlucky vocalist, Derrick (not the inspector) Greene, that makes it even more disgusting. He has nothing to do with any other existing singer, his growls seem to come out of a Harry Potter movie. His voice can be compared to that of a Fiat Fiorino with a muffler hole under the manifold and a wet crankshaft. After this little motor diatribe, let's move on to the riffs: reluctant, boring, not heavy at all, and above all useless. Like the rest of the album, after all! Igor Cavalera gives the impression of playing his grandmother's pots, the ones sold by Mondial Casa, old-fashioned types. The bassist seems to be "high" on acid. Unfortunately, he is perfectly healthy but still doesn't know what the hell he's doing. Let's skip over the guitar solos (and carefree ones) to avoid being even more vulgar.
The cover speaks for itself. A record without ideas, the result of a poorly executed and highly overrated commercial operation. The record, if it can be called that, is a collection of tracks dedicated to Latin-American dancing (the ugly, ugly kind though...) badly done in a metal style (yes, I know... I won’t swear anymore) and arranged with that touch of crossover, which in such a "masterpiece" couldn't be missing. An anguishing debut from the "new" Sepultura where boredom is at home. After a first taste, about 10 minutes, you will need an IV to recover from the narrowly avoided suicide attempt. Out of desperation, I even tried to bite it to disintegrate it, but it tasted like crap...
Tracklist Lyrics Samples and Videos
01 Against (01:54)
The more I see, the more I hate
The more I learn, the more I fake
The less I try, the less I get
The less I'm in, I'm never out
Don't do that / I knew it
Don't do that / I knew it, knew it
You don't know and I don't know
The circle seems the same
Falling down or standing up
I care what is against
Don't do that / I knew it
Don't do that / I knew it, knew it
What the fuck / You blew it
What the fuck / You blew it, blew it
Against!
Against!
Lyrics: Andreas Kisser
Music: Andreas Kisser / Igor Cavalera
Sepultura / Zebrahead / Gringo - backing vocals
02 Choke (03:36)
Pray for another life
Pay, regain your pride
See your brain / Choke
Watch it drain / Choke
See your greed / Choke
Watch it breed / Choke
Fake, you're falling down
Choke, your neck is broken
See your brain / Choke
Watch it drain / Choke
See your greed / Choke
Watch it breed / Choke
Victim in conflict, the ambush of fear
My doubt, my limit, the pulse of my war
See your brain / Choke
Watch it drain / Choke
See your greed / Choke
Watch it breed / Choke
03 Rumors (03:04)
Loss for words - you lost respect
Food for thoughts - you're just a fool
Mind of the weak, nonsense says
The rumors will never die
The rumors are only lies
The rumors don't let you breathe
Talk is cheap
Games of lies - just fucking lies
It's all wrong -you're full of shit
Nothing's straight, no!
Low moves, low moves
The rumors will never die
The rumors are only lies
The rumors don't let you breathe
Talk is cheap
I thought I've heard
I thought I've said
I thought was right
It's never wrong
Let it be, just let it be
Never mind, just never mind
That's all you have, that's all you got
Never say what you never will
The rumors will never die
The rumors are only lies
The rumors don't let you breathe
Talk is cheap
05 Floaters in Mud (04:58)
Stuck in the ground
Shopping for the support, nothing can be found
The mind floats around
Crashing back and forth, never really stopping
Turn around and try to face yourself
You may think it looks like someone else
Look from the outside, they don't heal
I'm passing through, shaking hands
Eyeless, shit-faced, they're not real
Mud in the brain, all insane
Turn around and try to face yourself
You may think it looks like someone else
Raw display of pain
No shelter, refugee
Floaters in mud
Turn around and face yourself...
06 Boycott (03:10)
Urban war, cracked-up child
Painted in blood on concrete walls
Carbonic gas, cancer land
What do I care? What do I care?
Is he prepared? Can he face that?
He must handle the truth of real demands
Strike Boycott
Armed and ill, psycho kill
There's no ground holding my feet up
Trained to serve but I steal
What do I care? What do I care?
Protect society who pays me shit
It's south of the world, no justice sire
Strike Boycott
Stressful mind, fucked up life
I know the end can be suicide
Suicide, suicide
What do I care? What do I care?
Boycott the trigger and you'll have no feedback
Boycott the force that kept the sick in their beds
I'll boycott the trigger and you'll have no feedback
With hands tied, I can't receive what I need
Reserve no honor
Reserve no pride
Strike Boycott
08 Common Bonds (02:58)
Before we're born
Before we walk
Before we talk and hate
Yet to come the perfect rule
After we win
After we lose
After the dawn is late
Do it now or shut your mouth
No lack of trust, just trust myself
No more perhaps, no more false step
Changes in sight, sight!
Common bonds
Fear the fate that's not the shape of the soul
Trust the heart and share to ease the pain
No mistake is big enough to bring you down
The wrinkles on your face is strength in your mind
No lack of trust, just trust myself
Changes in sight, sight!
Common bonds
The urge to win
A time to strike
Follow no one
Follow no one
Strength in mind
10 Reza (02:16)
O desespero, a dor, o medo
Fatores decisivos que te obrigam a pensar
O vinho e sangue, a carne e o pao
Chagas que nao fecham que intrigam sua vida
O ceu e o inferno, a cruz o perdao
A luz no fim do tunel e vida depois da morte
Voce tomou sua decisao
Nao espere julgamento sua alma esta perdida
Rezar - Rezar - Rezar - Rezar
Heresia / maldicao
O pai, o filho, o espirito santo
Ignoram os fieis que nao se cansam de rezar
Gritam, cantam a oracao
Desculpem eu lamento eles nao vao te escutar
Rezar
Arrependei-vos pecadores
A penitencia purifica
O sangue escorre
A dor fascina
So o medo te faz rezar
A guerra e santa o pecado e mortal
A hostia consagrada que tem gosto de esfiha
Tortura, fogueira, a inquisicao
O passado violento da igreja e normal
Armagedon, destruicao
O fim do mundo e pouco pra fuder a sua vida
Enriquecer, ressucitar
Em nome de Jesus nao me comece a chorar
Rezar - Rezar - Rezar
Lyrics: Joao Gordo
Music: Andreas Kisser / Igor Cavalera
Gordo - lead vocals
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English translation by OmegaRed/David Ache
he despair, the pain, the fear
Decisive factors that make you think
The wine and blood, the flesh and bread
Wounds that do not heal that intrigue your life
Heaven and hell, the cross and the forgiveness
The light in the end of the tunnel and life after death
You've made your decision
Don't wait for trial (judgement?), there's no hope for your soul
(literal translation: "Don't wait for trial, your soul is lost")
Pray - Pray - Pray - Pray
Heresy, Curse
The father, the son, and the Holy Ghost
They ignore the faithful that don't stop praying
(literal translation: "They ignore the faithful that don't get tired of praying")
They scream, sing the prayer
I'm sorry, but they won't listen to you
Pray - Pray - Pray - Pray
Regret, sinners
The penitence purifies
The blood drips
The pain fascinates
Only fear makes you pray
The war is sacred, the sin is mortal
The Host that tastes like esfiha
Torture, fire, inquisition
The violent past of the Church is normal
Armaggedon, destruction
The end of the world is not much to fuck your life
To enrich, to resuscitate
In the name of Jesus don't start crying
11 Unconscious (03:37)
The deepest pain inside
The highest price to pay
The biggest lies are said
I'm just a fake in life
Unconscious Unconsciousness
Unconscious Unconsciousness
Alone I fall again
My blood runs through my veins
My brain and my strength
No longer are the same, no!
Unconscious Unconsciousness
Unconscious Unconsciousness
The moment of truth
Destroy the sense of it
I thought that was then
I thought that was me
Still I fear Unconsciousness
Still I seek Unconsciousness
13 Drowned Out (01:28)
He just takes what's his
Can never see an end
Build a wall of selfishness
To block out all your fears
I can't forget, I won't forget
I can't forget, I won't forget
You don't owe me shit
Never any remorse, never any remorse
Always turning your back
Drowned out, drowned out
There's no compromise
Only hate inside
I decided long ago
I would never be so blind
I can't forget, I won't forget
I can't forget, I won't forget
Never any remorse, never any remorse
Always turning your back
Drowned out, drowned out
Feel no shame
Show no shame
You don't owe me shit!
14 Hatred Aside (05:13)
Explode in disorder, no matter the prize
Steps on the path the righteous do find
Try as they will but they cannot divide
Time is relentless, pushing us on
Restoring our fate, we never lost sight
Spirits evolving, flowing as one
Having no limits, all hatred aside
Try as they will but they cannot divide
To divide - To divide - To divide
Live for the sound loud to survive
My will has no bounds to keep this alive
Truth pave the way to the world that I know
Learn what we hear, see what we feel
The air that I breathe could not be more real
Spit out bitter pill that made me want to hide
Try as they will but they cannot divide
Cannot divide - Cannot divide - Cannot divide
No!!!
Time is your enemy only if you let it be
I won't let my future get away from me
Listen - let go - out of my mind
Out of my mind - listen - let go
Need to reach, seek to find
Will not breach, cannot divide
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Other reviews
By Rainbow Rising
Against perfectly reflects the period of uncertainty in which it was composed, amid a desire for revenge, out-of-focus moments, and experimentation in the most diverse directions.
Choke is a rhythmic triumph and shows how Sepultura was different from any other band of the time, with tribal atmospheres that go hand in hand with nu metal guitars.
