Sepultura: Chaos DVD
No Shame Films
Cast:
Extras: Interviews, Discography
Rating:
Forget Metallica. Sepultura ruled the heavy metal roost from the mid eighties-mid nineties, unleashing a Brazilian blend of ultra-heavy riffs, throat-shredding vocals and tribal drumming. Their unique take on the genre has influenced many of today’s ’nu-metal’ acts including Slipknot and System of A Down. If you harbor an undying passion for extreme music, you’ll have no problem stage-diving into this jam-packed DVD.
’Chaos DVD’ features three of Sepultura’s rarest video releases: Under Siege (Live in Barcelona), Third World Chaos and We Are What We Are.
’Under Siege’ was originally released in 1991 during the band’s ’Arise’ album and features a live one-hour performance from Zeleste in Barcelona, Spain. Sepultura exudes a ferocious stage presence and probably never felt the need to dabble in elaborate pyrotechnics or complex lighting to get their point across. ’Under Siege’ captures this stripped-down mentality beautifully as only a handful of camera angles nab shots of the band sweating it out to mosh-inducing classics like ’Dead Embryonic Cells’, ’Mass Hypnosis’ and ’Troops of Doom’. Heart-felt interviews from band members are sprinkled throughout, a fascinating history lesson that reflects Sepultura in a different light while giving your banging head a much-needed rest.
’Third World Chaos’ was originally released in 1995 during the band’s ’Chaos A.D.’ album and features a generous mix of live footage and music videos. ’Chaos’ kicks off with an impressive crowd chant before diving head-first into dizzying array of swirling arena-style crowd shots. Live performances of ’Orgasmatron’ and ’Policia’ are impressive to say the least but ’Chaos’ truly shines with the music videos. You cannot deny the powerful message behind the Headbanger’s Ball favorite ’Slave New World’ or the apocalyptic fury of ’Refuse/Resist.’ Other videos include ’Territory’, which won MTV’s 1994 Best South American Video, ’Arise’, ’Dead Embryonic Cells’ and ’Inner Self’.
’We Are What We Are’ was released in 1997 at the height of the band’s popularity and features videos for ’Roots Bloody Roots’, ’Ratamahatta’ and ’Attitude.’ Band members provide in-depth intros to each video, articulating the narrative and vibe they wanted to capture. The stand-out is the stop-motion horror show ’Ratamahatta’, a visual feast directed by the late Fred Stuhr.
The image throughout the ’Chaos’ DVD is stable and crisp, the sound is solid and for three hours of neck-snapping fun you can’t beat the under $20 price tag. If you are a Sepultura fan, this DVD is a no-brainer.