Sepultura And Les Tambours Du Bronx: Metal Veins – Alive At Rock In Rio (2014) Review

Note: I am not claiming that there are cannibals in Brazil.

Imagine that you’re on a desert island… scratch that, you’re on a jungle island inhabited by cannibals… and you can only have so many albums with you, what would you bring? The original question is a fairly common one, and fun to ponder. But adding the cannibals brings another dimension to this. You may have to choose more wisely so that you can pacify the cannibals with something calm and soothing like Opeth‘s Heritage or declare auditory war and scare the shit out of them. So what’s a good choice for the latter?

Order Sepultura and Les Tambours Du Bronx: Metal Veins – Alive At Rock In Rio: DVD – $14.98 or CD – $10

I’m going to hang from a vine here and say that you might do well to have the new live Sepultura album, Sepultura and Les Tambours du Bronx: Metal Veins – Alive At Rock In Rio, with you as you stand afraid and alone on this jungle island inhabited by cannibals.

Of course it’d help if you had some amps and stacks to conduct your warfare with Sepultura, because this shit needs to be played loudly. I mean, little earbuds will hardly do the trick… then again, the cannibals may think it’s some devil magic if you manage to turn your MP3 player on once they get close enough. And obviously, the crux of this warfare, and the reason for having this album with you, is dependent on the fact that tribal beats from Les Tambours du Bronx abound on this recording.

It almost seems like a rite of passage for a long-established heavy metal band to put out a live album like this. Some succeed and some fail; Metallica succeeded in the ’90s with S&M, Dave Mustaine failed with something this past year, and KISS could have done better than what happened on Alive IV. Now, Sepultura is doing it, but with a unique vision to focus on percussion, and it makes sense given the band is from Brazil. Sepultura makes it all too clear that this new dimension to their music is going to be prominent on this recording with the intro track “Kaiowas,” which takes on a sci-fi vibe and is completely different from the studio version.

Other points of percussive dominance falls in on “Refuse/Resist,” “Fever,” “Requiem,” “We’ve Lost You,” “Requiem,” and “Big Hands.” However, just about every track begins with some big percussion section. This is ultimately the album’s weak point, forcing the listener’s ears to glaze over.

The song selections are solid, blending enough of the new with the old, and lending themselves particularly well to Les Tambours. Actually, with Les Tambours on board, the militant, revolutionary vibe in the music gets taken to new heights. It’s powerful and a war cry.

Live albums rarely sound like garbages anymore, and so it is with Metal Veins. The sound is without distortion, feedback, echoes, or unbalanced channels. The bass is rich and deep while the highs are strong. The midrange is lacking in parts and Derrick Green’s vocals could have been a little more audible in places. Same goes for the audience.

The Verdict:

Metal Veins is a brilliant album that meshes perfectly two distinct styles of music. However, as a live album it won't be for everyone; some people just hate them, no matter how good they can sound. Also, die-hard Max Cavalera fans will probably want to avoid this one. But if you're a metal fan, thrash metal specifically, and you want to amp yourself up, this album will do the trick.