Black Sabbath

Black Sabbath are the archetypal heavy metal band, the blueprint for countless imitators that sprang up in the late Seventies. While Deep Purple had classical pretensions and Led Zeppelin indulged in mysticism, Sabbath blended down-to-earth heavy rock with highly theatrical occult imagery. Their menacing presence, aided and abetted on stage by the manic leaps of singer Ozzy Osbourne, provided an aggressive contrast to late Sixties flower power. It also established a musical formula, which would, with time, come to seem restrictive, and lead to serious disagreements within the band. The four original members - guitarist Tony Iommi, born 19th February 1948, drummer Bill Ward, born 5th May 1948, bassist Geezer Butler, born 17th July 1949 and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne, born 3rd December 1948 - left the same Birmingham school together in 1968 to form a group called Earth. Playing a Jazz-Blues fusion, they gigged continuously in Birmingham and Hamburg, where they broke the Beatles' house record at the Star Club. Despite their cult following, they became frustrated by their lack of international success. Under the guidance of their first manager Jim Simpson, they changed their name in 1969 to Black Sabbath (the title of one of their early songs), increased the volume and adopted a suitably macabre image. Paranoid and paranormal They continued touring the club circuit in Britain and Germany, and released a one-off single on Fontana. The same cut - Evil Woman - became their first single on Vertigo Records in March 1970. Their first LP, Black Sabbath, was released simultaneously. Recorded in two days at a cost of £600, it reflected their adherence to rock basics, although overdubbed sound effects, church bells, rain etc., added the required 'occult' flavour. Heavily promoted for its association with the paranormal, the record stayed in the UK charts for three months. Maintaining their momentum, the band returned to the studio to record what was to become their classic single, Paranoid, and the album of the same name. Released together in September 1970, these records confirmed the band's domestic popularity. Paranoid reached number 4 in the UK charts and also won interest for the band in the US. Embarking on a university tour there in the autumn of 1970, Ozzy and the band consolidated the strong impression they had made on American hard rock fans. The quick success of both LP and single surprised both the band and their record company, with the album eventually clocking up a 65-week stay in the Billboard charts. Sabbath under strain Sabbath went on to extend their popularity by maintaining a gruelling worldwide touring schedule throughout the early Seventies. Their behaviour on the road and in hotels conformed to heavy rock tradition - room wrecking, groupie and drinking binges, and so on. Ozzy in particular appeared to be interested only in alcohol and hectic rock music, drawing his energy from the rapport he created with his increasingly dedicated following. The Master Of Reality album, released in 1971, and Black Sabbath 4, released in 1972, earned Black Sabbath world-wide recognition, but it was Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, released in 1973, that finally achieved an ideal fusion of the band's live energy and the crushing, oppressive weight of their doomy songs. Success brought its problems for Black Sabbath. They had parted company from their original manager Jim Simpson, replacing him first with Patrick Meehan and then with Don Arden. Now they found themselves on the receiving end of accusations of contract breaking from Simpson, and Ozzy was handed a subpoena as he walked on stage at an American date in 1975. As a result of these wrangles, Sabbath attempted to manage themselves. Since they were writing and recording an album a year and undertaking a punishing tour schedule, including their debut in Madison Square Garden in New York in 1975, the strain was beginning to tell. Ozzy was drinking heavily, and personality conflicts were developing within the band. Ozzy's insistence that the band live up to his hard drinking image was beginning to concern the other members, while on a musical level, Tony Iommi's increasing interest in more complex arrangements was alienating Ozzy, who preferred a basic approach. Sabotage, released in September 1975, adhered to the basic heavy-rock formula, but the sessions for Technical Ecstasy the following year saw Iommi experimenting with overdubbing and even, in Ozzy's absence, a horn section. Ozzy drew away from the other members of the band, and in 1977 he left Black Sabbath only to rejoin a year later, ousting his temporary replacement, former Savoy Brown singer Dave Walker. Ozzy and Black Sabbath cut one more album together, Never Say Die in 1979, but the ill feeling remained and Ozzy departed in a flurry of insults to launch in solo project, Blizzard of Oz. Ozzy goes bats Ozzy's departure deprived the band of their front man, one who went on to develop even higher peaks of the macabre. He also took with him a sizeable portion of Black Sabbath's audience, for whom he had always been, the focal point. His albums, Blizzard of Oz (1980) and Diary of a Madman (1982) were remarkably successful, particularly in the US, where 'Diary' remained on the Billboard charts for over a year. The remaining members of Black Sabbath, meanwhile, recruited former Rainbow vocalist Ronnie James Dio. Bill Ward retired for health reasons, to be replaced by Vinnie Appice, younger brother of Vanilla Fudge drummer Carmine Appice. Geezer Butler also left briefly but returned to the fold soon afterwards. Dio resisted the temptation to imitate Ozzy's style, stamping his own personality on the two studio albums, Heaven and Hell (1980) and Mob Rules (1981). Acrimony persisted between Ozzy and the band, especially after the 1980 release of Sabbath, Live At Last, which featured recordings made before the split. Ozzy still laid claim to much of the Sabbath catalogue, using the old numbers in his act and on a live album. Tension was developing between Dio and the other members of Black Sabbath over his dominant role in the group, with Iommi alleging that Dio had tampered with the mixes of Live Evil (1982) to make his vocals more prominent. In November 1982 they split with Dio, who took drummer Vinnie Appice with him to form a new band, entitled Dio. At the same time Butler and Iommi dissatisfied with the efforts of Sandy Perlman, who had become their manager, signed a deal with their old boss Don Arden. Although the beginning of 1983 saw Black Sabbath unsure of their future, the vitality that drove the group to worldwide success in the early Seventies had left its mark. For several years, Black Sabbath were the heavy metal band, and 'Paranoid' was the heavy metal anthem.

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Shane Dawson

Shane Dawson is a 21 years old Internet celebrity from YouTube who resides in California His popularity of YouTube has soared in 2009 from many of his comedy skits and parodies cut video on his vlog ShaneDawsonTV (SDTV) and in his ShaneDawsonTV2 (SDTV2) YouTube channels that make him one of the most popular users on the ground and # 4 most subscribed of all time

Shane comedy films always contain many of his different characters as Ned the Nerd Aunt Hilda Barb lesbians it his "mom" character and one of His most popular: Shananay a ghetto princess with a third eyebrow, and his three pets: 2 cats (Snoop and muffins) and 2 dogs (Charlie and Miley) Many of his films in the main channel is meant to be interactive with the peopler which is always having to comment / video response to a question from Shane or one of his characters

With a partner program where much of the YouTube site to pay him for the amount of watching his videos get Shane Dawson bought a house for him and his mother (possibly brothers, too) with an outdoor pool and film room, where he films his videos, now that he is a full-time YouTuber

Shane influenced by his fans and is more comfortable with himself than when he was younger and obese to say how YouTube has changed his life thanks to all his fans via his Twitter Facebook and MySpace, he interacts with his fans outside of YouTube always give previews of his latest video as a primary every Saturday at 8am Shane recently had surgery and a video explaining haddress it was to lose 165 pounds in nine months caused internal damage to his bod, Shane was part of a collab YouTube account called TheStation with many other popular YouTubers, but has since quit the team because it took too much focus and reduces their time for their videos 

 

December 15 ShaneDawsonTV reached one million subscribers milestone on YouTube

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Andy McKee

Andy McKee (born April 4, 1979 in Topeka, Kansas) is an American fingerstyle guitarist currently signed to the US-American record label Candyrat Records. His style of playing and his compositions have earned him a considerable fanbase; in late 2006, a live performance of his flagship song "Drifting" became a Featured Video on YouTube and MySpace, achieving over 12,000,000 views on the former to date and remaining one of its highest rated music clips. A handful of McKee's other songs have experienced lesser success on YouTube, such as "Rylynn" and "Africa" both eclipsing 5,000,000 views apiece.

McKee played his first guitar, an Aria nylon string bought by his father, at age 13. Initially underwhelmed by his guitar lessons, McKee's electric guitar-playing cousin inspired him to continue learning, taking him out for his 16th birthday to see a guitarist named Preston Reed perform live at a clinic. McKee bought an instructional videotape from Reed and began to learn more complex guitar techniques from it, also earning his GED that year in order to drop out of high school. He began to take influence from guitarists such as Michael Hedges, Don Ross, Billy McLaughlin, Pat Kirtley, and Tommy Emmanuel as he self-studied the instrument.

In 2001, McKee independently released his first album, Nocturne. That same year, he placed third at the National Fingerstyle Guitar Competition in Winfield, Kansas, the youngest competitor to place so highly.In 2003, McKee toured in Taiwan with Jacques Stotzem, Isato Nakagawa, and Masaaki Kishibe, and earned first place in the Miscellaneous Acoustic Instrument contest of the Kansas State Fiddling and Picking Championships with a Ron Spillers harpguitar he purchased from Stephen Bennett in 2002.The instrument can be seen in a number of his songs, such as "Into The Ocean" And "Gates of Gnomeria".

McKee released his second album, Dreamcatcher, in 2004. The album includes his cover of "Africa", as well as "The Friend I Never Met", a song written in tribute to the late Michael Hedges. McKee used the title track to win the opportunity to perform with bassist Michael Manring, whom he has toured with multiple times since. Additionally, he placed second in the Fingerstyle Guitar Competition of the Canadian Guitar Festival that year. The album was later re-released by McKee's label in response to the popularity he garnered on YouTube.

McKee's third CD, Art of Motion, was released on Candyrat Records in November 2005 and earned considerable praise from established acoustic guitarists such as Don Ross, whom McKee is currently on the same label with and has noted as one of his favorite artists. Most of the songs that McKee is known for on YouTube appear on the album, which has a handful of tracks carried over from Dreamcatcher as well. During the early stages of McKee's success on YouTube in late 2006 and early 2007, Art of Motion was the only album of his carried by Candyrat Records, and saw the most mainstream exposure as a result.

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Marie Christina Digby

Marié Christina Digby (pronounced /Marie Christina Digby/ ; born April 16, 1983) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and pianist. She is best known for her acoustic cover version of Rihanna's No. 1 hit "Umbrella", which attracted attention on YouTube in 2007. The song was subsequently played on the radio station STAR 98.7, was featured on the third season opening episode of the MTV show The Hills, and peaked at #10 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart. Digby performed the song on the late night talk show Last Call with Carson Daly on August 2, 2007.

Digby, whose mother is Japanese and father is Irish American, is the eldest of three siblings. Her two sisters are Naomi (born December 12, 1985) and Erina (born August 8, 1987). She began writing songs during high school in Los Angeles, California. After completing her sophomore year as a philosophy major at the University of California, Berkeley, she came out into the public eye when she won the 2004 Pantene Pro-Voice competition with her song Miss Invisible. The grand prize for the concert included working with a professional producer on an album, $5,000 and performing on stage with other top performers. Digby is recognized on YouTube for her simple popular music covers, which include Linkin Park, Rihanna, Maroon 5, and Nelly Furtado, as well as her original compositions. She has over 156,000 subscribers and her channel has been viewed over 4 million times. As of May 2009, she is the 11th most subscribed musician on YouTube, ahead of names like Chris Brown, Taylor Swift and Tay Zonday.

She also held a Autographed Guitar Giveaway Contest on YouTube. Contestants were asked to create an original video including her hit single "Say it Again" in any way. She once recorded a video of hers in the bathroom because "The bathroom has the best acoustics in the house".

On April 8, 2009, "Breathing Underwater" was leaked onto the internet, months prior to the new June release date.

On April 9, 2009, Digby responded on her MySpace page to those concerned about the leak:

"Yesterday, my album advance was sent only to the folks at my record label, radio DJ's and music supervisors. It is just inevitable that one of those people are going to try and make a buck or put up the music just for their own personal satisfaction. It's sad but it's just a part of life. But the truth is, I love this album so much. I am so proud of it and I am almost excited that now people who really want to, can listen to all the hard work that I've done over the last few months. If you feel the need to buy the album off of ebay or to download the whole thing for free just remember one thing please. I live and breathe music. It is all that I do in life and all that I want to do for the rest of my life. Please know that the one way you can help me continue doing it is by supporting my album. If you can't afford 8 dollars for an album, then you can always support your favorite artists by even just purchasing a song or two! If an artist I love had made a new album and it was on the internet, I would probably want it too !! But I would undoubtedly go and buy the album with pride on the date of release as well.. but that's just me :)"

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Esmee Denters

Who is Esmee Denters' On 28 september 1988 Esmee Denters born in Oosterbeek, Netherlands. All from an early age she was fond of singing and fell in love with the Stevie Wonder album that her father was. In the summer of 2006, Esmee with the poste of videos on youtube.com which we have heard how good they can sing. At the movies did she covers of various artists and also if there is a request from a fan was for a particular Nr. did they like. Covers The various artists which has covered again Esmee see that they surely have singing talent. Esmee Denters on youtube.com amongst others the following covers posted: * Beyonce Knowles-"irreplaceable" * Natasha Bedinfield-Unwritten * Mariah Carey We belong together * Justin Timberlake-What goes around * Luther Vandross-Dance with my father * Enrique Englesias-Taking back my love * Fantasia-Truth is * Aaliyah-One in a million * Otis Redding-The dock of the bay by * Nicole Sherzingen-Baby Love * Mario-Let me love you * Ne-yo-Because of you * Eric Clapton-Tears in heaven * OneRepublic-Stop and stare Tennman Records When artists manager Jonathan Berhane Esmee discovered he has proposed to songwriter and her manager Billy Mann. Subsequently, her manager a meeting between Esmee and Justin Timer lake. The meeting took place during one of the concerts of Justin Timer lake. Tennman Records made known that Esmee would be the opening act during the tour of Justin Timer lake. In 2009 it happened then finally, the debut album of Dutch talent Esmee Denters. The album Outta Here came out in May 2009 and the eponymous single and video clip too. Prices Esmee Denters In 2009 was nominated for three TMF awards which they won two namely: * Best Female Artist * TMF Superchart Award She was nominated for Best new international artis but unfortunately not won this prize. Also in 2009, she was nominated for an MTV Europe Music Award in the category best Dutch & Belgian Act.

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Ramones

The Ramones are the first punk rock band. Other bands, such as the Stooges and the New York Dolls, came before them and set the stage and aesthetic for punk, and bands that immediately followed, such as the Sex Pistols, made the latent violence of the music more explicit, but the Ramones crystallized the musical ideals of the genre. By cutting rock & roll down to its bare essentials - four chords; a simple, catchy melody; and irresistibly inane lyrics and speeding up the tempo considerably, the Ramones created something that was rooted in early '60s, pre-Beatles rock & roll and pop but sounded revolutionary. Since their breakthrough was theoretical as well as musical, they comfortably became the leaders of the emerging New York punk rock scene. While their peers such as Patti Smith, Television, Talking Heads, and Richard Hell all were more intellectual and self-consciously artistic than the Ramones, they nevertheless appealed to the same mentality because of the way they turned rock conventions inside out and celebrated kitschy pop culture with stylized stupidity. The band's first four albums set the blueprint for punk, especially American punk and hardcore, for the next two decades. And the Ramones themselves were major figures for the next two decades, playing essentially the same music without changing their style much at all. Although some punk diehards -- including several of their peers -- would have claimed the band's long career wound up undercutting the ideals the band originally stood for, the Ramones always celebrated not just the punk aesthetic, but the music itself.

Based in the Forest Hills section of Queens, NY, the Ramones formed in 1974. Originally, the band was a trio consisting of Joey Ramone (vocals, drums; born Jeffrey Hyman, May 19, 1951), Johnny Ramone (guitar; born John Cummings, Oct. 8, 1951), and Dee Dee Ramone (bass; born Douglas Colvin, Sept. 18, 1952), with Tommy Ramone (born Tom Erdelyi, Jan. 29, 1952) acting as the group's manager. All of the group's members adopted the last name "Ramone" and dressed in torn blue jeans and leather jackets, in homage to '50s greaser rockers. The group played their first concert on March 30, 1974, at New York's Performance Studio. Two months after the show, Joey switched to vocals and Tommy became the band's drummer. By the end of the summer, the Ramones earned a residency at CBGB's. For the next year, they played regularly at the nightclub, earning a dedicated cult following and inspiring several other artists to form bands with similar ideals. All of the Ramones sets clocked in at about 20 minutes, featuring an unrelenting barrage of short, barely two-minute songs. By the end of 1975, the Ramones secured a recording contract with Sire; discounting Patti Smith, they were the first New York punk band to sign a contract.

Early in 1976, the Ramones recorded their debut album for just over 6,000 dollars. The resulting album, Ramones, was released in the spring, gained some critical attention, and managed to climb to 111 on the U.S. album charts. On July 4, the band made their debut appearance in Britain, where their records were becoming a big influence on a new generation of bands. Throughout 1976, the Ramones toured constantly, inaugurating nearly 20 years of relentless touring. By the end of the year, the group released their second album, Ramones Leave Home. While the album just scraped the U.S. charts, Leave Home became a genuine hit in England in the spring of 1977, peaking at number 48. By the summer of 1977, the Sex Pistols and the Ramones were seen as the two key bands in the punk rock revolution, but where the Pistols imploded, the Ramones kept on rolling. Following the U.K. Top 40 hit "Sheena Is a Punk Rocker," the Ramones released their third album, Rocket to Russia, in the fall of 1977.

Tommy Ramone left the band in the spring of 1977, although he produced the group's subsequent album. He was replaced by former Voidoid Marc Bee, who immediately changed his name to Marky Ramone. With their new drummer in place, the Ramones recorded their fourth album, Road to Ruin, which was released in the fall. Road to Ruin marked the band's first significant attempt to change their sound; not only were there stronger bubblegum, girl group, surf, and '60s pop influences on the music, it was the first of their albums to run over a half hour. Although their sound was more accessible, it didn't gain the band a noticeably larger following. Neither did Rock N' Roll High School, the 1979 Roger Corman film in which the Ramones had a pivotal part. The soundtrack to Rock N' Roll High School and the U.K.-only live album It's Alive were the band's only releases of 1979. For most of the year, they were in the studio recording their fifth album with legendary '60s pop producer Phil Spector. The title song to the Corman movie was the first track released from the sessions, although the soundtrack album did feature a number of older Ramones songs remixed by Spector. End of the Century, the Spector-produced Ramones album, finally appeared in January of 1980 to mixed reviews. Despite the lukewarm reception to the album, the record's cover of the Ronettes' "Baby I Love You" became their only Top Ten British hit; in America, none of the singles made an impact, although the record became their biggest hit, peaking at number 44.

The Ramones continued their attempts at crossover success with their sixth album, Pleasant Dreams, which was released in 1981. Featuring a production by former Hollies and 10cc member Graham Gouldman, the record was a commercial disappointment in both America and England. The band was relatively quiet during 1982, spending most of their time touring. In the spring of 1983, the band returned with Subterranean Jungle, which was produced by Ritchie Cordell and Glen Koltkin, the heads of the American indie label Beserkley Records. Not only did Subterranean Jungle fail to gain the band the larger audience they desired, it continued the erosion of the band's diehard fan base, as well as their decline in the eyes of many rock critics. Following the album's release, Marky Ramone left the band; he was replaced by Richard Beau, a former member of the Velveteens, who changed his name to Richie Ramone.

With 1984's Too Tough to Die, the Ramones delivered a belated response to America's burgeoning hardcore punk scene that was largely produced by Tommy Erdelyi. The album helped restore their artistic reputation, as did the 1985 single, "Bonzo Goes to Bitburg," an attack on President Ronald Reagan's 1985 visit to Germany. Instead of continuing with the sound of Too Tough to Die, the Ramones began pursuing a more streamlined, stylized, and conventional take on their songwriting formula with 1986's Animal Boy. This was a direction the group followed for the remaining ten years of their career. Following the release of 1987's Halfway to Sanity, Richie Ramone left the band and Marky Ramone re-joined the group. In 1988, the career retrospective Ramones Mania appeared. In 1989, the Ramones contributed the theme song to the Stephen King movie Pet Semetary, and the track was included on Brain Drain, which was released in the summer of that year. After its release, the group's bassist, Dee Dee Ramone, left the band to pursue a career as a rapper called Dee Dee King; after his debut rap recording failed miserably, he formed the band Chinese Dragons. Dee Dee was replaced by C.J. Ramone (born Christopher John Ward).

In the early '90s, the Ramones sobered up, with both Joey and Marky undergoing treatment for alcoholism. The band returned to recording in 1992, first releasing the live Loco Live and then Mondo Bizarro, their first studio album in three years. Mondo Bizarro turned out to be a commercial failure, as did their 1994 covers album, Acid Eaters.

Following the release of Acid Eaters, the mainstream guitar rock audience in America finally embraced punk rock, in the form of young bands like Green Day and the Offspring. Sensing that the climate may have been right for the crossover success they had desired for so many years, the Ramones immediately followed Acid Eaters with Adios Amigos, claiming that unless the new album sold in substantial numbers, the band would call it quits after a final farewell tour. Adios Amigos only spent two weeks in the charts. Nevertheless, the Ramones embarked on a long farewell tour that ran throughout the rest of 1995. The band was set to split in the beginning of 1996 when they were offered a slot on the sixth Lollapalooza, and they toured with the festival that summer. Following the completion of the tour, the Ramones parted ways, 20 years after the release of their first album. Just a few years later, Joey Ramone passed away on April 15, 2001, at age 49, the victim of lymphoma. Little more than a year after Joey's death, Dee Dee Ramone was found dead in his home in Los Angeles on June 5, 2002. Johnny Ramone passed away two years later on September 15, 2004 after a long battle with cancer. Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi

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Sepultura

From their humble beginnings in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, Sepultura went on to become the most successful Brazilian heavy metal band in history. Over a ten-year period, the band grew from strength to strength, transforming itself from a primitive death metal ensemble into one of the leading creative trendsetters of the international aggressive music scene. Unfortunately, a bitter internal crisis almost destroyed the band, and Sepultura struggled to recover their previous momentum.

Hailing from Brazil's third-largest city, Belo Horizonte, Sepultura (which means grave in Portuguese) were formed in the mid-'80s -- a time when that country was beginning to emerge from a 20-year military dictatorship. Max Cavalera (vocals/guitar), Igor Cavalera (drums), Paulo Jr. (bass), and Jairo T. (lead guitar) had a hard time even finding rock & roll albums and especially "socially unacceptable" genres such as heavy metal and punk. Their early influences were Iron Maiden, Metallica, and Slayer (literally the first three records purchased by Max on a visit to the "big city" São Paulo), but the band soon progressed toward a death metal sound, inspired by emerging bands such as Possessed and Death. Their drive and determination (they sang in English from day one) more than made up for their geographic isolation and inexperience, and though all were only in their teens and still learning how to play their instruments, the band quickly evolved into underground contenders. After landing a deal with independent Cogumelo Records, Sepultura recorded four songs for a split LP with fellow Brazilians Overdose. Now reissued on CD and named for its first track, 1985's Bestial Devastation was self-produced and recorded in just two days -- and it shows. Recorded with minimal time and money in August 1986, their first full-length album, Morbid Visions, showed little improvement, but contained their first hit, "Troops of Doom," which attracted some media attention and convinced the band to relocate to São Paulo (Brazil's largest city and financial capital) in order to further their career. They also replaced guitarist Jairo T. with São Paulo native Andreas Kisser, whose greater musical ability would help take the entire band to the next level. In 1987, Sepultura's technical proficiency finally caught up with their creative vision, and their second full-length album for Cogumelo, Schizophrenia, displayed an incredible evolution in terms of production and performance. It also became a minor critical sensation across Europe and America, drawing the attention of Roadrunner Records, which promptly released the album worldwide and signed the band to a long-term contract. No longer restrained within Brazilian borders, the band set about composing 1989's Beneath the Remains, the first of four albums which would solidify Sepultura's position as perhaps the most important heavy metal band of the '90s. Recorded in Rio de Janeiro under the guidance of leading death metal producer Scott Burns, Beneath the Remains was an immediate critical and commercial success, and the band's ferocious performances on the subsequent European tour (which saw them systematically blowing headlining German thrashers Sodom off stage) further cemented Sepultura's reputation. The band also filmed its first video, for the single "Inner Self," and finished the year tour with a triumphant set of shows in its homeland.

After obtaining new management and relocating to Phoenix, AZ, Sepultura entered Tampa's Morrisound Studios with producer Burns to record 1991's highly acclaimed Arise album. First single "Dead Embryonic Cells" proved to be another resounding hit, and the title track would gain even more attention when its video was banned by MTV America due to its apocalyptic religious imagery. The world tour that followed elevated the album to platinum sales worldwide (a figure rarely achieved by bands of such extreme nature) and, in a strange twist, found singer Max Cavalera marrying band manager Gloria Bujnowski, who was almost twice his age. Such was the band's success that its label, Roadrunner, obtained a co-distribution deal with Epic Records for its next recording, 1993's Chaos A.D.. By incorporating social issues (especially relating to Brazil) into their lyrics, as well as displaying some of their punk and hardcore influences for the first time, the album was another worldwide smash thanks to singles like "Territory" and "Refuse/Resist." After touring for over a year, the members of Sepultura took a well-deserved break before starting work on their most ambitious album yet, 1996's Roots. The introduction of native Brazilian percussion and musical styles into their trademark down-tuned guitars and increasingly sociopolitical themes resulted in a highly unique record which could be loosely described as heavy metal world music. Roots marked Sepultura's creative peak, and the band's continual rise to ever-greater fame seemed guaranteed until a family tragedy set off a series of events which would break up the band.

Just hours before taking the stage at England's Monsters of Rock festival, the band discovered that the teenage son of manager (and singer Max's wife) Gloria had been killed in a car accident. A shocked Sepultura took the stage as a trio while Max and Gloria boarded the first plane back to America. Only a few months later, the band confronted Max about severing ties with Gloria and finding new management. Still recovering from the recent trauma of a death in his extended family, Max viewed this as a huge betrayal and left the band amid much bad blood and acrimony. As the band's creative leader, many expected his departure to spell the end of Sepultura, but the band announced that it would carry on and soon began looking for a replacement.

After a long search, Sepultura recruited Cleveland native Derrick Green as their new singer and began laying down tracks for 1998's Against. Though it retained much of the intensity and diversity of its predecessor (including a collaboration with Japan's Kodo percussion ensemble on the track "Kamaitachi"), the album lacked the unique spark which had characterized the band's prior work. It also sold only half as many copies as Cavalera's first album with his new band, Soulfly, clearly showing with whom fan loyalty remained. Undaunted, Sepultura returned in early 2001 with Nation. The album followed in the footsteps of its predecessor, despite better reviews and a more seasoned Green on vocals. In order to reach out to its slowly shrinking fan base, the group released one of its last live shows with Max, Under a Pale Grey Sky, in the fall of 2002. An EP of covers, Revolusongs, arrived in 2003, followed by the full-length Roorback. Live in Sao Paulo arrived in 2005. ~ Ed Rivadavia, All Music Guide

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