SEPULTURA “Ambush In Spain” LP

*Sepultura – Ambush In Spain* is a concert document capturing one of the most groundbreaking bands in the history of global metal. The recording was made on July 12, 1996, at the Doctor Music Festival in Escalarre, Spain, and the album was released in 2022 via Mind Control. It is an unofficial release based on an FM radio broadcast.

This represents a particularly interesting moment in the band’s history. Sepultura had already released the pivotal albums *Beneath the Remains*, *Arise*, and *Chaos A.D.*, and just months earlier had issued *Roots*—an album that ushered in the next phase of their musical evolution. On it, the Brazilians fused thrash metal with groove, hardcore, tribal music, and elements of Brazilian tradition, creating a sound that profoundly influenced the metal scene of the 1990s.

Sepultura was formed in 1984 in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, by brothers Max and Igor Cavalera. Initially, the band played a much more extreme form of death/thrash metal, but subsequent albums brought significant stylistic shifts. *Schizophrenia* attracted the attention of Roadrunner Records, *Beneath the Remains* and *Arise* cemented the band’s standing on the international stage, and *Chaos A.D.* demonstrated that Sepultura had no intention of limiting itself to classic thrash metal.

The culmination of this era was 1996’s *Roots*. The album became one of the most significant metal releases of the 1990s and captured Sepultura at the peak of its popularity. The concert featured on “Ambush In Spain” comes from that very era—the lineup includes Max Cavalera, Andreas Kisser, Paulo Jr., and Igor Cavalera. It is, therefore, a recording of the band in its classic, most recognizable lineup, dating from before the group’s personnel split in late 1996.

Release: Mind Control – MIND821
Format: LP, 12″, 33⅓ RPM, unofficial release
Year of release: 2022
Recording: Doctor Music Festival, Escalarre, Spain, July 12, 1996
Style: Thrash Metal, Groove Metal
Source: FM broadcast

Tracklist
A
Roots Bloody Roots
Spit
Breed Apart
Attitude
Dusted
Propaganda
Troops Of Doom

B
Slave New World
Ambush
Arise
Dead Embryonic Cells
Refuse/Resist
Territory
Biotech Is Godzilla
Ratamahatta
Kaiowas
Policia