"Ratamahatta" is a song by Brazilian metal band

Sepultura Sepultura (, "grave")Barcinski & Gomes 1999, page 17. is a Brazilian heavy metal band formed in Belo Horizonte in 1984 by brothers Max and Igor Cavalera.Barcinski & Gomes 1999, page 16. They were a major force in the groove metal, thrash met ...

. It was the third and final single from the band's 1996 album ''

Roots A root is the part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors the plant body, and absorbs and stores water and nutrients. Root or roots may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''The Root'' (magazine), an online magazine focusin ...

'', and also the last Sepultura single to feature founding frontman

Max Cavalera Massimiliano Antonio "Max" Cavalera (; born 4 August 1969) is a Brazilian musician. He co-founded the Heavy metal music, heavy metal band Sepultura in 1984 with his brother Igor Cavalera, and was the band's lead singer and rhythm guitarist unti ...

. The song is amongst the band's best-known and remains a concert staple to this day. A music video was created for the song using stop-motion animation which explores the themes of the song. This video can be found on the

VHS VHS (Video Home System) is a discontinued standard for consumer-level analog video recording on tape cassettes, introduced in 1976 by JVC. It was the dominant home video format throughout the tape media period of the 1980s and 1990s. Ma ...

''Sepultura: We Are What We Are'', which was later released on DVD as part of ''Chaos DVD''. The song features guest appearances from

Carlinhos Brown Antônio Carlos Santos de Freitas, known professionally as Carlinhos Brown (Brazilian Portuguese: /kaʁˈlĩɲus bɾaw̃, -iɲuʃ/, 23 November 1962), is a Brazilian singer, percussionist, and record producer from Salvador, Bahia. His musica ...

on vocals and then

Korn Korn (stylized as KoЯn) is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, originally formed in 1993 by James Shaffer, James "Munky" Shaffer, Reginald Arvizu, Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu and David Silveria, who were members of the band ...

drummer

David Silveria David Randall Silveria (born September 21, 1972) is an American musician, best known as the original drummer for nu metal band Korn from 1993 until leaving the band in 2006. He then became the drummer for Infinika, which was formed in 2012 and ...

on percussion. It is amongst Sepultura's most percussive and tribal songs. The song also appears in live form on the band's live release '' Under a Pale Grey Sky''.

Artwork

The artwork is a painting which reflects the video. Featured primarily on the sleeve is

Zé do Caixão Zé do Caixão , known in English-speaking countries as :en:Coffin Joe, Coffin Joe, is a character created and nominally played by Brazilian writer, director, and actor José Mojica Marins. An Amorality, amoral undertaker with Friedrich Nietzsche ...

Releases

The single was released on two CDs and 7" vinyl. The first CD was presented in a card foldout

digipak Optical disc packaging is the packaging that accompanies CDs, DVDs, and other formats of optical discs. Most packaging is rigid or semi-rigid and designed to protect the media from scratches and other types of exposure damage. Jewel case A ...

case, while the second was in a standard slimline jewel case. Early copies of the digipak version were embossed with a stamp of the band's thorned "S" logo. The vinyl was a strictly limited edition.

Track listing

CD1 (

Digipak Optical disc packaging is the packaging that accompanies CDs, DVDs, and other formats of optical discs. Most packaging is rigid or semi-rigid and designed to protect the media from scratches and other types of exposure damage. Jewel case A ...

) #"Ratamahatta" (edit) #"War" (

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981) was a Jamaican singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, he fused elements of reggae, ska and rocksteady and was renowned for his distinctive voca ...

cover) #" Slave New World" (live) #"Amen/Inner Self" (live) CD2 #"Ratamahatta" (edit) #"War" (

cover) #"Dusted" (demo version) #" Roots Bloody Roots" (demo version) 7" vinyl #"Ratamahatta" #"Mass Hypnosis" (live) (from '' Under Siege (Live in Barcelona)'') *Note that all of these B-sides except for "Mass Hypnosis" (live) and "Amen/Inner Self" (live) would be collected on '' Blood-Rooted''. *"Slave New World" (live) and "Amen/Inner Self" (live) were recorded live in

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

in March 1994.

Cover versions

Soulfly Soulfly is an American heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Phoenix, Arizona in 1997. Soulfly is led by former Sepultura frontman Max Cavalera, who formed the band after he left the Brazilian group in 1996. To date the band has release ...

covered the song live. A recording of this can be found on the DVD '' The Song Remains Insane''. * Santa Catarina-based alternative metal band Panaceia covered the song in 2025, featuring singer

Rogério Skylab Rogério Tolomei Teixeira (born September 2, 1956), known professionally as Rogério Skylab, is a Brazilian singer-songwriter, lyricist, classical guitarist, author, blogger, record producer, actor and short-lived television presenter. Describi ...

and Korzus vocalist Marcello Pompeu.

In popular culture

Brazilian fighter

Thiago Silva Thiago Emiliano da Silva (born 22 September 1984) is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for and captains Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club Fluminense. Regarded as one of the best defenders of all time, he is known ...

used this as his entrance song at UFC 102,

UFC 108 ''UFC 108: Evans vs. Silva'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on January 2, 2010, in Las Vegas, Nevada at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Background The card for UFC 108 was plagued with numerous injuries, ...

and

UFC 125 ''UFC 125: Resolution'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on January 1, 2011 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Background The planned rematch between UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson ...

.Thiago Silva UFC 102 Entrance music

Personnel

– lead vocals, rhythm guitar *

Andreas Kisser Andreas Rudolf Kisser (; born 24 August 1968) is a Brazilian musician, best known for being the lead guitarist for the metal band Sepultura. He has been featured on every Sepultura release since their second album, ''Schizophrenia''. Additionally, ...

– lead guitar * Paulo Jr. – bass *

Igor Cavalera Igor Graziano Cavalera (born 4 September 1970) is a Brazilian musician, best known as the former drummer for the heavy metal band Sepultura, which he co-founded with his brother Max in 1984. Max left the band in 1997, and Igor himself would ...

– drums ;Additional personnel *

– backing vocals *

– percussion *Produced by

Ross Robinson Ross Robinson (born February 13, 1967) is an American record producer who discovered acts such as Korn, Glassjaw, The Blood Brothers, Slipknot, and Limp Bizkit. Robinson has also worked with Tech N9ne, The Cure, Sepultura, and many others. ...

and Sepultura *Recorded and engineered by Ross Robinson *Mixed by Andy Wallace *Assistant engineer: Richard Kaplan

References

{{Authority control Sepultura songs 1996 singles Songs written by Max Cavalera Songs written by Igor Cavalera Songs written by Andreas Kisser Songs written by Paulo Jr. Nu metal songs 1996 songs Roadrunner Records singles Songs in Portuguese