Back in 1996, Max Cavalera made the decision to leave Sepultura, and the band attempted to create a demo with Andreas Kisser taking over the lead vocals. During a conversation with Amplifica, the guitarist mentioned that the idea didn’t go ahead due to the label’s lack of enthusiasm.
He said (via Whiplash and Metal Addicts): “In Sepultura, when Max left, we were without a vocalist for almost a year. We stayed in a trio there in San Diego, rented a studio and started writing new music. The intention was to continue as a trio. I went to take voice lessons with a teacher who I taught the people on Broadway. It was a cool experience. We made a demo with me as the lead singer and then the owner of our record company said: ‘What the f*ck!’. He suspended our contract and said that it wouldn’t happen that way. It was my first attempt to be the lead singer of Sepultura.“
Last on, musician from Cleveland, Ohio, Derrick Green was chosen to be the frontman of the band. In 1998, they released Against, the first album with the fresh lineup. This album was not as admired or successful as their earlier albums and was not able to sell as much as Max Cavalera‘s new band Soulfly‘s debut album.
In a retrospective review AllMusic gave the album 3 stars out of 5, stating that “there are enough flashes of the old Sepultura brilliance to suggest that great things are still to come.”