Beneath the Remains

Max Cavalera spent a week in New York in February 1988 negotiating with Roadrunner, who then put up a budget of $8,000. The cost ended up nearly double that. Scott Burns, who had engineered records by Obituary, Death and Morbid Angel, agreed to a $2,000 fee because he was curious about Brazil. The band recorded in the second half of December 1988 at Nas Nuvens Studio in Rio, working from 8 pm to 5 am. They chose it because Titãs had made Cabeça Dinossauro there. Burns brought drum equipment and Mesa Boogie amps. It was mixed in January 1989 at Morrisound in Tampa.

The album reached 9 on the UK Indie Chart. The band's first video, for Inner Self, got airplay on Headbangers Ball. Michael Whelan painted the cover, Nightmare in Red. Eduardo Rivadavia of AllMusic wrote that it marked the band's transition from third-world obscurity to major contenders in the international extreme metal arena. Max later said that it and Arise were made for each other. Decibel inducted it into its Hall of Fame in January 2013.