After the success of Arise, the band decided to expand the experimentation of that album and depart further from their earlier thrash metal sound.

The album incorporates multiple genres such as groove metal and hardcore punk,[2] and features the band's first fully acoustic song.

The band considered numerous producers, including avant-garde jazz composer John Zorn and Al Jourgensen of industrial metal pioneers Ministry.

When they recorded "Kaiowas", the quartet never even considered playing the track live, because they thought it would be too difficult to recreate the drumming on stage.

Up until the time the album was due, the title was originally Propaganda after track 6, but Max Cavalera changed it to Chaos A.D. after the Misfits' Earth A.D.[7] Out of the boredom of playing the Arise songs for two years straight and concerned about the threat of musically stagnating, Sepultura pushed the envelope on Chaos A.D.[8] The new material came out slower, with more emphasis on groove than speed.

[12] The song starts with the heartbeat of Max's then-unborn first son, Zyon,[13] followed by some Afro-Brazilian drumming reminiscent of Salvador, Bahia samba-reggae group Olodum.

Writing for VICE, author J.J. Anselmi declared that the "social messages of Chaos A.D. are timeless and universal, making it one of the most important metal albums ever recorded.

resembles a protest march slogan,[17] and when released as a single featured a photograph of a South Korean student rushing at Seoul's riot police contingent while holding a Molotov cocktail.

"Manifest" had a faux-radio report of the Carandiru massacre,[5] and "Kaiowas" was made in honor of a Brazilian Indian tribe that committed collective suicide in protest against the government that wanted to drive them off the land of their ancestors.

But Biafra wasn't interested in recycling old ideas, and suggested a song called "Biotech Is Godzilla", that he had written during his visit to Eco '92, a world conference about ecology organized in Rio de Janeiro.

"Jello spent ten minutes explaining me his crazy theories", said Max to Anamaria G. of Bizz magazine, "he said that George Bush had sent a group of scientists to Brazil to test germs and bacteria on human beings and use them as guinea pigs.

Aware of the band's increasing popularity, the label spent nearly $1 million on a "marketing blitz" which quickly guaranteed them silver and gold records in Belgium, France and the UK.

[23] The group also signed an exclusive distribution deal with a major label, Epic Records, home of Pearl Jam and Rage Against the Machine.

[27] While touring Europe, rumors floated around that Sepultura would be part of the latest edition of Brazil's Hollywood Rock music festival, taking place in January 1994.

The North American leg, which was co-headlined by Pantera, coincided with the 1994 FIFA World Cup, with the concert in Irvine, California, taking place on July 17, a few hours after the tournament final, in nearby Pasadena.

Sepultura, whose members attended the match, took to the stage decorated in the Brazilian colors in celebration of the national team's triumph in the tournament.

It features interviews, music videos, behind-the-scenes footage, and portions of concerts and jam sessions from the Chaos AD tour.

The video starts with a live (and sped-up) rendition of their Motörhead cover "Orgasmatron" from their 1994 Monsters of Rock show, at Donington Park, UK.

The "Slave New World" promotional video comes next, with a brief making of scene and Max explaining to a Japanese interviewer the song's theme.

This leads to Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson interviewing both Max and Andreas, and they clarify the concept behind "Kaiowas" title and how it was recorded.

One example is the "Arise" video, whose location shooting was California's Death Valley, where the infamous Manson Family resided for a time in the late 1960s.

[20] Chaos A.D. received positive reviews from music critics, with many commending the album's experimentation and sense of the band coming into their own.

"[33] Entertainment Weekly proclaimed that "Sepultura will separate casual headbangers from rabid addicts fast... even non-metalheads will be impressed by the variety in [Chaos A.D.]: they're not averse to slowing things down.

[37] Sound of the Beast author Ian Christe credits Chaos A.D, along with Pantera, for developing the groove metal style, which would later influence other artists in the '90s.

Overdose's 5th album, Progress of Decadence (1993), opened with "Rio, Samba e Porrada na Morro", an industrial-meets-samba intro five years in the making.