I first really became enamoured with Max Cavalera with the release of ‘Roots’, since when I have followed his career with interest in his different bands. Here we find him back with Soulfly for their 13th release, although the only other full-time member of the band at this point is his son, drummer Zyon, but there are loads of guests including the likes of Dino Cazares, Michael Abbott, Mike DeLeon and others. Max handed over production duties to his son for the first time, which was a nice touch, and it is obvious that for the most part they have a very shared vision.
Max has again looked into his Brazilian roots for some percussion choices, combining that with his style of groove metal to make a very recognisable sound, even if he wasn’t singing. One thing which did surprise me was just how short this album is, as even though it has ten tracks it is only 32 minutes in length and given they haven’t recorded in three years I would have expected more. Another aspect, and one area which needed to be addressed in the mix was the amount of contrast and lighter elements contained within. There are places when it is absolutely perfect, making the aggression and angst take on a whole new level, but there are others where it is just too much and does not work at all, such as on the fade out on the title cut which is the last track on the album. I actually stopped and stared at the player as I expected something else to come blasting out and I was amazed the album had actually ended. If you have enjoyed Cavalera’s work over the years then this is another good result, just not as essential as some of the others.
Rating: 7/10
Links:
https://www.soulfly.com/
https://www.nuclearblast.com/