Soulfly Cranks Up the Thrash and Triggers a Debacle

A A A Comments (8) By Stewart Voegtlin Tuesday, Jul 29 2008

Don't be fooled by Massimiliano Antonio "Max" Cavalera's bum-Christ look. Dude ain't divine. He's made mistakes. He'd be the first to tell you. Naming his post-Sepultura bromance band Soulfly is one. Soulfly's new album is another. Conquer is a mélange of Sybil-worthy schizophrenia: unequal presentations of Korn-y nü-metal junk-trunk thump and recycled thrash-core fitted with irritating Playstation 3 sound effects. Ol' Natty Dred even trots out some new tropes, melding patchouli-drenched Bahia reggae to dad-rock schlock, not unlike the stuff Dave Matthews continually passed off as "technically dazzling" emo-fluff for northeastern latté liberals.

Connective tissue is nil: Shit's baggier than Cavalera's hemp clothes. The only possible themes involve bogus anger (see the subtly titled "Blood Fire War Hate"), tribal Xavante flay-vah poorly imported from Cavalera's native Brazil, and totally relevant lyrical content ("Warmageddon," "Enemy Ghost," etc.). Per Cavalera's initial template of shared sounds and spiritual beliefs, Soulfly was a determined departure from Sepultura's early brand of play-it-kaput thrash metal, which renders Conquer's abrupt struggle to one-up his prior outfit all the more embarrassing. Ultimately, Soulfly's take on thrash sounds silly and artificial, as if the source tape's been wound to the breaking point just to be awkwardly unspooled in a cartoonesque diarrhea of passionless cliché. And while bringing Morbid Angel's Dave Vincent in for a vocal cameo feels like some smarmy quid pro quo (designed to bestow needed cred to Cavalera—and render hyper-exposure unto Vincent) rather than a worthy contribution, it's all Cavalera can do after his incessant babbling about how heavy the new shit is.

Eddie Maluk

Avoid their yacht-rock tribute.

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Soulfly
Conquer
Roadrunner

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But the real incongruity hits when Soulfly trots out closing track "Soulfly VI," an über-banal take on yacht rock that resembles a Hawaiian-tropic jingle or a Skinemax porno soundtrack. Clearly the et tu? moment, this makes Sepultura's five-year digression from Arise to Roots petty crime. At least the boys mercifully tacked their paean to Christopher Cross at the end of the record: You probably won't make it that far.

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Bhuna 02/01/2009 12:51:00 AM

This reviewer is the definition of a "Chimp". Grow a brain, get over the sepultura breakup, i doubt you were down those small clubs during 1989-91 supporting them, but now its cool i guess to pretend.
Rob Cain 12/08/2008 10:50:00 AM

god-awful review; holy shit man, please put down whatever horrible thesaurus you're using.
Dan 08/06/2008 10:29:00 PM

I get the feeling that the reviewer had no idea what he was listening to. First of all, Soulfly has never been a thrash band and this album is no exception. If you want to understand modern thrash, check out bands like Exodus, Municipal Waste, or Skeletonwitch. As for the artists making guest appearances on the record, Max always has guests on his records. Do you know why? It's not because he needs "cred", it's because everyone in the metal scene knows that he's one of the greats. Further, the notion that Soulfly is somehow an attempt to overshadow or trump Sepultura's legacy is preposterous. Metal fans and, hell, even dogs know that Sepultura is legendary and will never be dethroned from their place in metal history. Max does what Max does and it's awesome. But for the love, if you're going to write a review about an metal album, at least know what you're talking about before you start spewing nonsensical tripe just so you can see your name in print.
Dan 08/06/2008 10:27:00 PM

I get the feeling that the reviewer had no idea what he was listening to. First of all, Soulfly has never been a thrash band and this album is no exception. If you want to understand modern thrash, check out bands like Exodus, Municipal Waste, or Skeletonwitch. As for the artists making guest appearances on the record, Max always has guests on his records. Do you know why? It's not because he needs "cred", it's because everyone in the metal scene knows that he's one of the greats. Further, the notion that Soulfly is somehow an attempt to overshadow or trump Sepultura's legacy is preposterous. Metal fans and, hell, even dogs know that Sepultura is legendary and will never be dethroned from their place in metal history. Max does what Max does and it's awesome. But for the love, if you're going to write a review about an metal album, at least know what you're talking about before you start spewing nonsensical tripe just so you can see your name in print.
John 08/06/2008 1:05:00 PM

Well this certainly reads like first review. Trying to get noticed much? An artificial take on thrash by one of the pioneers? A Dave Matthews reference? I know it's tough to make a name for yourself but bashing an album that is actually quite good isn't the way to go. Max certainly may not be divine, but this review certainly did suck.
John 08/06/2008 1:02:00 PM

Well this certainly reads like first review. Trying to get noticed much? An artificial take on thrash by one of the pioneers? A Dave Matthews reference? I know it's tough to make a name for yourself but bashing an album that is actually quite good isn't the way to go. Max certainly may not be divine, but this review certainly did suck.
John 08/06/2008 12:47:00 PM

Well this certainly reads like first review. Trying to get noticed much? An artificial take on thrash by one of the pioneers? A Dave Matthews reference? I know it's tough to make a name for yourself but bashing an album that is actually quite good isn't the way to go. Max certainly may not be divine, but this review certainly did suck.
Zach 08/06/2008 9:33:00 AM

That may be one of the worst written reviews that I have ever read. Not only is the writing horrible, but the review is dead wrong. Soulfly is one of the greatest metal bands out there now and this is one of their strongest albums. I am sure that the author is a young punk who is more into bands like Tantric, Hurt and maybe even Disturbed. C'mon man, to bash a lead like Max is crazy. He is responsible for some of the most influential metal of all time. Time to give up the reviews son!