Review Summary: On this album Soulfly are firing on all cylinders and yet I believe the best is to come.
When I found out that Soulfly were releasing a new album, I had mixed feelings. Joy, because I love Soulfly but also worry because it's only been a year since the fantastic 'Enslaved' and there's nothing worse than a rushed album.
And as soon as I heard the album, my worries were put to rest. Here, Soulfly deliver 12 songs (Well, the final track is an instrumental, and it isn't exactly metal) of unrelenting brutality, and I feel stupid for ever doubting them. The album opens with the equivalent of a nuclear blast (See what I did there?) in the form of 'Bloodshed' a 6 minute long tour de force featuring Max's brother Igor Cavalera. Max's vocals are on particularly brutal form. He sings about war (Bloodshed) and just simply about how he hates the world. (F*ck Reality.) Max's son Zyon is on the drums and he does a fine job of living up to Soulfly's predecessors and Tony's bass works in perfect harmony with the guitar, making for some groovy moments.
Some of the best tracks are when Max stops shouting and lets his death metal side out, with some fantastic death growls. 'Fallen' is a perfect example of this and it's a shame that there aren't more moments like this on the album. 'Ayatollah Of Rock N' Rolla', as silly as the title may be, is a fantastic song, featuring Neil Fallon of Clutch. A negative is that the lyrics aren't fantastic, but they aren't cringe worthy either.
So with all things considered, this album definitely lives up to its name. While it doesn't reinvent the genre, it's not as if it has to. This release paints a promising picture for the future and it seems that the only way from this point is up.
