 |
| Label: |
Roadrunner Records |
| Year: |
2008 |
| Format: |
CD |
| Tracks: |
11 |
| Genre: |
Thrash Groove Metal |
|
|
Outside of his contributions to Probot and Roadrunner United, I've stayed away from the latest works of Sepultura/Soulfly founder Max Cavalera. And who could blame me? Given his departure from Sepultura on their infamously shitty Roots and the majority of Soulfly's discography sucking utter balls, it's easy to be hesitant to listen to anything coming from Max Cavalera. I've heard some rumblings that Soulfly's last album Dark Ages was more a return to form, but I'm wary of such comments; I've been burnt before.
However, this is different. Cavalera Conspiracy sees a reunion between Max and his estranged brother Igor. Considering the different paths both have taken musically since Max's mid-nineties split with Sepultura, I'm honestly curious how Inflikted is going to sound. So there's only one way to tell: get on your helmets and safety goggles, boys and girls, we're running into this thing like a retard on Special K!
Like how Job for a Cowboy's Genesis was haunted by the deathcore sins of their EP, Cavalera Conspiracy is more than likely going to be haunted by Max Cavalera's nu metal past. Let's get one thing straight out the door: Cavalera Conspiracy is neither Soulfly nor nu metal. Cavalera Conspiracy has virtually little to nothing in common with Soulfly. Anyone that tells you this is Soulfly done again is lying when he tells you he listened to this. Cavalera Conspiracy- if anything- has more in common with Nailbomb than it does Soulfly. The music of Inflikted is very simplistic thrash mixed with heavy amounts of aggro-groove and incredibly light sprinklings of industrial elements. Unlike Nailbomb the simplistic thrash is constantly interrupted with tight, impressive solos and the music is more on the generic side of thrash than the punky, harsh, trademark sound of Nailbomb. There is tribal drumming found on "Terrorize" and "Dark Ark", but tribal drumming is not enough to make something a Soulfly song; tribal drumming has been done by Voivod and others long before Soulfly was a twinkle in Max's eye.
As I said above, there is an extremely prevalent groove element driving the usually simple song structure of Inflikted's content. This will easily appeal to later era Machine Head and Pantera fans with its aggro feel, but it most definitely isn't nu metal. Groove and nu metal have overlapping aesthetics, but they are not the same things, kiddies!
Though Cavalera Conspiracy most definitely does not commit the same mistakes as Max's past acts, this doesn't make Inflikted good. However, Inflikted isn't bad either. The album is just plain mediocre. There is a lot of potential behind Cavalera Conspiracy's sound (especially the opening title track, which mixes in some Middle Eastern-esque riffs here and there, and the speedy vibe of "Hex"), but the groove really isn't compatible with the thrashier elements of the album. To make matters worse, Max's vocals quite often follow the groove leads too faithfully, making the vocals sound elementary as opposed to harsh and unrelenting. The lyrics also need a swift kick in the ass.
However, as it stands Inflikted is a lot better than I- or anyone else for that matter- was expecting it to be. I wouldn't recommend picking up Inflikted when you can still buy the old Nailbomb albums for much cheaper and with much better quality metal, but it goes without saying that Cavalera Conspiracy could have been a lot worse. It's mediocre, but it's a start. Max better not fuck this up.
Review: Necro-tron
|
|
When I found out Max and Igor Cavalera had worked through their past issues and agreed to work together once again I was optimistic about their future plans. The last time the brothers worked together was on Sepultura's Roots, an album I admittedly enjoy a lot despite it's "tribal nu metal" flavoring.
The new band they formed is called Cavalera Conspiracy, a sure sign that sucktitude is on the horizon. To make things worse they named their debut full length effort Inflikted. Inflicted with a "K". Oh sweet fucking Christ... on top of this they included Soulfly guitarist Marc Rizzo and Gojira bassist Joe Duplantier.
Before listening to the debut for the first time I made sure to have a few drinks to loosen myself up and not allow the impact of shitness affect me too greatly. I pressed play, closed my eyes and waited for the horrors within.
Surprisingly, despite the stupid band name, awful album title and even worse artwork the music contained within is actually... metal!?!?! No, seriously, it's metal! Contained within the album's 11 tracks are throwbacks to the early death/thrash-era Sepultura sound, complete with surprisingly solid solos and catchy riffs, as well as a heavy early hardcore and punk vibe. When I say death/thrash I mean DEATH AND FUCKING THRASH! What the fuck?!?! Even the track that contains bass lines by Pantera's Rex Brown, Ultra-Violent, is fucking heavy, simplistic, but heavy and contains segments of music I haven't heard since Morbid Visions, Schizophrenia and Beneath The Remains with soloing that sounds like it's straight off of a Nile album.
Predictably not everything on this album is quality, there are a lot of tracks that don't really seem to go anywhere and lack the catchiness to really move the material along, pretty much your basic filler material. Overall, I'm shocked to admit the album has surprised me and there are actually a few worthwhile tracks for fans of early Sepultura and Nailbomb. I don't just mean "“Ehh... they're okay, but unnecessary." I mean actually good songs that are worth checking out.
Considering my expectations were so low I'd have to call this album a success, I'm not convinced this is an album people "must own" because there is a lot of filler crap that just makes the album as a whole difficult to listen to, but I'm impressed enough that I'll be giving a few of these songs more listens. This is definitely a step in the right direction, hopefully they'll continue this project and write more material along these lines. Who knew Max and Igor still had balls?
Review: Teufel
|
|
|
