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Soulfly - Dark Ages
2005 Roadrunner
Track
Listing:
1. Dark Ages
2. Babylon
3. I And I
4. Carved Inside
5. Arise Again
6. Molotov
7. Frontlines
8. Inner Spirit
9. Corrosion Creeps
10. Riotstarter
11. Bleak
12. (The) March
13. Fuel the Hate
14. Staystrong
15. Soulfly V
Line-Up:
Vocals:
Max Cavalera
Guitars: Max Cavalera,
Marx Rizzo
Bass: Dave Ellefson
Drums: Joe
Nunez
Website: www.soulfly.com
Horatio's Rating: B+
Overall Rating: B+
Also be sure to read:
Ill
Niño - Revolution Revolución (Marc Rizzo) by Skin Splitter
Marc Rizzo - Colossal Myopia by Skin Splitter
Megadeth
- Cryptic Writings (Dave Ellefson) by
Horatio
Megadeth
- Rust In Peace (Dave Ellefson) by
Horatio
Megadeth - So Far, So Good...So What? (Dave Ellefson) by Horatio
Sepultura - Morbid Visions/Bestial Devastation (Max Cavalera) by Uncle
Meat
Sepultura - Chaos A.D. (Max Cavalera)
by Horatio
Sepultura - Dead Embryonic
Cells (Max Cavalera) by Uncle Meat
Sepultura - Roots (Max Cavalera) by
Horatio & Shev |
Horatio's
Review:
If there was one former thrash great who I had counted out forever, it was Max Cavalera.
After all what has he done of any worth since 'Chaos A.D.'? Nothing, that's what.
'Roots' and all of Soulfly's four albums from 1998-2004 contained nothing that suggested Cavalera was responsible for some of thrash's more crucial moments circa 1989-1993.
I actually lied. I've never heard a single Soulfly track.
What's the point of delving headfirst into something painful when you know it's going to hurt?
Never count a man out, though. When I read that 'Dark Ages' would be a return to early
Sepultura bludgeon-like thrash I bought into it. Foolish perhaps, after all I believed
'Risk' would be Megadeth's long waited thrash comeback.
For once the hype is correct. So strong is 'Dark Ages' that you can forgive Max for his past indiscretions.
Catching the raging thrash blasts interspersed throughout the album I was taken back to an age where I
actually had feelings for the genre, like the first time I heard 'Divine
Intervention'. True, Max continues to flirt with shades of nu-metal, especially the tepid
Limp Bizkit breakdown in ''I And I', but it is outweighed by the good by multitudes.
I don't care about how the album was recorded in five different countries, or how Max sings
'Molotov' in Russian and that fat homo Billy Milano provides guest vocals for the same track.
All I'm concerned with is the 80's-style Sepultura thrash segments that are downright pummeling.
The best example of the album is 'Frontlines', crude and impossibly fast with a drum sound that takes one back to 1988.
The riffs have a Cannibal Corpse tinge, and to be honest it's stunning.
This is what I've always wanted out of Cavalera. The old school thrash of
'Fuel The Hate' is in one swift motion more effective than anything recorded by
Sepultura since his departure in 1996. This is on par with 'God Hates Us
All' in parts, especially 'Arise Again', 'Carved Inside' and
'I And I'. Granted the album isn't thrash through the duration, but the vibe certainly is.
The feel of the riffs and the production make this a near classic of this day and age.
'Frontlines' alone makes the album essential. I don't recall the last time I heard a piece of thrash that threatened to make me pass out from awe (until
Exodus showed up a few weeks later). Say what you will about Cavalera, but he still has the rage and anger that combines in some of the fiercest metal the scene has to offer.
Horatio's Rating: B+
Discography (last updated 11.5.05):
Soulfly - 1998
Tribe EP - 1998
Soulfly digipak - 1999
Primitive - 2000
3 - 2002
Prophecy - 2004
Dark Ages - 2005
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