Cavalera Conspiracy
Inflikted

THE REVIEW

The long-awaited moment for countless fans and industry insiders has arrived: Cavalera Conspiracy, the sensational return to the scene of the Cavalera brothers, is no longer just a vague rumor but a concrete reality. After 12 years, precisely since the release of 'Roots' in 1996, Max and Igor have returned to writing and playing together, possibly healing the wound that led to the breakup of Sepultura, one of the most acclaimed metal bands of the '90s. For those who lived under a rock, I'll briefly summarize the events of the past few years: Max founded Soulfly, a nu-metal band with ethnic influences, while Igor and the remaining Sepultura members continued their adventure with another singer, Derrick Green, amid much criticism and few praises.

This first work by the new entity, 'Inflikted', will surprise both those expecting a Soulfly-like project and those hoping for a radical genre shift. The term that, in my opinion, best suits this work is "cunning": the two have simply pretended the last 17 years never happened, playing thrash/death in pure Sepultura style, very close in style to 'Arise' with fewer hardcore influences than 'Chaos A.D.', all of this revisited with the mindset of the new millennium; no ethnic influences or nu metal, but just 11 violent, direct, and no-nonsense tracks, precisely what Sepultura offered almost 20 years ago. Whether this was a commercial move or not is not for me to judge; I can only say that, in my opinion, the operation carried out by the two Brazilian brothers has not been entirely successful. Alongside Max and Igor, we find Soulfly guitarist Marc Rizzo and Joe Duplantier (vocals and guitar in Gojira) on bass.

Even though there are remarkable tracks, especially the title track, a brutal punch of unspeakable violence, as well as 'Ultra-Violent', the thrashy 'Hex', or the slower 'The Doom of All Fires', and surprises like the acoustic finale of 'Bloodbrawl', some tracks are much less inspired and lack soul, such as 'Nevertrust' or 'Black Ark', the least successful episodes overall, while others, lacking the unique quality that characterizes the more representative tracks, end up being mere exercises in style, and it is in these instances that the retro effect is counterproductive. These are, however, easily solvable flaws, and nothing can dispute that 'Inflikted' is a work far above average. A transitional work, in short, a first stone laid on what is hoped to be a long path for the Cavalera Conspiracy.

 RATING = 7