Soulfly
Omen

"We are thinking of writing shorter songs, imagine a mix between MINOR THREAT, SLAYER’s 'Reign In Blood', SOULFLY’s style and other influences. It will be a more aggressive album than 'Conquer'." Max Cavalera, November 2009.

Once again, the Prophecy has come true, promises have been kept, the new masterpiece has been skillfully crafted, because that’s how Max is. Once he says something, once he embarks on a musical path, he takes it to the finish, and as always, he surprises and triumphs. Didn't he say that "Conquer" would make the previous album "pop," the devastating "Dark Ages"? And he did just that. Didn't he say the new album would have faster, angrier, hardcore sounds? He did that, too.

It's indeed hardcore that is the major influence branding "Omen," so much so that if we had read "Cavalera Conspiracy" on the cover, no one would have been surprised because the seventh album of Soulfly’s originals sounds much like the Cavalera Conspiracy, meaning lots and lots of hardcore, with death and groove influences at every corner, but above all, very few, almost no tribal, ambient, or dub parts that were distinguishing elements of the Soulfly sound. But we shouldn't be surprised the cards are reshuffled once again. Even Cavalera mentioned in an interview that sometimes while writing the pieces he couldn’t recognize which riff was more suitable for Soulfly or for Conspiracy, because despite the ethnic influences being practically gone, the sense of Tribe in the Cavalera World is more accentuated than ever. In fact, Soulfly and Cavalera Conspiracy are simply just one big family, with the same goals, the same directions, and today with the same musical horizons.

As soon as "Bloodbath and Beyond" starts, you immediately notice how crucial Max’s hardcore and punk background is for him, a direct song, a punch to the stomach, a simple yet immediate hardcore beat, just over two minutes to kick off "Omen," live there will be corpses, that’s certain. As I have already said, it’s the hardcore that reigns supreme, it’s demonstrated especially by the final part, tracks like the very wicked "Vulture Culture" (with an acoustic ending very similar to the conclusion of "Frontlines" from the previous "Dark Ages," one of the rare moments of spiritual reflection), the crazy and sick thrashcore of "Mega-Doom" ("Welcome to Mega Doom, Enter to Mega Doom, Follow the Mega Doom" growls good old Max from behind his microphone), the violence and the wild screams of "Counter Sabotage" which, along with "Great Depression," bears a marked Slayer influence, another very important guest inspiration at Soulfly’s macabre banquet and blood rite.

The other characteristic trio is the central one, formed by more solid tracks like the gloomy groove of "Kingdom," the aggression of "Jeffrey Dahmer" (a title that says it all, for those who don’t know, Jeffrey Dahmer is one of the most ruthless and infamous serial killers, perverted, sick, and cannibalistic, much like this machine of violence that Soulfly are), the tight riffing of the relentless "Off With Their Hands" (from two minutes onwards it transforms into a typically Conspiracy song and there are parts reminiscent of the conclusion of "Inflikted") which has an epic and atmospheric ending.

As per Soulfly tradition, there are Grade-A guests. If in the last Apocalypse David Vincent (Morbid Angel) and Dave Peters (Throwdown) were raging, now once again contribute, a veteran, Tommy Victor from Prong and a protagonist of the new waves, Greg Puciato, singer from Dillinger Escape Plan, the former serves in the very compact "Lethal Injection," a kind of march in the name of the most compressed and exhausting groove with dry and muted riffs (spectacular the thrashcore ending), the latter screams in the mid-tempo of "Rise of the Fallen," a rather unusual track for "Omen's" modus operandi as it picks up quite a bit the style of the now-light years away "Primitive," a track that, albeit out of context, is perfectly executed.

What remains intact of the Soulfly brand? The eponymous track, "Soulfly VII," like its previous versions, is a piece that reaches musical magnetism, over four sulfurous minutes to relax the ears after the massacre and the wall of sound set up by the troops of Subcomandante Max in the ten tracks previous.

Obviously, a couple of lines about the execution and performance of Our crew are obligatory, the rhythm section is increasingly in sync, Bobby Burns and Joe Nunez manage to easily venture into groove and devastating parts and then come out unscathed with Slayer-style accelerations in the best of ways, Marc Rizzo is increasingly inspired and carries the "technical" spirit of the Soulfly sound (as usual, the solos are beautiful), an almost virtuosic technique that marries and simultaneously clashes with the wild spirit and street attitude of that animal Massimiliano, always there with his four strings spitting riffs upon riffs and roaring like a beast to the tune of the most primal and purest human instincts opposed to resignation, indifference, ignorance of Society.

"Omen" is yet another chapter in a long story, which has a glorious past, a well-established present, and a rosy future ahead; and now a bit of blasphemy: but with albums like this, do we REALLY need the Sepultura reunion? I, who hope for it as much as Jews for the arrival of the Messiah, am starting to doubt.