Soulfly
Prophecy

THE REVIEW

Uh-oh! It has been pointed out to us that this review also appears (in whole or in part) on metalitalia.com

An abyss. An abyss of creativity and inspiration exists today between Soulfly and Sepultura. And I suppose you might be wondering if it's ever necessary to reiterate this or if it's useful to make these banal and, above all, pointless comparisons... well, we also lean towards no, yet the current distance between the two groups, in terms of attitude and composition, is such that it leaves us astounded and forces us to revive the weighty comparison, even for just a moment.
Max Cavalera, with the fourth work of his solo project (because this is what it has come to be), further demonstrates his ability to “do band alone,” thus lending a kernel of truth to the suspicions regarding the notion that Sepultura were mainly supported by his spirit, and now are orphaned of any soul.

“Prophecy,” released in 2004, is described by Max himself as a different album from the previous ones, inclined to wink at the abstract (but not so abstract) concept of world music, sounds without precise rules, embracing various cultures and traditions, a mishmash of influences and boundless experimentations; all this seems a bit exaggerated, to be honest, as Soulfly remain firmly anchored to the cause they've been pursuing since their inception, that of a visceral, passionate metal, rich in tribalism, modern and free, although, upon closer examination of the new album, one notices a convinced inclination towards more refined sounds, imbuing with class a music that hardly needs it, created by a person whose charisma is widely known. A charisma that has allowed the leader of Soulfly to overturn the band's lineup for the umpteenth time, while keeping the approach and execution intensity intact: crucial, in my view, is the addition of Marc Rizzo from Ill Nino, a guitarist who naturally ranges from flamenco to reggae, from rock to heavy metal, and who has been able to give a personal touch to the compositions here; returning behind the drums is the resurrected Joe Nunez, already present on “Primitive”; and then, last but not least, emerges the presence of no less than two bassists: Bobby Burns (ex-Primer 55) and a certain Dave Ellefson, for those who might not know, the only person capable of standing by the “firecracker” Dave Mustaine during the entire historical arc completed by Megadeth, and here present in five tracks.

Now, the tracks, indeed: with the premise that there's not even a shadow of subpar songs, the first part of the album presents us Soulfly in their usual guise, namely monolithic and well-cadenced riffs, Max's voice that sets the pace in his unmistakable style and chants anthemic choruses with immediate impact, and excellent in this sense are the title-track, “Living Sacrifice” and “Mars”; the usual acoustic-percussive incursions, usually placed at the end of a track, can be found in quite a few songs, along with some really well-executed lacerating solos, but it is especially in the second half of “Prophecy” that they manage to become incisive, touching, and fundamental in the economy of this superb album: just listen to “Moses,” a reggae-metal hyper-melodic piece that, if my intuition doesn't deceive me, could become a phenomenal rock club hit... oh dear, stuff that Dub War were already doing years ago, anyway undoubtedly one of the peaks of the record! And there's really so much more to tell about the contents of this fourth chapter... Meia Noite's contribution to the percussion, the beautiful cover of Helmet’s “In The Meantime,” the inevitable self-celebratory instrumental, “Soulfly IV,” the confirmed presence of the talented Asha Rabouin (lead vocalist on “Wings”), the collaboration with a Serbian musician, one Ljubomir Dimitrijevic, in several tracks, the use of bagpipes and winds... aspects that decisively contribute to making “Prophecy” a work highly worthy of purchase and that probably place it just a step below the eponymous, seismic debut of the Brazilian-American combo.
Excellent and grand Max, as always! What else is there to say, but: the song remains insane...
A must-have.