2018 Metal Album Review, But in 2019??? - "Ritual" by Soulfly

Emerging from the late 90's, Soulfly was indeed a force to be reckoned with.... depending on who you ask at least! But as far as I'm concerned, having loved Sepultura prior to Max Cavalera's departure, you could say that I'm a bit biased in firmly placing myself in the "Max supporters" bunch. But I digress....

Now, it may be true that Fred Durst, of all fucking people, did a feature rap on a track from Soulfly's debut, but hey, Max and Co. are still the shit!!!! Upon breaking away from Sepultura, we all found Max dipping his toes into a new pool of metal music that was taking the world by storm at the time. The one term that we have all been conditioned to believe is a "bad" term in the metal community.... yep, I'm talking about none other than Nu-Metal.

Nu-Metal may have, as a phrase, been tainted by the idiotic and irresponsible actions of an individual from a certain band within the metal subgenre in question, but that alone should NOT be the undoing of an entire subgenre containing so many groundbreaking and influential acts such as Deftones, Korn, Mushroomhead and so many more. Which brings us to Soulfly.

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I don't know about y'all, but for me, the fact that even in Max's age and still being able to thrash as hard as he does is simply a testament to his greatness as a musician. I have nothing but respect for a man who can keep pushing as hard as ever, and manage to deliver such a punishing new record in an age where it only gets harder by the day to put something out that raises eyebrows and triggers smiles upon the faces of the metal community. And quite frankly, "Ritual" is no exception to this history in the making.

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From the very first track, "Ritual" is something of a return to Max's thrash-laden roots from the late-80's era phase of Sepultura, circa "Beneath the Remains" and "Arise". It is almost as if Max has taken his classic songwriting style and gave birth to an album that represents what Sepultura would have been in the modern age if he had never left.... for me, this is a cause for celebration. With each consecutive track, it seems only to get better and better, grittier and grittier, thrashier and thrashier. And if that wasn't enough, Max brought in some assistance from two of the most revered and influential metal acts in their own respective genres (Randy from Lamb of God and Ross from Immolation), to show that all subgenres can coexist in beautiful, angry, violent, adrenaline-fueled bliss. Listen for yourself below, and become a "Max supporter" once and for all!!!!

Ritual

 

Dead Behind the Eyes (feat. D. Randall Blythe of Lamb of God)

  

 

Under Rapture (feat. Ross Dolan of Immolation)

 

 

Demonized

 

 

- @damiancraymond