Movies And Metal

Posts Tagged ‘Sepultura’

Ever since Soulfly mainman Max Cavalera decided to do away with the blatant nu metal-isms of the band’s first handful of releases and return to his thrash metal roots with 2004’s Prophecy, the band has enjoyed a consistent run of top-notch albums proving why Max is held in such high regard by metal fans the world over.

Omen –Soulfly’s seventh studio album – kicks straight in with Bloodbath & Beyond, a raging slab of hardcore-infused thrash that literally comes screaming from the speakers. The Dillinger Escape Plan’s Greg Puciato guests on the hook-laden Rise of the Fallen, adding a little diversity to proceedings, while Prong’s Tommy Victor contributes to Lethal Injection, with its stop/start riffing and manic time changes. Apart from these and the obligatory self-titled instrumental chill-out that closes each Soulfly album, the rest of the album is pretty straight-up metal in the vein of – yes, it needs to be said – classic Sepultura, which is a good thing as the Seps themselves don’t make albums this good anymore. Mention must also go to guitarist Marc Rizzo, whose distinctive style of shredding permeates every track without ever sounding gratuitous or unnecessary.

Even though all the boxes are ticked, however, the album isn’t without a few niggles. There are one or two tracks that border on filler, most notably the underwhelming and by-the-numbers Great Depression, and the slightly ridiculous Jeffrey Dahmer which does raise a question or two about Max’s lyrics; probably best to leave the serial killer stuff to Slayer.

Maybe not quite as satisfying as their last few releases, Omen is still a great piece of brutal, stripped-down metal that will please long-term Cavalera fans. It won’t break any boundaries or push the envelope in the way that their early works tried to do, but that isn’t the point any more. Max knows what this band does best and is happy to give it to you. Considering that this is his full-time band, it makes you wonder how brutal the next Cavalera Conspiracy album will be…

Rating: 7/10

Standout Tracks: Rise of the Fallen, Lethal Injection, Kingdom, Mega-Doom, Counter Sabotage, Soulfly VII.

For Fans of: Sepultura, Cavalera Conspiracy, Machine Head, Slayer, Megadeth, Carcass, Morbid Angel.

For more information on Soulfly go to: www.soulfly.com

Click on images to purchase Omen.

In a homage to recent lists that have made their way online regarding what was great about 90′s metal, possibly a cue for a nineties revival seeing as the eighties one is slowing down, I though I’d shove my two pennies worth down your throats.

In no particular order (apart from number one, which is meant to be there) here are the best things I can remember from what I feel I can term ‘my time’:

1) Sepultura – Doing what Metallica did in the eighties – taking an extreme form of music and bringing it to the mainstream – but with less commercial aspirations, Sepultura came from underground metal obscurity and managed to get three singles from ‘Roots’ into the charts, released four classic albums in a row, appeared on The Big Breakfast, The Word and Hotel Babylon, and appealed to old-school metal fans and nu-metal fans alike, as well as introducing a lot of metalheads to hardcore. Not bad for a death metal band from Brazil. Just a shame we’ll never know what could have been…

2) Black Sabbath reunion – The ‘Nativity in Black’ tribute album lit the fuse, and then everybody from Pantera to Cathedral was putting out Sabbath covers, so it was inevitable – and on a cold December night in 1997, the original line-up of the original metal band were reunited for a full set of classic anthems. Grown men were seen weeping into their beer as Osbourne, Iommi, Butler and Ward proved why they are the most imitated band in rock, and gave everybody in attendance a night to remember. Expectation was high for a new album, but Ozzy let his family take over his career and decided that mainstream celebrity acceptance was the way forward…so we got some more mediocre solo Ozzy albums instead. At least we got Heaven & Hell to make up for it. It was good while it lasted…

3) Fear Factory ‘Demanufacture’ – Combining death metal and industrial was always going to be a noisy affair, but following on from their relatively primitive debut ‘Soul of a New Machine’, Fear Factory streamlined their sound and produced a classic. When everyone else was looking back in time for inspiration (Cradle of Filth, Sepultura) or commenting on the mundane goings on of everyday life (Godflesh), Fear Factory looked to the future and gave what was described at the time as ‘Terminator metal’. Producer Colin Richardson wiped out Raymond Herrera’s tom-tom’s from the mix, so the drums were cold and machine-like, while Dino Cazares’ simple-yet-brutal riffing dominated the whole sound, with the kick drums following his rhythms rather than the bass. Vocalist Burton C.Bell did aggressive and melodic in equal measure, inspiring the likes of Robb Flynn to try expanding their range, but it was the songs…oh the songs! Replica, Self Bias Resistor, Pisschrist, New Breed, A Therapy For Pain, the seizmic title track…all brilliant and still howling. Shame everything else they did sounded so generic by comparison.

4) Nu-Metal – Every decade has it’s scene and it’s sound, and after grunge had disappeared (yay!) the cutting edge sounds of Korn, Deftones, Coal Chamber and Limp Bizkit broke through and layed down the template for the new millennium. Yes, we look back and laugh now at what it became, but those first few vital releases by the aforementioned bands really were groundbreaking. ‘Korn’, ‘Around the Fur’, ‘Life is Peachy’, ‘Three Dollar Bill, Y’all’, ‘Coal Chamber’ and ‘Slipknot’ were all great examples of the burgeoning new sound, but it couldn’t last. Korn got fat and had a makeover, Coal Chamber called their music ‘spookycore’ and lost the plot, Fred Durst became a figure of ridicule and somebody came up with the idea of Linkin Park. It all went commercial and the once youthful sound of adolescent angst became bloated and middle-aged, but for about five years in the nineties it all seemed like a good idea.

5) White Zombie – Unclassifiable and very bizarre, White Zombie first emerged on the New York art-noise scene in the mid-eighties. Refining their b-movie inspired noise into a well-balanced blend of metal riffing, punk attitude, techno beats and a polished industrial edge, White Zombie became a touring freak show across America in the mid-nineties and released what could probably be described as the ultimate nineties metal album in ‘Astro Creep 2000′. Songs like the grinding ‘More Human Than Human’ and the psycho rock n’roll of ‘Super-Charger Heaven’ became MTV staples and White Zombie were on the verge of greatness without compromise – until Rob Zombie quit to go solo and direct horror movies. Rumour is there is to be a reunion – without Rob – but would there be any point? It was a moment, a special moment that could never be repeated. Just put on ‘Astro Creep…’ and listen to how genius should sound.

6) John Bush Joins Anthrax – Anthrax were always a great band, with a tight thrash metal sound and a back catalogue of cracking tunes, but there was always one piece of the puzzle that didn’t quite fit – the singer. Although Joey Belladonna had a powerful set of pipes, his voice just never seemed to suit the music – imagine Ronnie James Dio singing for Megadeth; it just wouldn’t go. So come 1993, Anthrax released ‘The Sound of White Noise’ with new singer John Bush and the address was balanced. Bush could replicate Belladonna’s warbling, but with a gritty edge to his voice, meaning that the band could expand their sound further. Bush could also write songs as well, and was a commanding presence on the stage, whereas Belladonna just sung and wore a Red Indian headdress. Shame nobody bought their records, though.

7) Machine Head ‘Burn My Eyes’ – Contrary to what a lot of people say, Machine Head did not revitalise a flagging metal scene when they released their debut album in 1994. Korn and Deftones were about to break barriers with their debuts, Pantera, Sepultura and Biohazard had all released what would be their defining masterpieces around that time, while Slayer and Megadeth were about to release follow-ups to their biggest commercial successes. Except for a lack of new releases from Maiden, Metallica, Priest and Ozzy, there was a decent set of albums doing the rounds, so why is ‘Burn My Eyes’ held up in such high regard? Simply because it kicks major ass. Opening with the anthemic ‘Davidian’ and not letting up until the closing bars of ‘Block’, ‘BME’ was a masterclass in sophisticated aggression. Mixing the hardcore stomp of Biohazard with the dynamics of Bay Area thrash and a hint of death metal’s downtuned riffing, all wrapped up with Colin Richardson’s crystal-clear production, Machine Head did the typical crime of the nineties and made a brilliant debut that they have spent the rest of their careers trying to live up to. Just play the main riff to ‘Old’ at full volume and try to stop yourself bouncing along.

8) Roadrunner Records – As the eighties turned into the nineties, it was arguably Earache records who were regarded as the home of the cutting edge metal bands – until about three years into the new decade, when all of a sudden a lot of their popular bands were starting to leave the label for one reason or another, and Roadrunner seemed to have all the good stuff – Sepultura, Type O Negative, Fear Factory, Machine Head, Life Of Agony, Obituary, Dog Eat Dog, Biohazard, The Misfits, Soulfly, Slipknot, Coal Chamber…Just check out the bill for Donington in 1996 for proof that the label knew how to promote their bands.

9) Pantera – As with Sepultura, Pantera took an extreme style of music and took it to the mainstream with impressive success. Unlike Sepultura, or Metallica before them, Pantera didn’t start out making extreme music and streamlining it for mass-consumption. Instead they started out playing a more glam style of heavy metal and got heavier with each release, so by the time of ‘Vulgar Display of Power’ in 1992, when they could have followed it up with something more accessible to capitalise on their success, they went the other way and made an even heavier album with ‘Far Beyond Driven’, which went to number one in both the UK and the US. Although the scene changed with the advent of nu-metal and Pantera seemed to go out of vogue, their influence is undeniable and even to this day their name is still a benchmark by which other bands are judged. Just ask DevilDriver or Lamb of God.

10) Crossover Appeal – It was fairly straightforward before. There was hard rock (Led Zeppelin, Thunder, etc.), heavy metal (Priest, Maiden, Sabbath, etc.), thrash metal (Megadeth, Anthrax, Slayer, etc.) and death metal (Morbid Angel, Cannibal Corpse, etc.), and anything else had to slot into those pigeonholes. In the nineties, though, it all changed. Due to the public’s need to categorise everything, there were all sorts of labels bandied around – goth metal, gothic metal (not the same thing!), doom, hardcore, grindcore, industrial, ambient, noise, electronica, stoner, sludge, southern, nu-metal, alternative, grunge, punk, pop-punk, straight-edge, emo, screamo; and those are just the immediate ones I can think of! Of course, it did have it’s plus points – bands who wouldn’t normally have anything in common would tour together (I once saw a bill of Type O Negative, Entombed and Stuck Mojo – something for everyone!) and bands also started to incorporate other styles into their sound. Death metal bands would experiment with hardcore (Obituary), while hardcore bands would rap (Biohazard) or even appeal to Goths (Life of Agony, Type O Negative). Sepultura and Machine Head would cover obscure punk bands, while traditional metal bands started upping the ante with thrashier riffs and double bass drumming (Saxon, Priest) and some bands even started toying with techo and drum n’bass (Fear Factory, Pitchshifter). It was a mish-mash of styles and it didn’t matter if you were into rap, metal, rock or techno because there would be something for everyone to grasp onto. Kind of miss that, really…