Wednesday 28 November 2018

Album Review: SOULFLY - Ritual

Soulfly - Ritual

01. Ritual
02. Dead Behind the Eyes
03. The Summoning
04. Evil Empowered
05. Under Rapture
06. Demonized
07. Blood on the Street
08. Bite the Bullet
09. Feedback!
10. Soulfly XI


Max Cavalera is certainly a prolific writer and performer. The man seems to constantly churn out Metal, whether with Soulfly, The Cavalera Conspiracy, or one of the many other projects he's involved with. I have to be honest and say that I feel Max's output has suffered in recent years from quantity over quality. I'm pleased that Ritual is a return to form, and the best Soulfly album in a long time.

I feel that there's definitely a greater hint of Sepultura's Chaos A.D and Roots albums on this new record. Maybe the Return To Roots tour Max did with his brother Iggor, where they played Roots in its entirety, had an influence on the writing? Who knows? Anyway, I love those two classic Seputura records, so the fact that Ritual reminds me of those is certainly a positive one.

Aside from the killer opener and title track, Ritual, my other favourites include Dead Behind The Eyes, which features a guest appearance from Lamb of God's Randy Blythe. The lyrics are about The Cenobites from Hellraiser, which, being a Horror fan, was always bound to score points from me. I also think Demonized is an absolutely killer track, evolving from an awesome Spanish guitar intro into a pounding Metal monster, cementing its position as one of the records' highlights.

Ritual is really impressive and has re-kindled my excitement for Max's music after years of output which I've considered to be just 'pretty good'. This album is pure fire and a reminder of why Max is still so well revered in the world of extreme music. Let's hope he keeps to this standard for the next one!


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