Soulfly - Conquer Review

Posted by Dan Marsicano on 08.01.2008

Brazilian metal band Soulfly returns with their sixth album, Conquer. After a successful album with Cavalera Conspiracy, can Max follow suit with Conquer?

The Band

Max Cavalera-Vocals, Guitar
Marc Rizzo-Guitar
Bobby Burns-Bass
Joe Nunez-Drums


The Track Listing

1. Blood Fire War Hate-4:59
2. Unleash-5:10
3. Paranoia-5:31
4. Warmageddon-5:22
5. Enemy Ghost-3:02
6. Rough-3:27
7. Fall Of The Sycophants-5:09
8. Doom-4:58
9. For Those About To Rot-6:47
10. Touching The Void-7:25
11. Soulfly VI-5:20





The Review

Max Cavalera has taken quite a beaten over the past decade from metal fans. After leaving Sepultura in 1996, Cavalera formed Soulfly, a band that has been through its ups and down, including the low point of Max's career, which was having musicians Fred Durst and DJ Lethal guest on the band's self-titled debut album. Every album up to 2004’s Prophecy had a revolving door of musicians, but Cavalera had a change of heart when Prophecy was released and saw the immense talent in his ranks, especially in guitarist Marc Rizzo.

Even since then, Cavalera has kept the same members, as the band’s popularity begins to soar and metal fans find themselves embracing the band more so than in the past. 2005’s Dark Ages and re-uniting with his brother Igor to form Cavalera Conspiracy was the first step towards redemption for Cavalera. If there were any doubts about Soulfly’s future, Conquer strikes them down with one of the best all around albums the band has produced.

Cavalera has been known to use guest musicians on Soulfly albums and Conquer is no different. Unlike past albums, Cavalera puts the songs with guest appearance in the beginning, getting them out of the way immediately. Morbid Angel frontman David Vincent tears the house down on “Blood Fire War Hate,” his growled vocals lending a harsher sound to the proceedings. Throwdown singer Dave Peters puts his Phil Anselmo-like vocals to good use on single “Unleash,” dueling with Cavalera on multiple verses, leading to a fantastic ending ala “Prophecy.”

The rest of the album shows Soulfly tighter and better focused than any previous albums. “Paranoia” wouldn’t sound out of place on Chaos A.D, fast and furious, with an acoustic ending showing the experimental side of the band. “Warmageddon” is the “Dead Embryonic Cells” of Conquer. Starting with a bass introduction, the song slowly builds to one of the fastest sections on the whole album, with riffs flying out of nowhere and Rizzo pounding the hell out of the whammy bar.

Soulfly isn’t known for epic tracks (with the exception of the 10 minute “Soulfly V”), but Conquer pulls out two of them in the one-two punch “For Those About To Rot” and “Touching The Void.” I preferred the latter track, which had a doom metal vibe to it. Mixing My Dying Bride, Black Sabbath, and Pink Floyd, the track is foreboding, soaked in darkness, and topped with an ending that would make Roger Waters cry for joy.

Continuing a tradition that started with Soulfly’s self-titled debut album, instrumental “Soulfly VI” closes the album out on a high note. Unlike “Soulfly V” off of Dark Ages, “Soulfly VI” is more structured and seems to have a purpose behind, instead of random flamenco solos (not that there’s anything wrong with that…).

Max Cavalera’s vocals are as good as they were ten years ago and his rhythm guitar playing is under-the-radar and steady, like past albums. Marc Rizzo has yet again topped himself, with his emotional and tasteful soloing providing the solid pillar that holds the music up. While he doesn’t get a chance to show off his flamenco skills, Rizzo proves that he is one of the best young guitarists in metal today. Bassist Bobby Burns and drummer Joe Nunez are the underrated musicians again, with both providing the best rhythm section that Cavalera has had since his Sepultura days.

Conquer is one of the best Soulfly albums released to this date, as Max Cavalera and company have crafted an album more focused and heavier than ever before. The Middle Eastern influences and experimentation are still there, but they don’t boggle down the music or seem out of place. The album isn’t perfect, as a few of the tracks have outro’s of tribal music that seems out of place and the shorter tracks in the middle are mediocre, but Conquer is an album that finally has Max Cavalera redeeming himself after years of crappy “nu-metal” garbage (Soulfly I-III). Fans of Sepultura hesitant to jump on the Soulfly bandwagon may want to find themselves a seat after listening to Conquer, a great metal album that shows the band at a creative high.

The 411: Conquer is an album that shows the band, and Max in particular, at the peak of their career. Sure, Conquer doesn't beat out masterpieces like Beneath The Remains and Arise, but the album does something that no other Soulfly album has done to date; consistantly kicked my ass for an hour. Yes, there are the moments of tranquility and experimentation, but these moments are brief and to-the-point. Conquer proves that the metal fire is still burning brightly for Max and will hopefully continue to do so for years to come.

Final Score:  8.0   [ Very Good ]