| Now that every hard-rocker under the sun has embraced rap and industrial, you'd think that musical innovation would be rife. Sadly, all that's happened is that fat, bald, tattooed men have usurped centre stage, spraying us with sweat and spittle as their buddies bore us senseless with their staccato riffology. The dumbing-down of rock appears relentless. Thank God, then, for Soulfly. With Sepultura's Roots, singer/guitarist Max Cavalera broke new ground with his rich mix of crushing metal and ethnic tribalism. With Soulfly, now aided and abetted by Mikey Doling from the notorious Snot, he pushes further. Absurdly heavy riffs abound, but all eventually disintegrate, to be replaced by an awesome vocal barrage ("Pain"), melancholic reggae ("Bring It"), even snatches of subdued, indie-style balladeering ("Jumpdafuckup"). The range is extraordinary, and all the more so for the wildly varying guests. There's Slayer's Tom Arraya, the Deftones' Chino Moreno, Will Haven's Grady Avenell, Slipknot's Corey Taylor and, amazingly, Sean Lennon (on "Son Song", an anthem for orphans). Like Black Sabbath at their best, Soulfly make music that's beautiful, strange and remorselessly heavy. Primitive is a revelation, again. --Dominic Wills |
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