[CD Review] SOULFLY – Savages

Max Cavalera is a toiler through and through. He lives and breathes his passion for tribal-infused metal and despite some rather patchy efforts over the years, his ongoing relevance in the wider metal community cannot be disputed. With a career spanning nearly 30 years, Cavalera’s contribution to metal and prolific workmanlike dedication to his craft deserves respect and I’m certainly rooting for him to release a couple more albums that can hold up against the groundbreaking work of his early career with Sepultura. Unfortunately Savages is not such an album.

Aside from the curiosity of the first few Soulfly albums, my experiences with the band’s extensive discography has been limited. People move on and my own metal tastes entered more diverse and extreme waters and hence my initial connection with Soulfly proved short-lived. Fast forward to 2012’s Enslaved album, signalling my reconnection with the band, and I was pleasantly surprised by the heavier direction and sharper death/thrash elements that had been sculpted into their burly tribal metal template. Former Borknagar drummer, David Kinkade, brought a new level of rhythmic intensity, speed and technicality into the equation, while the unflappable Cavalera and worthy companion Marc Rizzo (lead guitar) brought an inspired batch of riffs and lead work to the table. The album was an adrenaline shot of concentrated energy and firepower that left their early works for dead and perhaps proved to be Cavalera’s most inspired album since Chaos AD.

Savages, their 9th studio album, brings their sound back to far more familiar and predictable terrain, with mixed results on the songwriting front. For the average Soulfly fan this may be acceptable enough, but for those who crave a little more of the fire and energy that Enslaved delivered in spades, Savages largely disappoints. Much of the speed and technical flair from Enslaved has been stripped back in favour of typical Soulfly riffage and a rather simple groove-based stomp. Many of the slower to mid-tempo riffs recall the down-tuned tribal flavours of their nu-roots, while the faster, thrashy sections don’t resonate with the kind of power of the previous album and appear far too sparingly. Regardless, Soulfly’s catchy groove-based approach ensures there’s enough solid material and memorable riffs to balance out the more lacklustre moments, thus avoiding the album being a completely disposable wreck, but it’s a disappointment nonetheless.

Max’s son Zyon replaces Kinkade on drums, and although he displays plenty of talent, he’s still developing his own distinct style and nothing about his work stands out despite a tight and energetic performance. Marc Rizzo livens up the album with some peppery lead work, often raising the standard of a handful of otherwise by-the-numbers Soulfly songs.

Opener ‘Bloodshed’ fails to raise the adrenaline despite a couple of rousing moments and quality soloing from Rizzo, and at nearly seven minutes long it overstays its welcome. The big, bass-heavy but somewhat flat production zaps some of the power of the feisty punk-thrash groove of ‘Cannibal Holocaust’, while ‘Ayatollah of Rock ‘N’ Rolla’ features a surprisingly ineffective collaboration with Clutch’s Neil Fallon, who mostly sounds like he’s going through the motions during his spoken word sections. The unnecessarily lengthy track is saved by a couple of strong riffs and its headbanging swagger.

‘Spiral’ nails down some tight mid-tempo grooves without sounding overly bouncy, while Cavalera delivers a strong vocal and once again there’s more killer work from Rizzo. Napalm Death’s Mitch Harris offers a nice acidic contrast to Cavalera’s trademark gruff bark on the groove-heavy punch of ‘K.C.S.’, a strong tune built around some lively drum work from Zyon before easing into a quietly atmospheric climax. ‘El Comegente’ is the longest song on the album, but unlike several of its counterparts, it doesn’t feel overstretched. The almost hypnotic flow of the song, coupled with dual Spanish/Portuguese vocals from bassist Tony Campos and Cavalera, works a treat with the commanding guitar work from Rizzo, with a beautifully constructed acoustic instrumental section closing out the track.

Overall, Savages lacks creative spark, despite the best efforts of Rizzo in particular, and the numerous dull marks and bloated length hampers the overall impact of the album. While the rejuvenated sucker-punch of Enslaved felt like a giant leap forward for the band, Savages feels like a couple of significant steps backwards for Soulfly, halting the momentum gained and hashing-out a less aggressive, safety first approach to their songwriting formula that is at odds with the album’s title.

6/10
Reviewer: Luke Saunders

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fpa4QdbkwP0