Cavalera Conspiracy

Inflikted

Written by: AP on 20/10/2008 18:18:29

After a decade of estrangement, the Cavalera brothers have finally settled their differences and channeled their energy into a new project which most have chosen to see as a reunion of the legendary Sepultura as it once was, leveraged by the group's tendency for live setlists with as much material from pre-1997 Sepultura as from the project's debut album, "Inflikted", as well as a characteristic Sepultura sound that mixes thrash, death metal and hardcore with ethnic Brazilian influences. It's ear candy for fans of the old school and for anyone that's more than just a little bit tired of countless, soulless metalcore upstarts. It's no secret that Max Cavalera isn't a very good singer, let alone a very distinguished guitarist, but his dedication and love for heavy metal is unmatched. And "Inflikted" might just offer the very definition to the genre.

It's forceful, upfront and severe, preferring profanity over poetry and volume over point. It's deliberately the most offensive, visceral and just downright mean album released in recent years. It's the kind of music that will make your blood boil and piss off every living cell in your body. It's what metal was always conceived to be. "Inflikted" combines the fearsome fury of Sepultura with the tribal beats of Soulfly into one muscular, hard-rocking package of uncompromising yet deliciously groovy man metal. Speaking of which, while Max delivers open power chords and vocal mowdown, it's Marc Rizzo of Soulfly and Ill Niño fame, lending his prowess on lead guitar duty that adds color to the music with, dare I say it, some of most wicked guitar work he's ever spewed out, and Gojira's Joe Duplantier handles the low end stuff on bass. On drums is of course the legendary Iggor Cavalera, whose drumming often supersedes in intrigue most riffs and guitar solos heard here. On top of this, "Dark Ark" and "Ultra-Violent" feature guest performances from Max's stepson Ritchie and Pantera's Rex Brown respectively.

"Inflikted" and Cavalera Conspiracy are the success story that most comebacks can only dream of. It's 45 minutes of the most unforgiving, pissed off metal available delivered with fearsome fury, recalling the very origins of the genre. There's little here to complain about, with its only weaknesses coming with "Hex" and "Nevertrust" with their frankly half-assed lyrics; which, had they been released by a lesser cast, would still have passed as feats of extraordinary metal. "Inflikted" is one of the best albums released this year and a must for every metalhead.

9

Download: Dark Ark, Must Kill, Sanctuary, Terrorize

For the fans of: Sepultura, Soulfly, Pantera

Listen: Myspace

Release date 28.03.2008

Roadrunner

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