Soulfly (2018) Ritual 'Review'

Band: Soulfly

Country of Origin: United States

Genre: Groove / Thrash metal

Type: Full Length

Format: CD

Length Approx.: 43:00 min.

Release Date: 10-19-2018

Release Label: Nuclear Blast

IR Classification: Good (4.3 / 5)

Listen our review! (English)

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A very distinctive and unique Ritual.

Let's start with this album "Ritual" by Soulfly and to be honest with you, I considered myself a detractor of this band, I never felt an affection or enthusiasm for them and their music, but the time is wise and was recently until a few years ago more accurate in the 2015 and their album "Archangel" it caught my attention in a unique way, with memorable cuts and not just an attempt to stay current in the music industry, I will abstain myself from criticizing any other album for the simple reason of having ignored them completely.

"Archangel" at some point was irreverent with solid guitar riff emanating from the very deep chaos, in a form of exciting hybrid of groove and thrash metal and their newest album "Ritual" the eleventh album comes as a strong reinforce within their discography.

The album kicks off with the self-title track "Ritual" primitive chants mixed with a distorted guitar set the enough energy to launch a groovy front attack and doesn't stop there, it comes "Dead Behind the Eyes" layered with an impressive thrashing riff and drumming that excels with a very dynamic section tight and precise while the vocals by Randy Blythe and Calavera are massive no questions about it, "The Summoning" overflows in energetic and cohesive drum work and experiment a bit towards the end with that electro beat, "Evil Empowered" is fast and thrilling throwing very rapacious guitar riff, the next track "Under Rapture" sounds heavy and aggressive from the beginning and here you can catch a very distinctive bass line to welcome a vast and dense death metal passage with the powerful guest vocals performed by no other than Mr. Ross Dolan from Immolation, "Demonized" it could be the trashier cut in the album demanding the young drummer to show up his versatility to keep up the pace the guitar solo here is meaningful and genuine, "Blood on the Street" doesn't really make an impact on me, but "Bite the Bullet" have a catchy groove rhythmic section that essentially exploit up to its core, "Feedback!" is a refreshing and pleasant rock n' roll track and for a moment it throw myself into the past to remember one of the greats who is no longer here, I mean the great Lemmy Kilmister, the last track is "Soulfly XI" an instrumental track compose with a subtle ambience incorporates elements such as the sitar and the saxophone to provide a an opulent ending but gratifying.

And that's how I ended up appreciating to one of the most iconic name and trajectories within the metal scene, it took me seventeen years to understand them, I might start digging little by little their discography to discover what I ignored for many years, meanwhile I will keep enjoying their latest release "Ritual".

Stay True… Stay Metal… Stay Brutal…™

Track List:

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

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Criminal (2016) Fear Itself

Band: Criminal

Country of Origin: Chile

Genre: Death / Thrash / Groove metal

Type: Full Length

Format: CD
Length Approx.: 43:00 min.

Release Date: 03-11-2016

Release Label: Metal Blade Records

IR Classification: Moderate (3.3 / 5)

Listen our review! (English)

Powerful, compact and crude due largely to the production, still inconsequential but certainly not a bad album

Criminal originally from Santiago, Chile in South America and currently located in Ipswich, UK; are coming back after five years with their eighth and latest album titled "Fear Itself" delivering their unique and unmatched blend of thrash death metal and groove, Criminal history dates back to the early nineties, their discography consists of two demos, seven albums, an EP and a live album, their sound is similar to bands like Sepultura, Slayer, Carcass, Exodus, Sick of it All and Cavalera Conspiracy, so you can imagine what it is this about.

The album "Fear Itself" carries twelve tracks strictly attached to their roots in thrash metal infected with some groove riffs and hardcore essence, while the death part comes in form of vehement vocals, it is true that this new material, doesn't add absolutely anything new to what we already know, although the sound of the band is powerful, compact and crude due largely to the production, still inconsequential but certainly not a bad album.

The album opens with a dormant chord intro which honestly doesn't inflict the expected reaction, sometime there are albums out there, that should not have intros and "Fear Itself" is one of them, it's followed by "Down Driven" built in groove riffing, shift into an aggressive thrash sound, the raspy vocals are stick to the genre, the bass carries an effective lines through the song granting a memorable rhythm section with the drums, "False Flag Attack" delivers a relentless display of technical thrash-groove very distinctive of Criminal, screaming vocals works very well for this kind of cut, "The Needle and Knife" begins with a very convincing rhythmic section very technical drum pattern and powerful bass lines, aggressive guitars shredding are incorporated masterfully to let the screaming vocals takes over to command the assault, "Summoning the Apocalypse" shift everything you heard before into a immeasurable speed to create a crushing and energetic thrash sound, ensuring the right aspects to frame a beautiful guitar solo in this track, "Deep in the Rot" contains a very infectious guitar riffing and a very skillful drum work make this track very compact and consistent with the rest of the album, "Wasted Youth" tries to infuse some melodic feel at start, but rapidly shift into a chaotic hardcore appeal, a very brief guitar solo shines and leaves you wanting for more, the scream and raspy vocals holds a crossover vibe, "Carne Molida" is the last track of "Fear Itself" structured with technical and intricate guitar work blend the speed and hostile grooves in a singular way, the lyrics are sung in Spanish, the drumming offer a more varied pace through the cut, very effective at the end.

The oscillation between tracks is very tight, which make sound "Fear Itself" something predictable and I do not mean that there is no value at all, with ten tracks; averaging 3:39 minutes, feels like they stick to the ordinary songwriting formula lacking of venturing and innovation, despite the powerful and compact sound accomplished, I still having troubles to digest this conventional blend of metal.

Stay True… Stay Metal… Stay Brutal...

Track List:

01. Intro
02. Down Driven
03. False Flag Attack
04. Shock Doctrine
05. The Needle and Knife
06. Scream of Consciousness
07. Summoning the Apocalypse
08. The One Who Speaks at Night 
09. Animals to Gods
10. Deep in the Rot
11. Wasted Youth
12. Carne Molida

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Prong (2016) X - No Absolutes

Band: Primal Fear

Country of Origin: US

Status: Active

Genre: Groove metal / Industrial metal

Type: Full Length

Format: CD Digipak
Length Approx.: 44:00 min.

Release Date: 02-05-2016

Current label: SPV GmbH

Release label: SPV GmbH

IR Classification: Moderate (3.4 / 5)

Listen our review! (English)

A very divisive album with old elements, venturing into the mainstream

Prong has been delivering tunes for over three decades, Tommy Victor started with the band around 1986 playing some kind of Crossover and Thrash metal at that time, their debut album "Force Fed" released back in 1988 set them in the underground scene, but it was not until 1991 with their third album "Prove You Wrong" which appeals more to the groove sound of bands like Pantera or Machine Head, in 1994 they were able to reach their pinnacle of their career with the album "Cleansing".

However by 1996 they came out with their album "Rude Awakening" which doesn't capture enough attention, some people blamed them for adding Nu metal elements, later in 1997, they split and took different ways, Tommy Victor joined Danzig and by 2002 the band was reformed and focus in the songwriting for their sixth full length which was released in 2003, Prong was ready with a comeback album entitled "Scorpio Rising" but again, it wasn't what everyone were expected, but persistence leads to succeed, in 2007 their album "Power of the Damager" put them back in the right track, with a relentless thrash metal and giving high hopes to their diminished fanbase, by 2012 "Carved Into Stone" takes an approach to groove metal and it blends with some thrashier riffage, at some point sounds to me like Anthrax and their "Persistence of Time" album, during 2014 they released their tenth album "Ruining Lives"  which resembles the era of "Beg to Differ" and "Prove You Wrong", seems to be very tempting for the old followers, with tracks like "The Barriers", "Remove, Separate Self" or even "The Book Of Change" it's almost impossible to let it go.

One of the Prong constant problems has been to pull up a steady line-up, "X - No Absolutes" count with Tommy Victor in guitars and vocals, bassist Jason Christopher (ex-Sebastian Bach) and drummer Arturo "Art" Cruz (Winds of Plague), So! let's get into business and review Prongs new album "X - No Absolutes" which turns to be a very divisive album in my opinion "Ultimate Authority" and "Sense of Ease" both built with fast grooving riffage and thrash industrial elements which became as the consistent part in their latest releases, including catchy tracks, "Without Words" and "Cut And Dry" with abundant melodies and more mainstream as we notice in their previous record, "No Absolutes" and "Do Nothing" for a single minute, I got bother, because I thought that somehow my player began playing Linkin Park, but no! Even so I had to check the track list to believe what I was listening and I got speechless, "Belief System" cause divergence because its grounding in the middle of nothing far from their roots and far to be a deathcore tune, "Ice Runs Through My Veins" structured with an electro-pop vibe and mainstream chords, losing their guitar signature riff, the closing track must have been "Worth Pursuing" due to the heavy riffage, solid bass notes and the drums sound very decent and steady.

After listening several times "X - No Absolutes", I still striving to go with them, unfortunately they have lots of dynamics, no doubt at their best, but directionless! In my opinion, few tracks save the brightness of the yesteryear, while others venture into a more mainstream culture, I think is up to you, listen and make your own judgment.

Stay True… Stay Metal… Stay Brutal...

Track List:

1. Ultimate Authority
2. Sense Of Ease
3. Without Words
4. Cut And Dry
5. No Absolutes
6. Do Nothing
7. Belief System
8. Soul Sickness
9. In Spite Of Hindrances
10. Ice Runs Through My Veins
11. Worth Pursuing
12. With Dignity
13. Universal Law (bonus track)



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