Soulfly
Enslaved

A man with a head in a box, that is what greets whoever is picking up and looking at the new album by Soulfly. It is their eight album and for this Cavalera has found some new members on drums and bass in David Kinkade and Tony Campos who are said to be bringing in some more extreme sounds to Soulfly. That is what the band’s main man Max Cavalera told me when I spoke to him some weeks ago, another thing he told me was about “cool” guests and he also worked with his sons on the ending track of the album so it is one eleventh of a family affair this thing. Not only is it Soulfly’s eight studio album, it also their fifteenth year as a band which is quite an impressive feat, and they have been successful as well so they have nothing to apologise for these guys. Enslaved which is the title of the new album is centred around the subject of slavery be it the traditional american slaves, slavery in other forms like roman gladiators or slaves under drugs and Pablo Escobar and his drug empire. The subject lends itself to some extreme and heavy music according to Cavalera and that is what they have made for this album.

Extreme metal is what it is about but with influences from other genres and with a melodic touch, but also with a very extreme tough and many parts borrowed from the darker and deathier of metal genres. Not in a sense that it is all being a straight death or black metal album but more extreme than what we usually get from Soulfly much thanks to the help of the new members but also from the guests appearances like in World Scum for instance. It is a quite varied album as well, the eleven tracks and 53 minutes of music shows for many different different direction while still remaining coherent. The sound works really well for this album and Max’s vocals are evil and powerful as well, an album with lots of power and aggression and probably more so than any of the seven Soulfly albums before this one.

This is a good album, the backdrop of a serious issue and also with some political touches gives it a deeper meaning than just another extreme metal album. This subject of slavery also lends itself to exploring these more extreme sides that Soulfly does with this album and they do it well, very well. I think that the dynamics of the extremes is what makes this album so strong, there is melodicness but also extremeness and it is in these contrast that we find the strengths of this album. Then this canvas of slavery also adds a touch of something to think about, pair that with a set of good songs and you understand that it is a good album. There are no real weaknesses although the playing time feels a touch too long as I tend to slightly loose interest towards the end of the album which is a bit sad as I tend to have a hard time focusing on the very good song Revengeance which max makes with his sons and that ends the album.

Best on the album is track two World Scum which is a track that is also a good representation of the album other than being a great track, track four Gladiator is another track with very good qualities. I also enjoy the ending track Revengeance but I mostly do that when skipping other tracks earlier on the album, so a touch too long it is. In limited editions this album happens to be even longer with three additional tracks, I have no real insight to these tracks as they are not in my promotional material but if they are anywhere near the rest of the album’s quality, then they will be really good as well.

So it is an album both for the fans of the band but also for anyone who enjoys extreme metal with a little thought behind it. Enslaved is not only powerful, it is also a high quality album that I will recommend without hesitation.