NUCLEAR BLAST
RE-EXPLORE THE CAREER of Soulfly and you’ll find you can divide it into three distinct periods. Phase one was a folk/nu metal stint, picking up where leader Max Cavalera left off with his tribal tour de force, Sepultura. Then there’s the Dark Ages-to-Omen era of hyper-pissedoff thrash – partially shaped by the deaths of Dimebag Darrell and Max’s eight-month-old grandson – before three albums of grooving death metal.
When the pan-American quartet tapped mega-fan Josh Wilbur to produce 2018’s though, they consolidated everything they’d done. Songs ranged from the title track’s Navajo-inspired stomp to industrial speed metal, and it was ceaselessly compelling. Four years later, has the same urge to traipse through all of Soulfly’s proven talents. But this time it’s bleaker.
