Search - Soulfly :: Prophecy

Joe M. (Jmart) from JOHNSON CITY, TN
Reviewed on 3/16/2007...

The venerable Max Cavalera unfurls another diverse sonic tapestry with Soulfly's fourth album -- and where the former Sepultura man of ideas floundered a bit with Primitive and 3, Prophecy simultaneously returns to his roots (pun intended) while successfully integrating the myriad of organic influences that resulted in his being tagged the "Bob Marley of metal." That being said, Prophecy's first five cuts come armed with stone-carved riffs that are ragged, sharp, and fresh from the grinding wheel, and hulking steamroller rhythms, until "Mars," halfway through, deviates into a placid oasis-jam of Caribbean percussion, organs, and nylon-string mariachi guitar. "I Believe" and "Moses" are perhaps Cavalera's most powerful and spiritual endeavors to date, the former a heartfelt, unpretentious excursion into melody and spoken word expression, and the latter being a fascinatingly meandering, reggae-inflected jam with Serbian group Eyesburn. While the biggest criticism leveled at Soulfly on albums past was their lack of continuity, Prophecy isn't a hodgepodge of unusual instrumentation and guest stars (although former Megadeth bassist Dave Ellefson plays on a few tracks with minimal distraction), hardcore screeds such as "Porrada," "Born Again Anarchist," and "Defeat U" meshing coherently with Cavalera's ever-present ear for experimentation, usually integrated in segues between songs. It all makes for an equally inspired and inspiring dozen tracks featuring some of Cavalera's best straightforward metal, possibly since Sepultura's Roots ("Execution Style" is particularly riveting and visceral, as is a cover of Helmet's seminal "In the Meantime"). Now that Soulfly is essentially Cavalera's guitar, voice, and songs plus a revolving door of musicians, the often-spectacular Prophecy finds him coalescing nicely as a solo artist, and solidifying the truth behind the initially superficial Bob Marley comparison.

Interesting and innovative

A. Stutheit | Denver, CO USA | 02/15/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Max is back! With him, this time around, Max brings with him a new band lineup, and a theory: to make every Soulfly album sound different. Love this album or hate it, you've got to admit it's mighty creative of Max to incorporate death metal with reggae. Now the Brazilian tribal drums may not be a surprise, but the Spanish/acoustic guitars, flutes, African rainstick, brass band, and Serbian bagpipe (that instrument that sounds like a marching band) sure are.

Now, some would say Soulfly got too experimental on this album but I disagree. The reggae/tribal moments are sprinkled on; most of the songs are still atleast partially metal.



Highlights include:



The title-track, "Prophecy", is an instant killer and concert favorite. A screaching guitar intro begins the song, then explosive and extra crunchy guitar riffs explode out of the gate. This song is not unlike Sepultura's "Roots, Bloody Roots," except it ends with double bass drums that sound like cannon fire.

The next three tracks are more hard hitting metal anthems without a trace of melody. They are some of the heaviest songs Max has written with Soulfly. Plus, track three ("Execution Style") has a nice shout along chorus.

"Mars" is where things mellow a bit. The first two minutes are metal, but it ends softly. The last three minutes drizzle on light acoustic guitar work and soft percussion. This guitar gently wails and almost makes a "wah wah" sound in places.

"I Believe" is a heartfelt and visceral song with punching guitars. Lyrically, it's a brave move for Max: telling the world what his beliefs are (God, spirit, immortality and faith.)

"Moses" is where things really get interesting. The first song on the album to be completely reggae flavored, this is the one with the Serbian bagpipe. This song made me realize how good reggae can make you feel (I was jammin' to this song!) But even this one has its heavy points (i.e. the chorus/bridge).

"Born Again Anarchist" is the only song that sticks out as filler to me. But I don't mind it that much, since it's nonetheless catchy and has great, fast riffs.

"Soulfly IV" is an instrumental number with tribal drums (that almost sound like tin drums sometimes) and flutes, and "Wings" is another soft number but it has female vocals, reminiscent of "Tree of Pain" from Soulfly's last album "3". When that part of the song ends, some Spanish people come aboard the track, count a few seconds in Spanish, then a brass band comes on and plays what sounds like trumpets with more soft drumming.



I am very addicted to this C.D. I think it's inspired, interesting, innovative, creative, and all around amazing. Plus, there's something for a variety of people on it. My brother and dad like this C.D. even though they hate metal.



Soulfly are one of those bands that could've easily jumped aboard the "New Wave of American Metal" movement, but on "Prophecy", Max isn't TOO concerned with showing he's metal (he has already proven that with his previous works). With this album, Max shows he's more than a great metalhead: a great musician."

Almost Soulfly 1 All Over Again

Matthew T. Gilman | Baltimore MD | 10/05/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This album is sick. In Soulfly, the production value was just stupendous. I'm a big critic on CD quality for music. Besides the songs, that's my main reason to buy or not to buy a cd.



Like the first Soulfly, everything was heavy, the guitars were raunchy, the bass roared and thunked, and the drumbs and cymbals just flared with fury. There was tribal drums written all over it, and you could hear them perfectly and especially with headphones-what side each instrument was panned on.



In Primitve, Max went and made it a co-op album with each artist's track, but the quality was all tuned down. Much like anything of Ill Nino since Revolution, just littled to nothing basically. The guitars were too clean, and the drums were muted out and panned too softly. That, and the vibe was just too uplifting, especially since Soulfly is all a musical therapy/dedication for Max coping with his dead son. This album blew.



Soulfly 3 comes out, and it didn't blow my socks off lol, It'd made me put them back on. It was a good comeback after the embarassing Primitive. I love how it was really more on the political side of the spectrum lyrically, but it's kind of a bore to feel it - now 2 years later with the support of the war and the world totally takin a downfall.

He experimented a little too much on this album. It seemed a little rushed as most of the songs all had their own volume and instrumentation (which is not bad considering it's primarily different artists every other track) But it just wasn't up to par. Honestly, this should've been the original follow up. If they would've just taken more time on this it could've been a gem.



Now, here we are with Prophecy. It's just as hard as Soulfly 1. To me, the first Soulfly will always be the best one because it's just SO UNIQUE and perfect. I'm not one to have stand out tracks, but stand out segments of the tracks, whether it be intro, outro, chorus, or break... That's the dice I roll. Every song has it's awesomely tribal spots with amped up solos and fit right in with your head as you're having an anxiety attack. They all have long hard rocking moments where you just stand there and bang your head for a good 30-40 seconds non stop, especially on my current anthem 'Born again Anarchist.' That's what really killed 3. It was almost as if there was none, or any that doubled over.... I'm sure I'm in the 'new CD rocks' phase and will tire eventually, but I know that when I put it back in after a 2 month hiatus or whatever.. I'll be kicking a hole in the floor of my car-and probably stuck in traffic because Soulfly, me, and I-95 just can't go together EVER without a big traffic jam. It's as if fate wants us to rock together or something... But in all honesty, if you are hesitant to know if this is another Primitive, or a weaker attempt at 3, it's definately not.



Max returns with more balls in hand than ever-and returns with what originally made Soulfly such a big hit from the Git Go. If you want another shot at Soulfly, take this... The only downfall that I feel is, towards the end of the CD there is a lot of fillers between tracks.. Some tracks go from hard to an abrupt soft end - but it sounds good, but just too abrupt. The reggae tracks you might not like at first, but 'Moses' has me stuck still in the chorus espcially when I'm at work. Hits harder knowing it's about a friend he lost. But besides those -half star faults this disc is definately good enough until Dark ages, which is a whole other rocking story I've yet to tell."