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Home  Reviews CAVALERA CONSPIRACY - BIG MUSIC GEEK REVIEW
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CAVALERA CONSPIRACY - BIG MUSIC GEEK REVIEW |
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Written by fff
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Wednesday, 02 April 2008 |
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Cavalera Conspiracy
Inflikted
(RoadRunner Records
I swear I’ll never forget it as long as I freakin’ live. After misspending countless hours of my already arguably wasted youth trying to win concert tickets and other assorted swag from various radio stations, I finally hit the mother lode when I managed to score two main floor tickets to the October 10, 2000 Disturbed, Soulfly and Stone Temple Pilots show at Roy Wilkins Auditorium in St. Paul, MN. Already an obnoxiously obsessed STP fan, although I was vaguely aware of chart-topping commercial mother lode that The Sickness was rapidly becoming, I knew little of Soulfly aside from the obvious Sepultura connection. Who knew the group with the shortest set and the least recognizable repertoire would steal the damn show? Three and a half hours later, I staggered from the arena, soaked in my own sweat, a newly converted fan of all things Cavalera.
On the stellar Inflikted (2008), an expertly assembled eleven song collection of scathing, Politically-charged Heavy Metal, each track, beginning with the searing, bloodstained ‘…modus operandi…’ “Sanctuary”, and the sublimely thunderous “Dark Ark”, instantly engulfs even the most seasoned of listeners amid a virtual sonic avalanche of near-epic proportions. Effortlessly swaggering through a carefully chosen--if not oddly contrived--collection of frequently full-throttle material that is as devastatingly punishing as it is initially memorable, the group gleefully pounds their few unsuspecting oppressors (i.e. anyone still openly embracing the sonic train wreck that has become Sepultura) into an almost hypnotic submission with a sickening ease. The ringing in your ears? The stiffness in your neck? Don’t worry. It will eventually go away…I think.
Continuing with the refreshingly caustic “Ultra-Violent”, and the relentlessly pummeling “The Doom Of All Fires”, the impossibly airtight combination of newly reunited vocalist/guitarist Max Cavalera and drummer Iggor Cavalera, guitarist Marc Rizzo (ex-Committee Of Thirteen, Ill Nino), and bassist/vocalist Joe Duplantier (Gojira) steamroll ahead like the well-oiled machine they have obviously already become. Armed with an undeniably impressive array of razor-sharp riffs and a surprisingly vast wealth of tastefully executed solos, the group wastes little (if any) time bridging the more than considerable distance between their Third World poverty-fueled past and the potentially Platinum-encrusted present, ultimately resulting in a breathtaking collection of bile-spewing material that wisely retains the brother’s trademark penchant for unbridled brutality.
Co-produced by the legendary Logan Mader (Divine Heresy, Five Finger Death Punch and Machine Head, to name only a few) at Los Angeles, California-based Undercity Studios, other standouts, including the awkwardly-titled (yet highly effective) “Bloodbrawl”, and the maddeningly infectious closer “Must Kill”, leave little--if any--doubt regarding the duo’s rightful place amid the fabled hierarchy of the Heavy Metal genre. An absolute must-have for both new and established die-hards alike, what ultimately separates the rumbling, Thrash-infused behemoth that is the mighty Inflikted--and, as a result, the actual group itself--from its few would-be contemporaries is the unmistakable presence of the almighty Cavalera bloodline. Seriously…this album simply could not have been made without the full-fledged, wholehearted participation of both brothers.
So what’s wrong? Nothing. Not a single Goddamn thing. In fact, I highly doubt things could get much better. Easily the duo’s most focused and carefully honed effort since 1996’s much-celebrated breakthrough Chaos A.D. (or perhaps even 1989’s quasi-classic Beneath The Remains), the majority--if not all--of the decidedly ferocious, ‘…rifftastic…’ wares contained herein are jam-packed with enough Old School wallop and genuinely badass technical prowess to thoroughly satisfy even the most pessimistic of elitists. Thus, if you’ve once again found yourself in search of a legitimately noteworthy, slightly Old School fix that doesn’t involve wholeheartedly embracing the latest Trivium disc (was The Crusade really was that freakin’ bad?), then this, my friends, might just be the maggot-infested cure for what ails you. Trust me, you won’t be disappointed.
Select Discography
Inflikted (2008) ****
Dante XXI (2006) **
Dark Ages (2005) ***
Prophecy (2004) ***
Roorback (2003) **
3 (2002) ***
Nation (2001) **
Primitive (2000) ***
Soulfly (1998) ***
Against (1998) **
Roots (1996) *
Chaos A.D. (1993) *
Arise (1991) *
Beneath The Remains (1989) *
Schizophrenia (1987) *
Morbid Visions (1986) *
* Max and Iggor as members of Sepultura
** Iggor as a member of Sepultura
*** Max as a member of Soulfly
**** Max and Iggor as members of Cavalera Conspiracy
cavaleraconspiracy.com
thanks music geek! |
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