Album review: Soulfly – Chama

By DAN SOUTHALL

SOULFLY has been the main project for Max Cavalera since his departure from Sepultura in 1996.

Recently he has become a revisionist, re-recording and touring hard on his early years as well as the Nailbomb project, surely motivated by financial concerns as well as the metal punters showing interest.

This focus on various parts of his music writing output was at one stage all being pushed into Soulfly with varying results, and, at times, lack of interest from fans of that band.

Getting the older stuff out of his system for the minute has allowed him to rewind the clock on Soulfly and focus on the ‘tribal’ elements that made them such a hit when they were first thrust upon the stage. Splitting the production duties with his son and drummer Zyon has allowed for the modern ‘throwback’ approach.

This re-focus has worked wonders for Chama. The tribal bounce and jungle elements that built the second half of Max’s career are back in a big way.

From the mystical instrumental opener of “Indigenous Inquisition”, there is little time wasted as Soulfly blast from track to track, managing to encompass everything that once made the project stand out as individual. The blast of “Ghenna” rattles off the Enslaved or Omen era whilst “Storm the Gates” has the groove of the first three albums.

Meanwhile, “Favela Dystopia” manages to encompass it all with a groove and blast dripping with a kind of venom that hasn’t felt this raw from Max in sometime. The flow of  “Always Was…Always Will Be…” into the now traditional instrumental “Soulfly XIII” is far less jarring than it has been in previous instances, the two parts combining to create a meditative passage of music that is made to be played while disconnecting your brain from your surrounds.

This is the Soulfly fans show up for. Focused and strong, with an undeniable sense of piss and vinegar rubbed in.

Get Chama on CD