SOULFLY: Totem (DEATH METAL): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

With "Ritual" Soulfy had shown a perfect artistic health. It was necessary to be patient to discover the continuation as Max Cavalera released an album with Killer Be Killed and chose to take his time. 2021 saw the departure of Marc Rizzo, breaking the dynamics of a band that had become unstable again, with Arthur Rizk taking his place for the time of the recording. Written by Max and his son Zyon, "Totem" offers a cover in the form of a tribute to nature and its spirits.

From the beginning with 'Superstition', the tone is set. Max screams like hell and the song is a death track with a huge chorus and an intense solo. Several tracks have the same spirit, full of a joyful violence and burning soli perfectly controlled, including 'Scouring The Vile' where we find John Tardy from Obituary for a wild result. Other songs ('Filth Upon Filth', 'The Damage Done', 'Ecstasy Of Gold') bring out a tribal thrash on which Soulfly shows a speed metal side worthy of Slayer.

After so much aggression, the final is more nuanced. 'Soulfly XII' is the traditional instrumental, melodic and airy, which shows a pleasant catchy side. And then there's the finale with 'Spirit Animal' which sees the band blowing everything up over nine minutes. From a shamanic sounding beginning to some blistering death passages, the track is a showcase of the Soulfly sound. It adds an industrial side to it and a surprising, melodic and melancholic final with a superb aerial solo. Hornsman Coyote's reggae dub vocals bring a soaring touch that makes you travel, ending the album in beauty.

With "Totem", Soulfly proposes a powerful work releasing a spiritual side which does not leave indifferent, a declaration of love to an ancestral way of life. - Official website

SOULFLY

TOTEM

NUCLEAR BLAST

DEATH METAL