Soulfly unleashes the new CD, "Omen", today to the metal masses. As a longtime fan of Max Cavalera and Marc Rizzo, I was extremely excited to hear this new album. These two work so well together and it is truly shown in this record. Some people call it the best Soulfly album ever, and it's hard to argue that point. From beginning to end, this CD is incredible. It's fast, it's heavy, it's old school, and it's easily one of my favorite records of 2010. Here's my track by track review, and if you haven't picked this CD up yet, I highly suggest that you go to your nearest store immediately.



The album starts out with "Bloodbath & Beyond", and what an opening song it is. Right from the start you can hear the old school influence shooting through your speakers. It reminds me of old school Sepultura with all the bands new influences merging together perfectly. Max sounds as strong as ever on this track, and it's only a preview of what's to come on the record.

The next song, "Rise Of The Fallen", features Greg Puciato of the Dillinger Escape Plan. The song begins with Rizzo doing a cool little mix on the guitar over the main riff, and then straight into Greg's first verse. His voice is raw and powerful, and it's a perfect mix for the music behind him. When Max comes in and screams "Rise Of The Fallen!", you have no choice but to bang your head. The breakdown around 2:40 is pure evil, and Greg comes in with more incredible vocals on top of that riff. The riff drowns out and the track ends. I am absolutely in love with "Rise Of The Fallen". For me, it's in the top five of my favorite Soulfly songs ever. It's that damn good.


Up next is "Great Depression", which opens with a thrashy riff that is just relentless. The riff is performed at a blistering pace, and the chorus comes in to crush you. If you're not headbanging and raising the horns during this chorus, something is wrong with you. Marc Rizzo has a sick solo in this song, and it's fun for me to hear his progression on each Soulfly album. His solo's are simply unlike any others, and there is no doubt that this track will be insane to hear live as well.

The next number, "Lethal Injection", features Tommy Victor of Prong, and it's another classic. Max is a huge fan of Prong, so I can only imagine how much fun he had writing this piece with Tommy. This song also has the classic Soulfly sound that everyone loves. Powerful riffs, intense vocals, and words you can hear yourself chanting at a concert. At the end, Rizzo unloads into a crazy solo that leaves you speechless.

"Kingdom" is the next track on the album and it's a monster. The verses are classic Soulfly, but the chorus is overpowering. The background vocals with Max takes over your soul, and you hear yourself screaming "Kingdom!", whether you meant to or not. At around 2:53 you hear a different riff coming in, and you know Rizzo is about to go crazy. I find myself rewinding this solo numerous times to try and catch everything he does. Incredible stuff. The song ends with a last chant of "Kingdom", and it's the perfect end.

 

Max wrote his first song about a serial killer for this album, and it's properly titled "Jeffrey Dahmer". The chorus chants "Jeffrey Dahmer, master cannibal. Jeffrey Dahmer, master of the gruesome." It's definitely one of the catchiest tracks on the album, but will most likely end up being my least favorite on "Omen". Not to say that it's a bad song at all, but the other songs have so many great parts, it's hard to compare them. A lot of my friends say it's their favorite song, so I could just be missing something. Listen and you be the judge!

My favorite riff is at the beginning of "Off With Their Heads". The riff is as powerful as anything they've written before with this band. There is a ton of Marc Rizzo on this song, and that's always fun for me. He has quick parts throughout the whole number that are mind blowing, and his parts keep the song going at a furious speed, until the huge breakdown happens at the midpoint of the song. This track is just an incredible display of Rizzo's talents, and it's easily one of my favorites on the album.

"Vulture Culture" comes next and you may feel like your listening to Sepultura once the riff kicks in. The riff is very aggressive, and I can see many circle pits happening to this song live. It's four minutes of pure insanity and it's just awesome. The riff at 1:10 is just as sick as anything I've ever heard. The pinch harmonics are evil as hell, and it's a totally new sound for the Soulfly guys. Progression through aggression is what I call it. You'll definitely want to listen to this song more than one time, because there is a lot going on, and it deserves numerous plays to get the full effect.

The next track is "Mega-Doom", and it begins with an ominous vocal track. It took me a few times to fully understand all that's said, but once I did, it's a powerful speech. This goes right into another aggressive riff, and you're wondering if Max is twenty years old again. The old school sound on this album is everywhere, and I love it! Great song!

 

The last "metal" track on this album is "Counter Sabotage". The verse riff is insanely fast, and it doesn't stop. This whole song is fast as hell, and the vocals are powerful as ever. The eerie guitar part by Rizzo sets up the fast riff perfectly throughout the whole track. It's the calm before the storm as some say. The solo on this song is very impressive as well. Marc really put everything into this record, and anyone with any music sense can hear that. The verse slashes back in, and then they unleash the angriest breakdown for the end. It's a crunchy, sludgy, punch you in the mouth riff, and it's just a brutal ending.

The last song is the latest instrumental, "Soulfly VII". With Rizzo's talents on the acoustic guitar, the last few instrumentals on previous albums have been very special. This song is another progression for the band, and it's a great song to catch your breath. This is one of my favorite instrumentals they've ever done as well. The mixes of guitars is beautiful, and proves once again why I say Marc Rizzo is one of the best guitarist on this planet. A great last song, and perfect ending to this phenomenal album.

Being the huge fan of Max I am, I ordered the deluxe album which comes with a live concert DVD as well. It's shot in Germany last year, and it's a sick DVD that any Soulfly fan would love to see. So if you're a fan of metal in any way, this album is for you. I was absolutely blown away by this record. The legend Max still has it, and with Marc Rizzo on his side, the future is endless. Now I'm even more excited for the new Cavalera Conspiracy album!

GO BUY "OMEN" TODAY! IT'S OUT IN STORES AND WAITING ON YOUR PURCHASE! HAILZ TO MAX!

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