Soulfly wasted no time in releasing an eponymous debut album that would go on to reach number 79 in the Billboard 200. They developed their metal sound to invite influences from traditional South American music. They released their second album “Primitive” on September 26th 2000, on the prestigious alternative music label, Roadrunner Records, which made it to number 32 in the Billboard 200 chart, and number 11 in the Independent Albums chart. The album featured appearances from Corey Taylor from Slipknot on the song “Jumpdafuckup” and Slayer front man, Tom Araya.
Next came the album “3” which was the third album by Soulfly released on June 25th 2002. It made it to number 46 on the Billboard 200 chart and was responsible for the singles “Downstroy” and “Seek ‘n’ Strike”. “Prophecy”, released on March 30th 2004, was the band’s fourth album. It has since sold 275,000 units. Cavalera invited some ‘world’ music influences, inviting Brazilian elements into the arrangement of the album. The album would reach 82 on the Billboard 200 but make it to 24 on the German Album Charts.
“Dark Ages” was the following instalment released on October 4th 2005. It featured the vocals from his son, Richie on “Staystrong”. The following album “Conquer” was a step in the right direction with the album charting not only at number 66 in the Billboard 200, but number 7 on the UK Rock Albums chart and then the top 40 of Germany, Austria, Australia, Finland and Netherlands. The sequential album “Omen” released on May 18th 2010, gave the band an anomalous number 1 in Greece.
The roots of Death Angel can be traced to California and a quartet of cousins, Rob Cavestany, Dennis Pepa , Gus Pepa and Andy Galeon who formed the original line up yet they were known by many other pseudonyms including Dark Fury and Cavestany before eventually deciding on Death Angel. Their first album 'The Ultra-Violence' was released in 1987 after experimenting with different variations of traditional metal. The album was released through Enigma Records, it failed to chart yet it was hailed as a cult success by the band's early fan base.
The band followed this with two albums, 'Frolic Through The Park' in 1989 which remains the only appearance on the US Billboard charts whilst 1990's 'Part III' scored the band moderate chart success across Europe. In late 1990 drummer Andy Galeon was critically injured when their tour bus crashed and this was seen as the catalyst that ended with the band's demise. Their record label encouraged them to replace Galeon with another drummer due him needing a year to recover yet when the band refused they were then dropped. Various members decided to pursue life outside music and by 1991 Death Angel was no more.
However in 2001 the band reunited for a benefit show, although Gus Pepa was unable to attend due to no longer being in the States so Death Angel continued with collaborator and friend Ted Aguilar. They released their first album in 14 years which was titled 'The Art Of Dying' in 2004. The 2010 release 'Relentless Retribution' peaked at #10 on the US Heatseekers charts as well as appearing on numerous European charts.
Rising from the depths of probably the most instrumental bands in the development of thrash metal Sepultura, following his departure Max Cavalera formed Soulfly in 1997. Utilising the familiar sound he had helped create, Cavalera fed it into the band making use of traditional Brazilian tribal and world music while fusing it with death metal. His vision for Soulfly was to incorporate the idea of merging spirituality with sound. Their debut self-titled album was released the following year reaching number 79 in the Billboard charts. Subsequently they have gone on to release a further 8 studio albums and although the line-up since its inception has changed several times, Max Cavalera remains constant.
Summer festivals are one the best environments to see Soulfly live, they certainly don’t do things by halves. Before they even arrive an eruption of smoke fills the stage, accompanied by an operatic soundtrack as the crowd chant “Soulfly! Soulfly” to which the band run on stage. Kicking off the set with “Babylon” and then into “Prophecy” as Cavalera’s signature deep roar resonates through the air. From the offset the crowd waste no time in jumping up and down with their devils horns high in the air as the brutal drum beats raise the tempo to maximum. The intense breakdowns combined with the fierce strobe lights ignites organised chaos with various circle pits opening up in the crowd as they fling their bodies round and round before merging into mosh pits.
Soulfly have no qualms about owning the stage, the crowd is at their command. Cavalera is an excellent frontman as he enthuses the crowd with an unlimited supply of energy. If you’d forgotten where they were from, there are gentle reminders on stage right from the Brazilian flag hung from the drum riser, to the colours of their plectrums and even down to their customised guitars. Of course you can expect to hear some Sepultura classics like “Roots Bloody Roots”, “Refuse/Resist” and “Troops of Doom” thrown in the mix- it’d be rude of them not to! There are moments of pure brilliance when Marc Rizzo shreds the guitar like his life depended on it, simply mesmerising.
From start to finish the crowds are in motion as waves of bodies travel across the crowd. It’s not surprising, Soulfly have the innate ability to take over your body for the duration of their set and allowing you to let go of all inhibitions. Whatever musical projects Max Cavalera is involved with, you can expect pure magic.
The Californian thrash metal band have had several stints of music production fame over the years, and have released several studio albums over the years. Death Angel are the kind of band that I wasn’t particularly interested in listening to until I saw them perform live. I was dragged along to a concert with a friend, and absolutely loved every moment. The instrumental talent that the band in incredibly high, and their musical solos demonstrated the complexity of their individual parts. Many people are inclined to think that the vocals in metal bands are simply shouting, but it is a highly difficult skill, and their front man, Mark Osegueda has it absolutely nailed.
Although their line up has changed quite a lot over the years, the band are incredibly strong and work together really well. They bounce their energy off of each other, and are constantly head banging throughout their sets, encouraging the audience to do the same. They played through their newest album The Dream Calls For Blood, as well as revisiting some of their older material, which seemed to please the long time fans.
Towards the end of the show, Ted Aguilar was chatting to us in the audience, telling a couple of funny stories, and revealed that they had a new album in the pipeline, and the band played us a preview of a track, and it sounded awesome!
Before the show, the band took the time to meet and greet and sign auto's, which is awesome!! The boys delivered an awesome set, and tore through the classics! Sacred Reich is a class act.
Byzantine could not make it, as the bus broke down in Toronto.... Sacred Reich more than made up for their absence.
An excellent show at a venue with a lot of character. We were able to order the full menu during the show, which is a welcome change from venues with nothing more than drinks.
The bands were all fantastic! Every band put out their best effort, from the show itself to signing at the merch tables after.
I will definitely go back to this venue for a show, and I'd ABSOLUTELY go see Nervosa and Suspended if they came back to the Northeast!