Soulfly – “Archangel” [Album Review]

Max Cavalera has been part of the metal scene since the early ’80s – his name is as much a part of metal history as Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne, Pantera, etc. – so it’d be fair to expect Archangel, the new release from his band Soulfly, to be another lesson in skull-cracking, heavy fucking metal.

With a few other projects on the go, and an album that blasts into life with the Nailbomb-esque “We Sold Our Souls To Metal,” it’s apparent that the metal legend has no intentions of forgetting his roots. With the ability to churn out this kind of feral, punkish metal with consummate ease, it’s not hard to believe that, amongst the rest of his extensive discography, Archangel is the tenth studio album from his Soulfly brothers.

Speaking of brothers, Archangel, following on from his other work, sees Cavalera invite some of his mates along to lend their respective talents to the album. Nails frontman Todd Jones lends his tones to the ferocious “Sodomites,” while King Parrot frontman Matt Young appears on “Life Live Hard”. With previous albums seeing Cavalera work with the likes of Fred Durst, the appearance of Jones and Young this time shows the direction Cavalera is heading in and, when combined with the biblical leanings of tracks like “Sodomites,” it makes for a brutal listen.

How does it compare to some of his other work? Well, it might not be a classic but the end result is one that will keep Cavalera’s legions of fans more than happy and, despite fighting for air time alongside some of the most important pieces of work in metal history, Archangel has done enough to earn itself a decent spot on the list.

Track Listing:

01. We Sold Our Souls to Metal
02. Archangel
03. Sodomites
04. Ishtar Rising
05. Live Life Hard!
06. Shamash
07. Bethlehem’s Blood
08. Titans
09. Deceiver
10. Mother of Dragons

Run Time: 36:44
Release Date: August 14, 2015

Check out the song “Archangel” here.