Up next on the chopping block is another brand new album rewind!! On October 24th, 2025 we have a brand new album from Soulfly!! I’m not gonna get too into it. All I’m gonna say is that this band has some great albums and with that let’s take a look………
Soulfly- ah yes the first album! This is one of those albums that is an absolute classic and I mean what’s there to say that hasn’t been said about this one already? After Max left Sepultura, he formed a new band and they put out this absolute masterpiece of an album. Basically if you listen to the album Roots and then this one, you can clearly tell this is a continuation of said album. It’s definitely got that world music and tribal sounds mixed in with thrash metal. Now there are some that would say that this is a Nü-metal album and I guess I can see how one would think that but again this is just an absolute masterpiece of an album and definitely a classic!! There’s also just a certain magic with this album and the following album. Like you can tell that this one and the next one there’s just this energy and cohesiveness.
Previous Score: 10/10
New Score: 10/10
Standouts: Tribe, Quilombo, Fire
Primitive- so as I said about the last album, there’s just a magic and it’s almost as if this one and the last album was lightning in a bottle. Much like the last album, I can see how this would be considered a Nü-metal album. It’s definitely got all the elements and you remember the time in which both this one and the self titled album came out. But either way again this is just another classic album and it’s rare that lightning in a bottle gets captured twice in a row. I would also be remiss if I didn’t point out that this album had the best lineup ever for this band!! I mean aside from Max, you have Marcello Dias on bass, Mikey Doling (Snot) on guitar, and Joe Nunez on drums. I believe this was the first album that I bought from these guys and I don’t think it left my CD player for a good like 2/2 1/2 months. There are also a good amount of guest vocalists on here as well. I mean, you’ve got Tom from Slayer and Chino from Deftones!! Again another classic album!!
Previous Score: 10/10
New Score: 10/10
3- I think when I first started getting into this band, I had heard mixed reviews about this one. I had heard there are some that love this album and some that think this album is just mediocre at best. I would say for me this album isn’t bad. You can definitely tell that some of the magic that they had on the first couple of albums isn’t quite there, but I still think that this is a very worthy follow up. It’s almost as if this was the last album before the first major lineup change. I don’t know. I kind of go back-and-forth with this one but as of this moment, I like this album it’s just maybe not as strong as the first two. Some of the songs have some really catchy and bouncy riffs and quite honestly I wish they would play more songs off of this live. But I get it. There’s a lot of material to choose from it just would be nice if this album got some more love.
Previous Score: 9.5\10
New Score: 9.5/10
Standouts: Downstroy, Seek N Strike, One Nation
Prophecy- OK so in my opinion, this is one of those albums that in spite of a brand new lineup change this still is somewhat reminiscent of the first album. Not completely just a little bit and I actually really really like this album. Listening to it again maybe like it even more. And I feel like the late 90s/early 2000s was kind of where this band put out some of their best material. We do get David Ellefson playing bass on a few songs and I think it actually would’ve been really cool if he was a permanent member before he rejoined Megadeth. But either way, this is a slight step up and just a really fun album. Aside from the title track again I wish that they would play more songs off of this live.
Previous Score: 9/10
New Score: 10/10
Dark Ages: oddly enough, I actually found this album to actually be a bit darker than what they’ve done up until this point. It’s definitely got the thrashiness and it is a great continuation from Prophecy. As usual there’s a great list of additional musicians on here from Kerry King to Billy Milano. I do feel like though this one would be the start of them releasing albums just so they could put something out. Either way I find this to be a very underrated record in their catalogue, and I would like to see them play more songs off of this live.
Previous Score: 9/10
New Score: 9.5/10
Standouts: I and I, Babylon, Molotov
Conquer- I feel like it was around this time when Max and Igor Cavalera reconciled, and put out the first Cavalera Conspiracy album Inflicted (a great album). Tell me this album is a bit darker and there are definitely some really heavy elements on here as well in addition to some like weird sounds and other cool things. It’s not that I don’t like this record. I actually think it’s a very good record but at the end of the day this one just doesn’t feel very impactful. What I mean by that is that they have sort of found a formula and are sticking with it.
Previous Score: 6/10
New Score: 7/10
Standouts: Rough, Doom, Paranoia
Omen- this is one of those records where I actually enjoyed it a lot more this time around. I feel like it’s one of those where if you haven’t listened to it for a while and you give it another go you’ll come to appreciate it more. Again Max just seems to get really cool guest Musicians on his records and I was lucky enough to see them on this tour in this tiny little venue called the Viper room in LA. When I say tiny, I mean, like the size of a bedroom tiny and it was awesome and amazing and awesome. One guest musician that I feel stands out is Greg Puciato (Dillinger Escape Plan and Better Lovers). I’d like to think that by getting Greg on one of the songs this was maybe the seed that was planted for the just as great Killer Be Killed. In fact, this was the show where I first saw Greg perform live ever so I always think that’s pretty cool. Either way aside from that and that one standout song the rest of the album is actually really really good and another one of their very underrated albums.
Previous Score: 7/10
New Score: 8.5/10
Standouts: Rise of the Fallen, Jeffrey Dahmer, Vulture Culture
Enslaved- I feel like for this one Matt’s and the rest of the band we’re trying to go for more of just a straightforward death metal album. What I’m noticing is that he’s trying different things on different albums and I think that’s really cool and this one I guess would be the most death metal sounding album they put out thus far. I do like the fact that it does have a bit of a different sound and style and perhaps the new lineup that he has had something to do with it who knows?
Previous Score: 8/10
New Score: 7.5/10
Standouts: Gladiator, American Steel, World Scum
Savages- I thought maybe the second time around I would like this album a little bit more but overall I just feel it’s sort of average. Like this one almost feels as if they put something out because they needed to. I’m not saying it’s a bad album. I just think as a whole it’s just OK. The songs do tend to drag on a bit and perhaps some of it is left over from the previous album sessions. I mean, I guess if you’re gonna skip an album in this catalogue, this probably would be the one.
Previous Score: 5/10
New Score: 5/10
Standouts: Bloodshed, Spiral, Master of Savagery
Archangel- I guess one thing I noticed on this album that I maybe didn’t pick up on the first listen was that there’s a sort of epic to this album. Like cinematic would be the best word I would use to describe this. It does have the thrash/death metal sound and while it doesn’t really bring anything super new to the table, it’s still a pretty decent album I just don’t see myself revisiting it anytime soon.
Previous Score: 7/10
New Score: 6/10
Standouts: Sodomites, Titans, Bethlehem’s Blood
Ritual- so after a few, kinda whatever albums, I would say this one is a bit refreshing. You can tell that this band is re-energized and the songs definitely are faster. Again he’s got some really cool guest musicians like Randy Blythe and Ross Dolan. I wouldn’t say this recaptures the energy or what they were doing on the first couple of albums, but it’s definitely a very good album.
Previous Score: 8.5/10
New Score: 8.5/10
Standouts: Dead Behind the Eyes, Under Rapture, Blood on the Streets
Totem- I guess with this one it does still maintain the energy and feel of the previous album, but we’re also starting to hear them bring back some of the world music elements back. In fact, I would say that this one sort of reminds me of what they were doing on the Dark Ages album. I guess you could say they’re trying to return to their “Roots” if you will. I actually really enjoyed this one and I’m hoping that on the following album they try to go back to what they were doing on the first couple of records. I’m going to give this album 8.5/10.
Standouts: Superstition, Rot In Pain, Ecstasy Of Gold
Chama- so now we’re at the latest album and it dropped on October 24, 2025. If I’m being completely honest, I had really high hopes for this album. I thought that maybe they would kind of bring back some of the world music elements that we heard on the first two records. But we did not really get that here. There is a hint of it, but it’s more prevalent on the previous album. If you ask me, it’s a good album, but it’s nothing that hasn’t already been done before. It just seems to me like Max decided to stick to the same formula and this is another wash rinse repeat kind of album. Don’t get me wrong, it is not a bad album by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, it’s a pretty decent album, but I was just hoping that they would maybe try something a little different or maybe go back to how they were sounding on their earlier records. Either way it’s a pretty decent release for 2025 and I’m going to give this 7.5/10
Standouts: Nihilist, Favela/Dystopia, Chama
When it comes to this band, in my opinion, nothing can beat the first two records. I mean, I feel like at this point with this particular band that Max is involved with. It’s almost as if they’re kind of just going through the motions at this point. I feel as if they could’ve easily continued with what was being done on Sepultura’s Roots album. What made the earlier albums so unique was that they had world music elements mixed in with the heaviness. To quote my friend and cohost Brian, “ Soulfly was always going to be heavy, but they just brought a different vibe and groove” and that is a 1000% accurate statement. I’ll give you an example, when I think of a unique American death metal band, Nile is the first to come to mind. Like a band like that incorporates Egyptian themes in their music and I feel like Soulfly could be doing the same thing but with things like tribal and world music elements. I’m not saying that this band is put out any bad albums. That’s not what I’m saying at all, but it would be nice if maybe they would kind of go back to what made them unique in the first place. At the end of the day, Max Cavalera is an absolute legend and deserves all the credit and respect. He’s involved with a good amount of other projects and they’re all great in their own special way.
Album Rankings:
- Primitive
- Soulfly
- Prophecy
- Dark Ages
- 3
- Ritual
- Enslaved
- Archangel
- Omen
- Conquer
- Savages
New Album Rankings:
- Soulfly
- Primitive
- Prophecy
- Dark Ages
- Totem
- Omen
- 3
- Ritual
- Enslaved
- Chama
- Conquer
- Archangel
- Savages
Sinister Reviews 