Soulfly

Soulfly at Skully’s, Columbus, February 28, 2023

Wayne Edwards, , , , , , , ,

Max Cavalera and Soulfly put a crack in High Street outside Skully’s in Columbus this week on their Totem tour.

Soulfly

Skully’s Music-Diner is a regular stop for metal bands when they are in the middle of the country. With no pit and not even a barricade, really, fans can get right up to the stage. When the circle pit swirls open, it can engulf the bulk of the room, putting everyone in play – or in jeopardy, depending on how you look at it. If that sounds good to you, now you know where go.

Soulfy brought two bands with them on this leg of the tour. First up, Skinflint, a three-piece metal band from Botswana. I had heard of them but had never seen the band in action, so I was ready go. Their new album is their seventh, Hate Spell, released just days before the show. Their music is infectious metal with incredible rhythm and masterful guitar. They played a couple cuts from the new record, and dipped into their deep catalogue for a few well-seasoned favorites, too. Great set.

Skinflint

Bodybox middled. Bodybox is a Florida deathcore band, and they are a very different act compared to either of the other bands. I didn’t know anything about them before the show, so I went in unencumbered by expectations. A relatively new group, they have released a demo and an EP so far. Their sound was tight while it lasted, but they unfortunately experienced technical difficulties for a large part of their time on stage, leading vocalist Harry Brown to riff off the top of his head and to drink a number of beers handed up from the crowd while the troubles were addressed.

Bodybox

Soulfly has been on my bucket list for a while now. I saw Max Cavalera last year and that show was a highlight of my concertgoing for 2022, no question about it. Soulfly released a new studio album last year, Totem, and that was one of the better albums last year, too (there is a link to our review of that record at the end of this article). My interest in the band has therefore been heading toward a peak in recent months. Max with his four-string ESP was joined on stage by Zyon Cavalera on drums, Mike Leon on bass, with Mike DeLeon playing guitar.

Max Cavalera

The show opened on “Back To Primitive,” and the packed room starting jumping immediately. The pit opened on that first song, which doesn’t usually happen – even with the headliner, there is often a song or two of grace before the pushing starts. Not this time. Everybody was ready to party with Soulfly.

Soulfly

They went back to the beginning next with “No Hope = No Fear,” and there was never any hint of slowing down. They did play a couple of songs from Totem, but mostly this night was a greatest hits affair, with a couple of covers thrown in the mix as well. I thought the Max and Iggor Cavalera tour was great last year, and it was, but this Soulfly performance cranked up even a notch higher. It was a great show, and now I am scanning the calendar to see if there is any way I can see them again before this tour is over. Highly recommended.

Max Cavalera

Soulfly is on the road through April Fool’s Day. Check out the dates and cities on the tour poster below and make plans to catch the show.

Photos by Wayne Edwards.

Links.

Soulfly, https://www.soulfly.com/

Skinflint, https://skinflintmetal.com/

Bodybox, https://bodybox.bandcamp.com/

Scully’s Music – Diner, https://skullys.org/

FFMB review of Totem, https://flyingfiddlesticks.com/2022/08/08/soulfly-totem-nuclear-blast-2022/

Photo Galleries.

Soulfy, https://flyingfiddlesticks.com/2023/03/04/photo-gallery-soulfly-at-skullys-in-columbus/

Skinflint, https://flyingfiddlesticks.com/2023/03/04/photo-gallery-skinflint-at-skullys-in-columbus/

Bodybox, https://flyingfiddlesticks.com/2023/03/04/photo-gallery-bodybox-at-skullys-in-columbus/

© Wayne Edwards

Soulfly at Skully’s, Columbus, February 28, 2023

Soulfly, Totem (Nuclear Blast 2022)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , , , ,

Soulfly returns with their twelfth album, Totem, and it is another earthshaker.

The beginning of Soulfly dates back to the mid-nineties. After leaving Sepultura, singer and guitarist Max Cavalera started the band, initially playing a kind of nu-metal that integrated influences from diverse sources. As the years passed, the compositions continued to weave in fascinating elements from world music while turning toward thrash and groove metal, and death metal as well. The new record, Totem, makes an even twelve full-length albums from Soulfly, and it is as creative and innovative as any in their canon. Zyon Cavalera (drums) and Mike Leon (bass) join Max Cavalera to create some of the biggest sounds you will hear this year.

The ten-track set opens with “Superstition.” You can sense the rampage coming from a mile off as the sound builds to an explosive level. Max Cavalera’s familiar voice immediately centers you and draws your attention to the mangling configuration. You are trapped by the whirling guitars, and there you stay until the end. “Scouring The Vile” loads next, and there is a seamless continuation into another situation of adrenaline-soaked menace and groove. Fast and chopping, this one breaks you open from the inside out. “Filth Upon Filth” is a tantalizing riot of surges paired with an arc of extra-sensorial guitar sincere enough to vibrate your molars.

These first three songs were released as singles before the full album dropped, and they set the stage perfectly for the rest of the music. There is a lot going on here. Witness “Rot In Pain” as a short ragged punch and compare it to, say, the title track where the groove has a bigger place and the song has a longer and deeper path, generally. Or “Ancestors,” which is itself dramatic and fascinating, with the epic closer, “Spirit Animal” – a song with some similar elements that are developed into a sustained assault and explored in fascinating variety. The perfectly matched segments, if you heard them separately, would seem to be from different songs but here in tandem coalesce into an unforgettable journey. This album is another triumph for Max Cavalera and Soulfly. Highly recommended.

Totem is out now through Nuclear Blast Records. Investigate the possibilities at the links below.

Links.

Order Totem here, https://www.soulfly.com/totem

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/SoulflyOfficial

Nuclear Blast Records, https://www.nuclearblast.com/eu/band/soulfly

© Wayne Edwards

Soulfly, Totem (Nuclear Blast 2022)