Band:	Soulfly
Album:	Prophecy
Style:	Nu metal, Groove thrash metal
Release date:	April 2004

01. Prophecy [feat. Dave Ellefson]
02. Living Sacrifice
03. Execution Style
04. Defeat U [feat. Danny Marianino]
05. Mars
06. I Believe
07. Moses [feat. Eyesburn]
08. Born Again Anarchist
09. Porrada
10. In The Meantime [Helmet cover]
11. Soulfly IV
12. Wings [feat. Asha Rabouin]

Max Cavalera never seems to disappoint. He could actually be the most reliable metal musician out there - in his long (almost two decades) career, he has never really made an album that anyone could call bad or even mediocre. Actually, pretty much everything he ever did is quite good, to say the least. It therefore comes as no surprise that Soulfy's latest album "Prophecy" follows this trend. Its a generally enjoyable and solid record, filled with powerful and occasionally brilliant songs.

What will likely make Sepultura fans and nu-metal haters happy is that Max seems to be in a Chaos A.D. vibe on large portions of this record. The first 4 tracks could easily fit on the same disc as "Refuse/Resist" and "Propaganda" or "Territory". "Execution Style" even has the trademark 'Arise' era Sepultura riffing in it. On the fifth track, we are finally reminded that this is a Soulfly record as the song develops from the typical hardcore/thrash metal bashing into a mystical, acoustic jam accented by a great flamenco solo and some quality bass courtesy of Dave Ellefson (Megadeth).

I mentioned before that there are some brilliant songs on this album. Indeed, "I Believe" is certainly one such song and one of the most impressive in Max's career. Frankly, it is one of the best metal/ethnic fusions he ever recorded as well as a very well written song, full of interesting tempo and mood changes (and hey, it provides the very first opportunity to hear Max ditch his roar in favor of a clean-voice melo-declamation!). The following track, "Moses" is the other brilliant song on the album. Its a... reggae track! Naturally, it still has a hardcore metal refrain. While reminding me somewhat of what Bad Brains would do, "Moses" is more extreme in both of the musical forms it employs (ie. The reggae is more reggae and the heavy elements are more heavy).

Following these two excellent tracks are two more fast hardcore/thrash numbers, the second one, "Porrada" being especially vicious. A cover of Helmet's "In The Meantime" follows, although it is nowhere near as good as the original. The album is concluded by two more ethereal, atmospheric tracks, namely "Soulfly IV" and "Wings". "Wings" is especially beautiful as it has the very talented Asha Rabouin taking over on vocals (she has appeared on previous Soulfly albums as well). Her voice is very warm and I would only wish more bands decided to include this kind of female vocals on their albums.

Interestingly enough, while the heavy tracks outnumber the more contemplative, introspective ones, it is those softer numbers that actually grab my attention more. But hey, that is most probably the idea. This could be a case of over-interpretation on my part but the way I understand the message of this Soulfly album is that while most people seem to enjoy warfare and fighting (symbolized by the heavy songs here) it is ultimately the issues of faith ("I Believe") and peaceful co-existence (fusions of styles and general experimentation) that prove to be more interesting and attractive. Granted, this is not a very 'metal' sort of message but it is a very positive one and I can only hope that the album will live up to its title. As for how this will make you feel about metal and music in general, well I leave that for you to decide. I can only tell you that its worth checking out.