Metal Storm logo
Cavalera Conspiracy - Psychosis review



Reviewer:
7.0

134 users:
7.86
Band: Cavalera Conspiracy
Album: Psychosis
Release date: November 2017


01. Insane
02. Terror Tactics
03. Impalement Execution
04. Spectral War
05. Crom
06. Hellfire
07. Judas Pariah
08. Psychosis
09. Excruciating

I am going to try and write this review without mentioning the name of Sepultura at all (okay, this one doesn't count).

The accomplishments of Max Cavalera after leaving Sepultura (ahhh, fuck it!) never particularly clicked with me with a couple of exceptions; Soulfly's Dark Ages and especially Cavalera Conspiracy's Inflikted. The conspiracy of the Cavalera brothers now has a new album out and when I read that Max tried to "tap into the whole mentality of the early Sepultura (yeah, I have completely given up) records that was that mix of death metal and thrash metal", I was intrigued.

The truth is that Psychosis draws many elements from Schizophrenia and Chaos A.D. There is Arthur Rizk's old-school sounding production, which takes you back to the late '80s. At the same time there is an insane amount of groovy riffs in this album that will make your neck hurt badly. Psychosis does indeed have this throwback atmosphere, which, production aside, is also achieved by the album's unchained aggression, but at the same time it embraces more modern sounds. The problems start when the band tries to get "experimental" and things get kind of awkward.

The first half of Psychosis is a total thrash attack and includes some of the strongest stuff the brothers have ever released. The band has also used noise and feedback and samplers and ambient stuff and those things work very well up until - and including - "Crom". However, "Hellfire", with Justin Broadrick of Godflesh fame as guest, sounds like it doesn't belong at all and "Psychosis" is a tribal instrumental track in the wrong place at the wrong time. In-between these two, "Judas Pariah" starts as a blackened thrash bludgeoning, but it slows down halfway and it peters out until the end in a somewhat clumsy transition.

The closer, "Excruciating", sums up my whole impression about this album. The first two minutes are full-throttle, no-seatbelt thrashing, until the song slowly starts exploring more ambient territory. It could either finish there or pick up the speed again and go out with a thunderous finale. Instead, it transforms into static noise with spoken words and it is the worst ending I have heard since the laughter outtakes from "We Who Are Not As Others" in the hidden track after "Clenched Fist" (from Chaos A.D.).

Psychosis is like having very intense sex for the first 23 minutes and when you are just about to have a super-powerful orgasm someone taps you on the back making you lose concentration. When you realise what is going on, you punch this someone in the face and get on with it again, but soon the same tap on the back distracts you once more. This goes on until the album finishes and you are left high and dry, thinking that this could have been some of the best sex of your life, had it not been for this annoying person constantly preventing you from discharging your accumulated excitement.

If you were hoping for a new old-school Sepultura (this is the last time, I promise) album, I am afraid Inflikted remains the closest you can get to that, unless you're planning to only listen to the first half of Psychosis. This does not take away the fact though that it is the best effort by Cavalera Conspiracy since their debut.

"Under the sun
Nowhere to run
No one to thrust
You're alone"





Written on 14.12.2017 by Only way to feel the noise is when it's good and loud!


Comments

Comments: 11   Visited by: 255 users
14.12.2017 - 13:33
Rating: 7
Athropos
Burning inside
My thoughts exactly: The first half is really good and packed with great riffs, but unfortunately the second one is somewhat tedious and boring. I'm not against including bits of industrial music, but this doesn't work well here. Anyway, it's a good album nonetheless and I like the first half so much that by the time I get bored by the second half, I'm finished listening to it.
Loading...
14.12.2017 - 16:19
VIG
Account deleted
Good review. I might listen to this. I haven't bothered with anything Max has done in the past 20 years.

I hear Justin Broadrick (one of the metal gods imo) is featured here as well, so I will have to at least here that track.
Loading...
14.12.2017 - 18:46
nikarg

Written by Guest on 14.12.2017 at 16:19

I hear Justin Broadrick (one of the metal gods imo) is featured here as well, so I will have to at least here that track.

Well, it's the album's worst track.
Loading...
14.12.2017 - 18:53
VIG
Account deleted
Written by nikarg on 14.12.2017 at 18:46

Well, it's the album's worst track.

What? Aww, that's sad
Loading...
15.12.2017 - 00:25
Maco
Pvt Funderground
Positively surprised by this. It certainly is more industrial, reminds me of Nailbomb sometimes.
----
Crackhead Megadeth reigns supreme.
Loading...
15.12.2017 - 04:19
VIG
Account deleted
I listened to the track "Insane". Not bad, but not anything new or intersante. I heard part of one of the last Soulfly albums (I think it came out 2015) and I remember it sucked bad. This is far better than this. I will try to give the whole thing a spin later.

Written by Maco on 15.12.2017 at 00:25

Positively surprised by this. It certainly is more industrial, reminds me of Nailbomb sometimes.

I like it too, but in the track I heard I didn't hear much industrial or Nailbomb. I would love to in the rest of the album!
Loading...
15.12.2017 - 05:31
Marcel Hubregtse
Grumpy Old Fuck
So there is finally a passable CC album?
----
Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal

Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight
Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.)
05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996

Loading...
15.12.2017 - 07:41
Maco
Pvt Funderground
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 15.12.2017 at 05:31

So there is finally a passable CC album?

I'll say so, yeah.
Kudos to Igor, he brings his A game here.
----
Crackhead Megadeth reigns supreme.
Loading...
15.12.2017 - 13:27
nikarg

Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 15.12.2017 at 05:31

So there is finally a passable CC album?

I think so, the first five songs are very strong at least.
Loading...
15.12.2017 - 15:52
Maco
Pvt Funderground
Written by Guest on 15.12.2017 at 04:19

I like it too, but in the track I heard I didn't hear much industrial or Nailbomb. I would love to in the rest of the album!


It's the only non-industrial song of the album. The rest is different
----
Crackhead Megadeth reigns supreme.
Loading...
15.12.2017 - 16:04
VIG
Account deleted
Written by Maco on 15.12.2017 at 15:52
It's the only non-industrial song of the album. The rest is different

Sure...
Loading...

Hits total: 7769 | This month: 13