Review by Adam on November 24, 2001.

Not much has changed within the Soulfly camp since we last saw them. There is still the over usage of the F-word and still those percussive overtones that you either really love or you really hate. Sad thing is that this seems to be the same formula that every new Roadrunner Record signing has and it is getting quite old very fast. If you thought Sepultura‘s Roots album was a Korn sounding record with the down tuned guitars then you have also probably turned away from Soufly already and there is absolutely no need for you to read on. Yet for those of you who are still up for the open minded metal head challenge... read on.

Max is still one pissed off Brazilian and his lyrics certainly are a testament to this. However, the abundance of curse words on this disc still have many people screaming nu-metal right at Max’s face and I cannot help but agree with these people. This disc seems to have basically every element of a nu-metal disc present. One song is a full-on rap song and the F-word is certainly the star of the show. Another prominent figure of this disc is God whose name appears several times throughout the disc. Max even screams “Give God thanks and praise” which might turn many metal heads away. Still, if non of this really bothers you then you may just be open-minded enough for the rest of what this cd has to offer...you may still read on.

The music on this disc is pretty standard. It is certainly not as dull and boring as Sepultura‘s music now, but it is not that much better. As I mentioned before, this stuff seems to sound just like the music that almost every so called “metal” band on Roadrunner is doing right now and even though Max basically started it all back when he brought the Korn and Sepultura sound together with Roots, it still feels a bit contrived.

Overall the disc is not without its qualities. Max still has one powerful voice that remains one of my favorites, and the percussion definitely stands out. However, with the large amount of guest stars ranging from Slipknot‘s Corey Taylor to Slayer‘s Tom Araya the band fails to really feel like a band and succeeds more in sounding like one big nu-metal jam session. One song that stands out above the others is the final track entitled Fly High. Its unique blend of R&B and metal is something that I have never heard before and that I believe was done quite nicely.

Bottom Line: Not bad...definitely not great. Only very open-minded metal heads should even think about touching this disc!

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Originality: 6
Musicianship: 5
Atmosphere: 5
Production: 7
Overall: 6

Rating: 5.8 out of 10