Cavalera Conspiracy marks the reunion of the Cavalera brothers, Max and Iggor, after 12 years. And is the first time they have made music together since the infamous Sepultura break up on December 16th, 1996 in London. Originally, Max chose the name Inflikted for the project, but the name had already been used. As a result, he changed the name to Cavalera Conspiracy in order to avoid potential legal conflicts which would hold up the album release, and chose to use the name 'Inflikted' for the band's debut album.

INFLIKTED (2008) ROADRUNNER

We were all waiting for the inevitable reunion of the Cavalera brothers. But I guess most of us were expecting Max to rejoin his Sepultura. After all it was these two brothers who formed the band. Nevertheless the main thing is that the brothers are speaking to each other again. 12 years of silence must have been a turmoil for both. Cavalera Conspiracy is the name of their game now, and you know what you get when Max and Iggor (don't know what's up with the name change, but whatever floats his boat, I guess) are putting their heads together. Aggression, cussing, anger, cussing, channeled hate, cussing, brutality and then some more cussing. Seriously, one would think that after writing lyrics for the past 20 plus years that Max would come up with something other than f-this and f-that! It's actually quite annoying! Still it's the music that is the main focus for me, and thankfully they deliver in that manner. Those who had hoped for a return to the older works of Sepultura can just forget it right away. Cavalera Conspiracy has a way more modern sound. This is modern groove metal meets aggro-metal, not thrash. Mind you, there are times when they touch the greatness of their former band, but when they do they are reviving the sound from 'Chaos A.D.' more then they are let's say 'Schizophrenia' or 'Arise'. There is also some heavy Soulfly vibes to be heard here of course. What I find positive with 'Inklifted' is the diversity in the guitar work and the drumming. This is what sets Cavalera Conspiracy apart from most of today's so-called extreme metal bands. They deliver the musicianship! Iggor is a monster drummer, and probably the worlds most underrated skin-basher! I also like Max' vocals for the most part. I'm usually not a fan of the hardcore shouting and growling. But I've always felt that Max have managed to do it with style and conviction. And I'd much rather listen to the purveyors of modern metal, than all the clone bands and copy cats out there. Let's not forget that Max and Igor played aggro-metal and hardcore influences groove-laden metal way before the likes of Slipknot and whatnot. So I guess it has come full circle when Machine Head's Logan Mader has co-produced this effort. The trainee has become the co-chief! Another key element with 'Inklikted' is how great it is to hear the brothers back together. One can actually hear that they enjoy each others company again, and the natural chemistry between the two is all so apparent. There is also something to be said about the intensity of the album. It takes some thought churning out 11 songs with such off the wall intensity without getting too repetitive. Now to the negatives. The already mention cussing-spree is my biggest hang-up here. I must also confess that I also had hopes for a return to their death/thrash metal roots. So some of these tracks do very little for me, as they come across as too hardcore influenced for my taste. All in al I find 'Inflikted' satisfactory. It's not the greatest album out there, but it has given me hours of pleasure so far, and I guess we'll spend lots more time together in the future also. I might also mention the guest appearance of Rex Brown (Pantera) on the song "Ultra-violent".

Killer tracks: Sanctuary, Terrorize, Black Ark, Bloodbrawl, Must Kill

Related artists:

Sepultura