Dark Ages CD cover
2005, Roadrunner
COVER ART: 3 stars
The Dark Ages: Intro track (NO RATING)
Bablyon: intro track bleeds nicely into this one. Nice, quick, heavy way to start the CD. Comfortable power level to begin with. Nice angry lyrics, chorus is an earworm: love the “On and on and on inna Babylon” (4 STARS)
I and I: Faster tempo than Babylon. I like the lyric: “Realize, realize; In this time, realize; You can’t fuck with the tribe” (4 STARS)
Carved Inside: Okay song. Pretty standard fare. I do like the usage of the band’s name in the lyrics. (3 STARS)
Arise Again: Kind of rough start, rough in the middle, solid ending. I don’t like the “arise again.” (3 STARS)
Molotov: very speedy, Russian and Brazilian. But so what? Silly cussing in non-English doesn’t make a song great. (1 STAR)
Frontlines: Artistry and experience shows through here. Love the transition at 2:55. (4 STARS)
Innerspirit: Good, pumped opening. Vocals very good. Lyrics full of whatever makes Soulfly “Soulfly.” Probably a good song to weightlift to (4 STARS)
Corrosion Creeps: I kind of tuned out for the majority of this song. The only part that caught my attention was the repeated chorus: “This corrosion creeps, And it’s crawling too deep, This corrosion creeps, And it’s making you sick” The rest of the song just seemed a little mish-mash mixed. (2 STARS)
Riot Starter: Interesting “tribal” sounds start. Love the militant barking combined with the muted sounds. Transition at 1:43 is okay, if a bit too long… I like the vocals here because the words run into each other. The high-pitched work gets annoying to my ears, though. Very unique. Very Soulfly. (3 STARS)
Bleak: Nice standard, angry, cussin’ song. Goes on too long – I forgot to listen after awhile. Fun speed at 3:30 onward, though. (3 STARS)
The March: short song, good lyrics, speedy tempo. (3 STARS)
Fuel the Hate: Speedy anti-establishment, nihilistic lyrics. Contains some of that “classic” thrash sound. Not for the weak of heart. A bit of a departure from the Soulfly-style, I feel. The somber feel at the end of the song is quite impressive. (3 STARS)
Stay Strong: Song dedicated to some personal losses in Cavalera’s life. It’s a rather heavy and dark song, full of the misery of loss. Has some simple lyrical depth that makes Soulfly distinct. Again, not for the weak of heart. The song is a song that captures emotion in a wall of noise. (4 STARS)
Soulfly V: I swear I hear Brook Benton’s “Rainy Night in Georgia” starting off this song.(4 STARS)
COMMENT: Max is a beast. This CD is much angrier and more aggressive than the past Soulfly stuff. Its very good, but I liked the elements that made Soulfly what they were and not just some loud, angry noisemakers.
3 stars
AQ's Reviews 