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Review: Soulfly/Cruelty Circuit, Marble Factory
Bristol’s very own Cruelty Circuit must be playing their biggest ever gig tonight in front of hordes of early bird Soulfly enthusiasts, who prove highly receptive to their enjoyable brand of off-kilter weirdo metal.
They hit the stage running and don’t let up for the entirety of their 30 minute slot. Apparently performing with a stand-in drummer, the quartet boast an engaging frontman who’s equally adept at growling and making silly noises, a guitarist who avoids metal cliches and a bass player who looks as though he’s in a different band altogether. I’d be prepared to bet these guys have heard a Mr. Bungle album or two.
is needed now More than ever
The only real criticism one could make is that they might consider adding a second guitarist to fill out the sound a bit.
It’s been more than 30 years since I first saw Brazilian pioneers Sepultura (Newport Centre, 1991). Frontman Max Cavalera has been on quite a journey since then, falling out with his former bandmates and enjoying a successful second wind with his own band Soulfly, alongside myriad side projects and collaborations.
Now in his mid-fifties and literally a greybeard, Max’s commitment to extreme metal has been unwavering and he’s attained the status of Metal Godfather, which was previously reserved for the likes of Lemmy, Ozzy, Rob Halford and Ronnie James Dio. He only has to walk on to the stage to be greeted with a wave of adulation.
With an “Um, dois, três, quatro” we’re off, with Back to the Primitive: a perfect distillation of the ‘tribal metal’ Max has been celebrating for much of his career. This is world music for those of us who prefer our music louder and heavier and will consequently never be the subject of fawning colour supplement profiles.
What follows is a relentless 80 minute barrage, inciting a vast circle pit whose centrifugal force occasionally expels a hapless headbanger into the rest of the audience, causing punters to topple and drinks to fly. Max hardly needs to remind us to jump (as he does frequently), since everyone is already jumping.
Mike DeLeon, who has still not apparently been confirmed as the full-time replacement for departed guitarist Marc Rizzo, slots in well alongside bassist Mike Leon, although their very similar names have the potential to cause confusion. For many years, Max played with his younger brother Igor on drums. Now his son Zyon has taken on the role. But there’s no suggestion of nepotism here, as Zyon has earned his place in the band, having learned from the best, and is an absolute master of the distinctive Latin/tribal rhythms driving this brutal music.
Much of the set is still drawn from Soulfly’s self-titled 1998 debut (a UK top 20 hit back in the days when such chart placings still meant something) and while it would be untrue to say that their sound has evolved over the years it has certainly been refined, which means that new songs like Superstition and Filth Upon Filth don’t sound out of place alongside such evergreens as Bleed, Bumbklaatt and No Hope = No Fear. Tribe even prompts a singalong to the non-Portuguese section of the lyrics.
Although many of Max’s songs express scorn for losers, wasters and warmongers, he chooses not to belabour the continued relevance of 2008’s Blood Fire War Hate and asserts that Soulfly is all about “the joy of life”.
As if to illustrate this, we’re all invited to jump the fuck up for Jumpdafuckup and since Soulfly don’t really do encores they finish with Eye for an Eye from that debut album, which has everyone bellowing: “Eye for an eye for an eye for an eye!”
It’s a rare skill that generates this level of exhilaration with such aggressive music.
All pix by Mike Evans
Read more: Metal & Prog Picks: September 2024
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