CAVALERA CONSPIRACY - Pandemonium

November 4, 2014, 9 years ago

(Napalm Records)

David Perri

Rating: 7.0

review heavy metal cavalera conspiracy

CAVALERA CONSPIRACY - Pandemonium

Now on record number three, Cavalera Conspiracy continues to embrace the extreme metal and grind that has been its raison d'etre since 2008's surprisingly strong debut, Inflikted. And yet, Max Cavalera's perennial strength has always also been his weakness: though he has the ability to write enough riffs for his three albums that have appeared over the last year (Soulfly's Savages, Killer Be Killed's debut and this latest Cavalera Conspiracy effort), that doesn't necessarily mean all of the material is first-rate, and much of it is derivative of his previous successes. That said, the element that differentiates Pandemonium from the rest of Max's oeuvre is its brutality, as this is the fastest and most aggressive album we've heard from the Cavalera brothers since Sepultura's Arise. Reportedly originally titled Fuck That Groove, Pandemonium sees Cavalera Conspiracy menacing with the speed and hostility of old, which is probably best presented in the trio of "Insurrection", "Not Losing The Edge" and "Father Of Hate", all three filled with the types of lightning solos and ultra-violence thrash that bands further down in the underground usually present us with. Also adding to the unique nature of Pandemonium are the brief Nailbomb-ish moments that act as total nostalgia for those around in '94 and who remember the ads in magazines for that particular Max/Fudge Tunnel partnership (it's nice to know Max remembers those days too). So, yes, Pandemonium is fierce, fit and will fuck you up, but the main issues of concern here, aside from the presence of b-list riffs as discussed above, is the claustrophobic and murky production that feels like wading through mud after it's been raining for days. It's not a feeling you want to repeat, both in life or while listening to records. Here's hoping that next time Max and Igor keep the rage, but set the studio knobs to stun.   



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