Soulfly at the Gramercy Theatre

Max Cavalera

Max Cavalera is best known as the founder, vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter of pioneering thrash band Sepultura from 1984 to 1996. Born in Brazil, Cavalera relocated in 1992 and raised a family in Phoenix, Arizona. Since leaving Sepultura, he has led heavy metal bands Nailbomb, Soulfly, Killer Be Killed and the Cavalera Conspiracy. Soulfly is the most enduring of these bands, formed in 1997 and releasing 10 studio albums so far. The band has gone through numerous line-up changes, with Cavalera being the only constant member. The current line-up consists of Cavalera, lead guitarist Marc Rizzo, bassist Mike Leon and drummer Zyon Cavalera (Max's son). Soulfly's most recent album is 2015's Archangel, but reportedly a new album will be released soon.

Up until only a few weeks ago, Soulfly was on tour performing Nailbomb's sole album in its entirety. With hardly a break, Soulfly returned to many of the same venues to perform a retrospective on many of the band's early work. This included a stop at the Gramercy Theatre tonight, where Soulfly curiously performed songs from the band's first seven albums but none from the three most recent albums. While Sepultura's metal might have been more headbanging, Soulfly's set was possibly more crude and brutal, with a sparse but smashing rhythm section propelling grunting vocals and torrid guitar leads. This was not metal for metal's sake, however, as Soulfly's groove emphasized coarse riffs instead of rumbling thunder and also incorporated elements from tribal rhythms, industrial metal, and even rapcore. Soulfly's music al output was creative while remaining firmly cemented in extreme metal.

Visit Soulfly at www.soulfly.com.

Setlist:

1. The Dark Ages
2. Frontlines
3. Prophecy
4. Living Sacrifice
5. Blood Fire War Hate
6. L.O.T.M.
7. Downstroy
8. Babylon
9. No Hope = No Fear
10. Seek 'N' Strike
11. Rise of the Fallen
12. Wasting Away (Nailbomb cover)
13. Back to the Primitive

Encore:

1. No
2. Jumpdafuckup / Eye for an Eye