Music Review: Omen (Deluxe Edition)

My fellow Sepultura fans who hated everything that came after the epic Chaos AD and disliked Soulfly at first listen because of the tribal nonsense, get Max Cavalera’s 2010 slab of metal right now. Here’s what you get with Soulfly’s Omen: short, no-bullshit songs that have timely changes, chuggy riffs, great dynamics, highly enjoyable guitar solos and Max fucking Cavalera in top form. I haven’t heard the man so charged up since fuck knows when. Every second of Omen is superb punky thrash metal or thrashy punk metal (however you like it), guaranteed to make you bang your head. I’m so glad Max has flung his tribal bible away and is making pumping music; it’s been awhile since we heard of him being spoken of this way, yeah? Well, he’s wasting no time showing off what he’s capable of when he turns the attitude levels all the way up. And who the fuck is this Marc Rizzo guy who has done a phenomenal job of adding quality to each and every track? Really impressive. Before I forget, the deluxe edition has cover versions: Led Zeppelin’s Four Sticks, Sepultura’s Refuse/Resist (with Max’s son Zyon Cavalera on drums) and Excel’s Your Life, My Life (with Igor Cavalera). Smiling now, aren’t you?  I don’t know how Soulfly fans (I just became one) will take this, but Omen is for fans of Sepultura and Nailbomb. Fists up in the air, my brothers… the Brazilian lion is roaring again.