arcane-beautiful Ok, this is my third time listening to this album from start to finish, and to be honest, it only gets better with every listen.

This album really suprised me, when I first bought it I thought it was going to be just a normal metal album, with one or 2 great songs and the rest ok. But to be honest, their isn't one bad moment on this album. And each song is a perfect metal anthem.

This album saw the renuinion of the Cavalera brothers, who when disbanding Sepultura after maybe a decade of amazing music in 1997, they got back together...and it was well worth it.

I've noticed a patter that Max is albe to release an album every year now, with Soulfly and Cavalera Conspiracy releasing an album every 2 years, with one in between the other, only making more classic metal.

This album was what I felt to be a step forward to Soulfly's Conquer. A very, almost progressive influenced album, with alot of experementation and longer compositions, it really is something interesting to hear. Now this album I think is a more compacted version of what Conquer did. This album is more straightfoward, yet experementation is not completely lost.

It was also interesting to hear the loss of the almost tribal like ryhthms of Soulfly & Sepultura, and adopt a more Fear Factory type of power. The album is also quite melodic at times, which is mainly because of Marc Rizzo's amazing guitar work. It is pulled off very successfully...and this album wasn't in my top 161 list...but it's going in it now!

This album really is something to behold.

1. Inflikted - What a powerfull and diverse song. Pounding riffs and awesome guitar worl. Very cathcy and fierce (reminded me of Fear Factory). 10/10

2. Sanctuary - Killer riffs and a killer chorus. I remember seeing the video for this thinking..."wow cool video...and a pretty awesome song" (alot like what I was to Soulfly's Unleashed). Classic metal at its best and some of Max's best vocal performances. 10/10

3. Terrorize - Prety funky intro. Thrash at its best. I love the melodic guitar work. 10/10

4. Black Ark - One of the most interesting songs on the album. The use of 3 vocalists in the song is amazingly done. 10/10

5. Ultra-violent - The fierce rhythyms that change throughout really are amazing. A powerfull and amazing song...and its obviously about A Clockwork Orange (Sepultura much haha) 10/10

6. Hex - Powerfull and fast like a drill. Short and sweet. 10/10

7. The Doom Of All Fires - Love how Max's vocals calm down throughout. Fast and to the point. 10/10

8. Bloodbrawl - Max just spits words like venom. The instrumental section is just amazing with some beautiful guitar work. The ending is also suprisingly beautiful. One of the best and most interesting songs on the album. 10/10

9. Nevertrust - Quite punky. Great arrangement. Fast and furious. 10/10

10. Hearts Of Darkness - Cool instrumental sections. Interesting arrangement with some killer riffs. 9/10

11. Must Kill - Great ending. Although it drags on a bit. 9/10

CONCLUSION: It's one of the most perfect metal albums you will hear in a long time. Better than their latest...but still doesn't doubt the fact that Max Cavelera is still relevant in today's metal world

NEVER TRUST SOCIETY!!!

UMUR "Inflikted" is the debut full-length studio album by Brazilian metal act Cavalera Conspiracy. The album was released through Roadrunner Records in March 2008. Cavalera Conspiracy was formed in 2007 by Igor and Max Cavalera who were both founding members of the now legendary Sepultura. Lead vocalist/ guitarist Max Cavalera left Sepultura in 1996 after a dispute with the other members of the band including his own brother and drummer Igor who opted to stay with the other members in Sepultura after Max left. Max soon after formed Soulfly with whom he has had great success. Igor stayed with Sepultura until 2006 where he also left the band thereby paving the way for Cavalera Conspiracy which as the name suggests is a collaboration between the two brothers. Marc Rizzo who among other things have worked with Max Cavalera in Soulfly plays guitars on "Inflikted" while Joe Duplantier from Gojira plays bass and some guitars.

With this cast Cavalera Conspiracy has recorded what I would call a contemporary thrash metal album with some/few death metal leanings. While Max Cavalera has written all tracks on the album except "Ultra-Violent" which is co-written with Joe Duplantier, a comparison to Gojira actually isn´t the least valid you can do when trying to describe the music. The "Ultra-Violent" song in partucular (and naturarlly) reeks of Gojira. Of course Max Cavalera don´t need to lean solely on his apprentices in Gojira for inspiration though and "Inflikted" is very much the epitome of Max Cavalera, although there are only very few nods towards his more alternative in Soulfly.

The vocals are aggressive and carry lots of bite and caustic attitude. An overall great vocal performance by Max Cavalera, which suits the equally aggressive material. The tracks are punchy and effectful, sometimes thrashy and sometimes drawing influences from more contemporary genres, but always delivered with conviction and never simple to a point of getting predictable. For that there are enough twists and turns to keep the album interesting throughout. The whole thing is packed in a clear, sharp, and powerful sounding production, which further enhance the feeling that we´re dealing with a quality product. When that is said "Inflikted" isn´t a revelation but then again I wasn´t expecting one. Rather it shows that the Cavalera brothers can still create something relatively magical when they work together. The spark is definitely still there. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved but it´s close to a 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating.