Kingcrimsonprog
Soulfly’s fourth studio album, Prophecy, released in 2004 is my favourite Soulfly album to date.
The album opens really well with ‘Prophecy,’ ‘Living Sacrifice,’ ‘Execution Style,’ ‘Defeat U,’ and ‘Mars,’ which in my opinion is the best set of five songs in a row on any Soulfly record. The end of the album isn’t just as strong as the beginning, something all Soulfly albums had in common until Conquer, but overall the ratio of outstanding tracks to dull tracks is excellent.
Prophecy saw the band carry on with the style that they had developed with their previous album ‘3,’ only with additional classic thrash metal influences and a clarity and focus in the songwriting department which is unrivalled on any of the older Soulfly albums.
This was the first album to feature former Ill Nino guitarist Marc Rizzo, who adds many guitar solos to the proceedings. The album also saw the return of Joe Nunez on drums, who drummed on the band’s second album Primitive but was replaced by Roy Mayorga on the other two records, their debut and 3.
The aforementioned five tracks are obvious highlights and worth the price of the cd for alone. Considering the album as a whole, it is probably the album with the most definitive reflection of Soulfly’s overall sound; bridging as it does the band’s Nu Metal era roots, groove centered main style, tribal sections and some of the Thrash Metal influences which would creep more heavily into the band’s sound on subsequent albums.
I highly recommend this album to Soulfly enthusiasts and would highlight it for ideal selection of a prospective fan’s first Soulfly album, on the basis of its strong songwriting, general style and ratio of wheat to chaff