CAVALERA CONSPIRACY — Pandemonium (review)

CAVALERA CONSPIRACY — Pandemonium album cover Album · 2014 · Thrash Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
UMUR
"Pandemonium" is the third full-length studio album by Brazilian thrash/groove metal act Cavalera Conspiracy. The album was released through Napalm Records in October 2014. It´s the successor to "Blunt Force Trauma" from 2011 and features one lineup change since the predecessor as bassist Johny Chow (Stone Sour) has been replaced by Nate Newton (The Ocean Collective, Doomriders, Old Man Gloom). The usual suspects are Max Cavalera on guitars and lead vocals, Igor Cavalera on drums and percussion, and Marc Rizzo on guitars.

Stylistically "Pandemonium" leans a bit more towards the thrash metal past of the Cavalera brothers than the two previous releases, but still features a lot of heavy grooves and the occasional ethnic trial music moment (although it´s mostly the limited edition bonus track "Porra" which falls into that catagory). "Pandemonium" features quite a few fast-paced thrashy sections and the distinct sounding shouting raw vocals of Max Cavalera and it´s generally a highly energetic, heavy, and aggressive album. The lead guitar work of Rizzo is of high class and his playing is both varied and intriguing.

The opening track "Babylonian Pandemonium" is one of the highlights of the album, but "Pandemonium" is generally a well written and effective release. The sound production is professional, raw, and detailed, and the musicianship is top notch. So on most parameters "Pandemonium" is a good quality release. There are elements which aren´t as great as others though, and I´d mention some of the thrashy riffs, which do sound a little uninspired (especially compared to what the brothers produced on the late 80s/early 90s thrash metal releases by Sepultura) and the idea to often put distorting effects on Max Cavalera´s voice. It doesn´t sound great and contributes to "Pandemonium" being an album I seldom return to. With the talent involved in the creation of "Pandemonium", I just think I expect more. Still a 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.
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