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Cavalera Conspiracy: Blunt force trauma

10/06/11 || InquisitorGeneralis

Seeing Max and Igor’s travelling road show recently has motivated me to go back to this record, which was Audio Autopsied a month or two ago, and give it a proper ball-tickling. We all know the metal world was happy when the Cavalera brothers finally got back together with 2008’s “Inflikted”. While not even close to the level of extreme awesome achieved by Sepultura with Beneath the Remains and Arise, it was clear that being back together had put some zip in each of the Cavaleras’ steps. Now, it is clear that Credence Clearwater Conspiracy was not just a one-trick pony and the brothers are serious about making this a long-running project.

Unfortunately, I think they have taken a short step back with “Blunt Force Trauma”. It is not a bad record at all, but lacks some of the variety that made “Inflikted” stand out. It is clear that Max and Igor want to thrash, and thrash they do with considerable intensity. However, we all know the Cavalera magic is found in teh groove (think the breakdown to “Slaves of pain”) and the ability to make the extreme more accessible. Unfortunately, big parts of “Blunt Force Trauma” sound like thrashing for the sake of thrashing. “I speak hate” “Torture”, and “Lynch mob” are prime examples of uninteresting filler. They don’t suck, but they definitely fail to impress.

Don’t get me wrong, “Punt a Whore’s Momma” has plenty of excellent moments. The title track is closest Max and Igor get to the old form. It has a killer mid-section that sounds like melodic death metal in the vein of The Absence or Dark Tranquiligay and a pretty sweet solo that rides out until the end. Unfortunately, each song on here is not up the level of “Blunt force trauma”. Is it the absence of Gojira mastermind Joe Duplantier? He played bass on “Inflikted” but is sitting out of Cavalera Conspiracy this go ‘round. The Japanese fishing and whaling fleets must have been on the prowl for blubber during this record’s recording.

“Ghengis Khan” has a silly name but is a pretty solid, heavy tune. Lead guitarist Marc Rizzo seems to catch a lot shit because wearing backpacks with no shirt on while playing guitar is pretty stupid. However, he can play that instrument with considerable skill. His flamenco-esque, tapping style is an interesting match to Max’s groovy, riff-heavy rhythm work and Igor’s pounding drums. There is certainly nothing wrong with the pieces of this band, every member has teh chops. “Warlord” is a cool opener with some solid time changes and more excellent work by Iggy Smooth on the skins. “Thrasher” (again with the names Max?) starts off a standard thrasher (duh) but is saved by a cool solo in the end.

I am going to up the score here a bit from the one I gave on Audio Autopsy. Still, if you have not listened to the Cavalera brothers return band yet, I would definitely check out “Inflikted” first. Igor shines the most on here, and as long as he is motivated and playing up to par the Cavalera Conspiracy will be worth something. This is heavier than Soulfy and the closest you are going to get to early 90’s Sepultura because the cover band formally known as Sepultura sure ain’t burning down the metal world these days either. Let me put it this way; the title track, “Warlord”, and “Genghis Khan” rock pretty fucken hard. The rest of “Blunt Roller’s Foreva” varies from meh to decent. Aggression and punch certainly are not missing here, just a consistent level of quality and interesting songs. I think the following score is appropriate…

6,5

Information
Released: 2011
Label: Roadrunner
Website: www.cavaleraconspiracy.com
Band
Max Cavalera: vocals, guitars
Marc Rizzo: guitars
Johnny Chow: bass
Igor Cavalera: drums

Tracklist
01. Warlord
02. Torture
03. Lynch Mob
04. Killing Inside
05. Thrasher
06. I Speak Hate
07. Target
08. Genghis Khan
09. Burn Waco
10. Rasputin
11. Blunt Force Trauma

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