Customer Reviews

Prophecy

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Max is back! With him, this time around, Max brings with him a new band lineup, and a theory: to make every Soulfly album sound different. Love this album or hate it, you've got to admit it's mighty creative of Max to incorporate death metal with reggae. Now the Brazilian tribal drums may not be a surprise, but the Spanish/acoustic guitars, flutes, African rainstick, brass band, and Serbian bagpipe (that instrument that sounds like a marching band) sure are.
Now, some would say Soulfly got too experimental on this album but I disagree. The reggae/tribal moments are sprinkled on; most of the songs are still atleast partially metal.

Highlights include:

The title-track, "Prophecy", is an instant killer and concert favorite. A screaching guitar intro begins the song, then explosive and extra crunchy guitar riffs explode out of the gate. This song is not unlike Sepultura's "Roots, Bloody Roots," except it ends with double bass drums that sound like cannon fire.
The next three tracks are more hard hitting metal anthems without a trace of melody. They are some of the heaviest songs Max has written with Soulfly. Plus, track three ("Execution Style") has a nice shout along chorus.
"Mars" is where things mellow a bit. The first two minutes are metal, but it ends softly. The last three minutes drizzle on light acoustic guitar work and soft percussion. This guitar gently wails and almost makes a "wah wah" sound in places.
"I Believe" is a heartfelt and visceral song with punching guitars. Lyrically, it's a brave move for Max: telling the world what his beliefs are (God, spirit, immortality and faith.)
"Moses" is where things really get interesting. The first song on the album to be completely reggae flavored, this is the one with the Serbian bagpipe. This song made me realize how good reggae can make you feel (I was jammin' to this song!) But even this one has its heavy points (i.e. the chorus/bridge).
"Born Again Anarchist" is the only song that sticks out as filler to me. But I don't mind it that much, since it's nonetheless catchy and has great, fast riffs.
"Soulfly IV" is an instrumental number with tribal drums (that almost sound like tin drums sometimes) and flutes, and "Wings" is another soft number but it has female vocals, reminiscent of "Tree of Pain" from Soulfly's last album "3". When that part of the song ends, some Spanish people come aboard the track, count a few seconds in Spanish, then a brass band comes on and plays what sounds like trumpets with more soft drumming.

I am very addicted to this C.D. I think it's inspired, interesting, innovative, creative, and all around amazing. Plus, there's something for a variety of people on it. My brother and dad like this C.D. even though they hate metal.

Soulfly are one of those bands that could've easily jumped aboard the "New Wave of American Metal" movement, but on "Prophecy", Max isn't TOO concerned with showing he's metal (he has already proven that with his previous works). With this album, Max shows he's more than a great metalhead: a great musician.

This album is sick. In Soulfly, the production value was just stupendous. I'm a big critic on CD quality for music. Besides the songs, that's my main reason to buy or not to buy a cd.

Like the first Soulfly, everything was heavy, the guitars were raunchy, the bass roared and thunked, and the drumbs and cymbals just flared with fury. There was tribal drums written all over it, and you could hear them perfectly and especially with headphones-what side each instrument was panned on.

In Primitve, Max went and made it a co-op album with each artist's track, but the quality was all tuned down. Much like anything of Ill Nino since Revolution, just littled to nothing basically. The guitars were too clean, and the drums were muted out and panned too softly. That, and the vibe was just too uplifting, especially since Soulfly is all a musical therapy/dedication for Max coping with his dead son. This album blew.

Soulfly 3 comes out, and it didn't blow my socks off lol, It'd made me put them back on. It was a good comeback after the embarassing Primitive. I love how it was really more on the political side of the spectrum lyrically, but it's kind of a bore to feel it - now 2 years later with the support of the war and the world totally takin a downfall.
He experimented a little too much on this album. It seemed a little rushed as most of the songs all had their own volume and instrumentation (which is not bad considering it's primarily different artists every other track) But it just wasn't up to par. Honestly, this should've been the original follow up. If they would've just taken more time on this it could've been a gem.

Now, here we are with Prophecy. It's just as hard as Soulfly 1. To me, the first Soulfly will always be the best one because it's just SO UNIQUE and perfect. I'm not one to have stand out tracks, but stand out segments of the tracks, whether it be intro, outro, chorus, or break... That's the dice I roll. Every song has it's awesomely tribal spots with amped up solos and fit right in with your head as you're having an anxiety attack. They all have long hard rocking moments where you just stand there and bang your head for a good 30-40 seconds non stop, especially on my current anthem 'Born again Anarchist.' That's what really killed 3. It was almost as if there was none, or any that doubled over.... I'm sure I'm in the 'new CD rocks' phase and will tire eventually, but I know that when I put it back in after a 2 month hiatus or whatever.. I'll be kicking a hole in the floor of my car-and probably stuck in traffic because Soulfly, me, and I-95 just can't go together EVER without a big traffic jam. It's as if fate wants us to rock together or something... But in all honesty, if you are hesitant to know if this is another Primitive, or a weaker attempt at 3, it's definately not.

Max returns with more balls in hand than ever-and returns with what originally made Soulfly such a big hit from the Git Go. If you want another shot at Soulfly, take this... The only downfall that I feel is, towards the end of the CD there is a lot of fillers between tracks.. Some tracks go from hard to an abrupt soft end - but it sounds good, but just too abrupt. The reggae tracks you might not like at first, but 'Moses' has me stuck still in the chorus espcially when I'm at work. Hits harder knowing it's about a friend he lost. But besides those -half star faults this disc is definately good enough until Dark ages, which is a whole other rocking story I've yet to tell.

"Prophecy"'s spiky, churning guitars and rolling, tribal-tinged drums are very much as in "Roots," Max Cavalera's last album with Sepultura. But unlike Sepultura, Soulfly experiments with sounds beyond Brazil, such as dub, flamenco, and even Serbian folk music. The results can be jarring, as acoustic interludes come out of nowhere, only to be steamrolled by the next thrashy stomper. However, this ultimately makes for an enjoyable and varied, if occasionally humorous listen. The album falters near the end, starting with an unnecessary cover of Helmet's "In the Meantime" that drops into a baffling psychedelic coda. Overall, however, the album is energetic, uplifting, and colorful.

I have never been a Soulfly fan, prefering to stick to Sepultura after hearing a couple of Soulfly songs and being turned off. I decided I would give them a chance after my friend told me it would be a new band (other than Max) for every Soulfly cd so I hoped that they would get a good band, as I know how rock hard Max's rhythm can be when he wants it to. Well, the band wasn't supertalented, but the music written on here is outstanding. Heavily influenced by reggae, many of the songs are all acoustic and feature non-metal instruments, giving it a tribal flavour like never before. Soulfly have tried and tried in the past to be a tribal-metal band, i hear from people, and I think they have succeeded here. Half the cd is metal, half is acoustic reggae-tribal stuff. Max hasn't sounded this good since Roots (where he sounded WAY better), his performance has surpassed previous Soulfly offerings.
Almost every song is good, only 1 or 2 songs sounded like filler and I got some special edition with 18 tracks that include 6 tracks from a Soulfly concert in Sweden, where the lead guitarist struggles to play Roots Bloody Roots. It was an ok 6 tracks, I think it was with the previous Soulfly band, like the one who played on 3.

As I said, it's very experimental, the melodies are amazing, the drummer is better, the lead guitarist is better, the vocals are better, the bass is better, Max sounds better, the overall songwriting is outstanding and.... I recommend it to music fans in general. This steers away from nu-metal entirely, so don't be scared to buy it. Finally Max is back!

If you have followed soulfly through the years you would have noticed their music and mood has changed over time. They used to have very loud, pounding music, which is of course a plus. The lyrics also went along the lines of "my life sucks, and its because of _______" in some of their songs. Max has changed into a very religious point of view, and more of a positive outlook on life. This album is mostly about how god has helped him, and how he is serving. The reason this album is so good is because it still has a lot of the hardcore headbanging music, but incorporates a lot of tribal culture and music such as the middle of "born again anarchist", various parts of "porrada", and of course "soulfly IV" is based on a very natural feeling. There is a good blend of music here, it's impossible to get bored listening to it. My sister walked into the room once, then came in again and asked if it was the same group. I am having trouble understanding why this album is parental advisory. The f-bomb is dropped no more than 3 times on the whole album and the overall message is positive. If you are the kind of person that only likes the "heavy" soulfly, then try something else...

Max is back! An amazing CD from start to finish. I was a HUGE fan of Sepultura back in the day but lost track of anyhting Max did after ROOTS. This is my first time listening to Soulfly (believe it or not) and i'm glad I picked it up! I love all the experimentation , sounds very fresh mixing all the world music styles together. THis is what I imagined what Sepultura would have sounded like if they were still together with Max today. I also love the HELMET cover of In the Meantime... just awsome!

since i started getting into metal about six years ago, i have always been amazed by the different varietys, techniques, and styles that bands create in an attempt to fully capture the listeners attention. soulfly is definately one of the best because of this reason. now they have finally mastered there own sound, and it is even more unique and enjoyable.
anyways, something other reviewers did not mention is how unlike the rest of the soulfy albums, this one will stay in your cd player for months... i have their debut and primitive, but i got tired of listening to those ones in about a week, unlike prophecy which has been in my rotation now for like a month and a half. prophecy is a mix of many types of music, its angry and crazy, it even has its soft and relaxing moments, it is EXTREMELY addictive!
i am glad soulfly(Max) did not give up after 3, and i hope they continue to make great music like this. because i get tired of listening to music that sounds the same as everything else. i highly recomend prophecy. it is such a great achievement, i think this is the first soulfly cd you should get. you will not be disapointed.

O.K., so I've been listening to Soulfly since their self-titled debut. I had faithfully followed all of their work; Fell in love with the debut. So I got "Primitive" the first day it was out, and ended up loving it just as much. However, by the time "3" rolled around, I was sorely disappointed. "3" is just one of those albums that no matter how many times I listen to it, I just can't like it. It just rehashes everything in the Soulfly catalog, very poorly, and none of the songs have any personality. So, as you can imagine, when this, Soulfly's fourth release came out this spring, I was less than enthusiastic. Luckily though, on a recent impulse buy, I endulged in picking up this album, and low and behold, I was falling in love with Soulfly all over again. This isn't just Max barking over some stale nu-metal riffs, this is the diverse and powerful tribal metal that Max started in Sepultura, then carried into Soulfly, that we all loved so much. Sure, "Born Again Anarchist" and "Defeat U" tread predictable paths, but the album takes many risks. "Moses" is a reggae-flavored track that, although sticks out like a sore thumb, sounds so fresh and inspired. I don't know what Max did leading up this album, but he definitely seems to be putting a little more "soul" into the music with "Prophecy." "I Believe" is a stand-out track that grabbed me on the first listen, and is the one of the most melodic and emotional of the group of songs. The Helmet cover, "In The Meantime" was totally left-field but put a smile on my face; gotta love Helmet. Soulfly cover this song faithfully and make it their own. So, overall, it's an excellent album. I'd say it's on par with the first two albums, and definitely massacres the last. Soufly won me back with this album, and if you have lost faith in the band, or even if you are just starting out with them, I suggest you try this one out.

The reason I call it Action Metal is because most of the songs would go well in Terminator 4 soundtrack. This is stuff thats heavy, with continuous blazing guitar riffs. Soulfly's best album in my humble opinion.

The album opens up iwith Prophecy, which has a cool intro and bursts into a very cool song, the reasons this CD doesn't recieve the 5 stars are as follows:

Max doesn't sing the final song ''Wings.'' This sucks, I'd love to hear him actually singing (corey taylor tried it and it worked out perfect.)

Songs like ''Porrada'' and ''Moses'' which eventually are amazing, have extremely obnoxious and annoying introductions, which is a waste of 2 awesome songs.

The final reason is all this religious talk, Prophecies, Moses, ''I am MARS, God of WAR.'' It's kinda like John Butler Trio because the lyrics make you cringe but the music itself is completely awesome.

As a closing statement, I'd like nothing is more satisfying than blasting ''Defeat U'' as loud as your stereo player will go.

In keeping with his tradition Max refuses to only have pure metal songs.Moses is a perfect example where it mixes metal with hip hop. Wings the last song has one part song by some women and the other half is an instrmental that sounds like a high school marching band. However I overlook this faults by the great metal songs he has. If your a true metal head I recommend Prophecy, Mars, and Born Again Anarchist. These songs are some of Soulfly's heaviest songs ever done and also short. For some reason he extends these songs with a long instrumental at the end.