Face Down Heaviness From Start To End.
When you read that members of Mastodon, Soulfly, Dillinger Escape Plan and The Mars Volta have set up a super group, you instantly imagine it to sound absolutely mental, and that it is. It feels almost neurotic to a point it can take some time to get used to it. On first listen it does feel like you're listening to a new Soulfly album with some special guests as Max Cavalera's groove is definitely quite dominant throughout the record. But the beauty is in the repeat listens. The more and more you listen to this album you appreciate more the contribution of everyone involved and begin to hear the real collaborative effort put into the record.
A real stand out performance on the album comes from former Mars Volta drummer, Dave Elitch who absolutely blitzes through some of the tracks with exceptional precision and power. This most notably comes to the fore during Curb Crusher and opening track Wings Of Feather And Wax which is an absolutely storming track. Across the album Troy Sanders and Greg Puciato's vocals bounce off each other perfectly, even if at times the eclecticism gets too much. Perhaps one of the drawbacks on this album is the fact that there are these flashes of brilliance, but there are also some quite generic and frankly forgettable tracks, which is disappointing considering the amount of talent on offer. Despite Max Cavalera stating that the music on the album is the furthest away from his own, it definitely feels like some of the tracks are Soulfly album filler.
It's quite an emotionally charged album lyrically, with the core focus being an attack on several areas in politics. Let's face it a track entitled Fire To Your Flag isn't hiding anything. Not exactly a new concept at all, but done really well here. Some of the vocals are spat out with such fury it just makes the album that bit better. The added intensity is so key at making this an above average album.
As already stated though, this is an album you need to give some time. It is absolutely excellent at some points and drops off at others, but it is more than worth picking up if you're a fan of any of the bands the members are involved in. It's a bit of a shame that there doesn't seem to be any plans to take this on tour because it would have been phenomenal seeing them share the stage pummelling through these tracks.