It’s seven o’clock in the evening at Hellfest and the sun is starting a slow descent towards the horizon. The air is starting to cool for the first time on a remorselessly hot day but down at the front of the main stage, business is about to pick up.
Soulfly are up next and it’s time for a tribal onslaught to commence.
Max Cavalera: Mouth For War
Returning for his second Hellfest after headlining last year’s event with Cavalera Conspiracy, Max and co. are on a mission to outdo themselves despite the shorter set time but this has mixed results for the performance. Just like before, they are fanatically committed to the art of primal fury and the raw passion on display from each band member cannot be faulted.
Having been active on the metal scene for two decades, it’s nigh on a miracle that Max still possesses that sand-blasted roar and doesn’t spend half the gig coughing up his own larynx. Marc Rizzo meanwhile remains one of the most underrated guitar slingers out there and Joe Nunez delivers a textbook performance on the drums, driving the sound to ever higher states of rage.
Tribal Metal In Clisson
On the flip side though, there is a tangible sense that this isn’t so much a Soulfly show as a Max Cavalera Best Of. The likes of Blood, Fire, War, Hate and Back To The Primitive are present and correct in the first half, but half way in Troops Of Doom gets an airing and from that point on, the Sepultura back catalogue starts to dominate proceedings.
At any other Soulfly show this would be an invigorating attraction, but when they only have fifty minutes it’s a bit frustrating. More so when you consider that they’ve already played Sanctuary, the lead single off the Cavalera Conspiracy album earlier in the night.
That isn’t to say this is a bad performance from the Brazilians. Indeed, there are moments that could stand toe to toe with the best the festival has to offer, the incredible Unleash and closing Eye For An Eye being undoubted highlights. It’s just a pity that for one afternoon in France, it was hard to shake the impression that Max might not have as much faith in his recent output as he does in the classics.
Soulfly Live: The Verdict
If the show was an hour longer then this would have been perfect and to be fair to Max, given how downright awesome Refuse/Resist is he’d be hard pressed not to play it every chance he gets. It would have been nice to have a few more Soulfly tracks in the mix though and ultimately, the evening’s performance was good, but a long way from being a festival standout.
