Inflikted

Album information

Max Cavalera had indicated that the music on Inflikted would be similar to Sepultura's early death/thrash-metal recordings but it would also have a heavy hardcore punk influence. In addition to Max and Igor Cavalera, Cavalera Conspiracy also features lead guitarist Marc Rizzo of Soulfly and Joe Duplantier (guitarist and vocalist of Gojira) on bass and backup vocals. Rex Brown from Pantera and Down cameos on bass on one track, and another track features a collaboration with Max's stepson Richie Cavalera (of Incite) on vocals.

Recording for the album took place in July 2007 at Undercity Studios in Los Angeles, with Logan Mader (ex-Soulfly and ex-Machine Head guitarist) of the Dirty Icon Production team.

The album was released on March 24, 2008. Two videos for "Sanctuary" have been made, one of which is a censored version of the other. Both of these can be found on the band's websites.

In 2008, speaking to Kerrang!, Max Cavalera remembered: "This was a stripped-down album that took me and Igor to our metal roots. It's like thrash, death metal and hardcore punk all rolled up, and it was easy because that's the stuff we like. It's the very heart of what Igor and I are about. The passion of metal and punk will never die. It was a new start for me and Igor - our first music together for 12 years and such a positive and emotional experience. We got over those nerves, and ended up having a great time making that album. Sometimes Igor would play so hard his wife wondered if he was on coke... It has a quality that is pure Max and Igor, not Soulfly or Sepultura or anything else out there."

Critical reception

Reviews of Inflikted were generally favorable, with Adrien Begrand of PopMatters stating "Sure, it's not a Sepultura reunion, but having Max and Igor performing on record for the first time in a dozen years is as close as we'll ever get, and not only does Cavalera Conspiracy's Inflikted revisit the post-thrash sounds of 1993's Chaos A.D., but it manages to outshine anything Sepultura has put out in the last dozen years." Begrand also stated that the band "is as solid a metal supergroup as you'll ever come across, and the album's eleven tracks benefit hugely from the chemistry between the four musicians." Exclaim! magazine described the album as a "whole being fast, thrash-y and intense in ways that neither Soulfly nor Sepultura have managed to be in a while." IGN gave the album a mixed review, saying that Inflikted is a respectable debut, but is "unfortunately afflicted with bad lyrics". Phoenix New Times criticized the collaboration, stating that Inflikted "sounds more like the product of a weekend spent jamming in the garage than the efforts of two vital artists making up for lost time."

As Cavalera Conspiracy is a supergroup, critics also dedicated their reviews to evaluate the performance of musicians individually. Chad Bowar of About.com said that Max's vocals are "very distinctive, and his angry growls are as strong as ever." Eduardo Rivadavia of Allmusic praised Rizzo's contributions, saying that "his otherworldly soloing and inventive melodic lines often serve as the creative catalysts responsible for the most inspired moments," while Duplantier "generally just keeps a low sonic profile and his nose out of trouble". IGN gave similar praise to Rizzo, stating that is his "agile lead guitar playing that keeps the album from sinking into metal monotony in many spots."

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Max Cavalera, except where noted.

Personnel