2011 is proving to be the year where bands say “Fuck You!” to the sophomore slump. Regardless of the band members’ metal veteran status, even Cavalera Conspiracy could be prone to slip up on album number two. Luckily that’s not the case with Blunt Force Trauma.
On Blunt Force Trauma, the brothers Cavalera up the ante to a trillion. It’s a thrash record. It’s a metal record. It’s a punk record. No frills, no world influence. Just straight up, uninhibited metal. If you thought they were going to reinvent the wheel here, then take a look at songs like “Torture”, “I Speak Hate”, and “Killing Inside”, and tell me that they’re preaching about joy and hope now.
Personally, I think Sepultura without the Cavalera brothers is just wrong but that’s a whole other column….the fact that this band exists at all just makes me all warm and fuzzy inside and so far the output has been phenomenal. Inflikted was a blessing, the fact that fans get to hold a second helping of Cavalera creativity is just amazing.
“Warlord” starts epically enough with bombastic guitars over Igor’s thunderous drumming. Max comes in with a snarl that sounds as if it’s being yelled from the mountains. “Torture” is a riff-tastic slab of metally goodness while “Lynch Mob” begins with some “meedilly me” guitar noodling and features guest vocals from Agnostic Front’s Roger Miret.
The title track is still my favorite. It goes to so many different places before it decides to destroy you with the ultimate riff breakdown. The riff in question and the groove that the brothers lay down is so sick, so fierce that any doubt that you wasted your money will be vanquished.
The only complaint I have with Blunt… is the absence of Gojira’s Joe Duplantier on bass and the occasional vocal. I love Gojira (The band and the monster) and he brought a much needed outside perspective to the table on Inflikted. However, the focus here is Max and Igor and unfortunately, the bass player isn’t the selling point.
If you like getting your money’s worth then pick up the deluxe edition of BFT which is worth it for the bonus tracks alone (Nevermind the full-length concert DVD included). As ridiculous as the names are, “Jihad Joe” and “Psychosomatic” both mean serious business and you get a cover of Black Sabbath’s “Electric Funeral” to boot.
All in all, Blunt Force Trauma takes everything from Inflikted to the next level. If you were expecting anything less, you obviously don’t know the Cavaleras.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjomwOYI0zA&feature=fvst