Soulfly
Primitive

November 2000
Released: 2000, Roadrunner / Attic
Rating: 2.5/5
Reviewer: Waspman

Ah yes, the opus from Max and his ever-morphing band of nu-metalers (ed. note: the proper term from now on is MALLCORE because this is not new, and is NOT metal). No doubt this album will once again stir up controversy, just like its predecessor. The question is, is it a further degeneration into nu-metal hip-hop or is it a continuation of the Sepul-heavy that we're used to from Max? The answer is, a little of both, making this a mixed bag of an album.



Featuring cover artwork done by Neville Garrick (Bob Marley), Primitive has an almost entirely new group of musicians than the debut, only bassist Marcello D. Rapp having survived (besides Max of course). Having ignored the debut ('cause it sucked) I can't really compare how the new guys match up to the old ones. Anyway, on to the music. "Back To The Primitive" starts the album off in rousing fashion, with Max's trademark pissed off vocals in full command. The song is heavier than most of the debut and it gets you excited for what is to come. Unfortunately, the rest of the album doesn't always live up to the promise. Part of the problem is the schizophrenic character of the album, which can't decide if it's nu-metal or heavy metal. One reason for this is the multiple guest appearances on the album.



"Pain" features guest vocals from Grady Avenell and Chino Moreno, and while it is pretty average, is heavier than both of their regular bands. "Jump The Fuck Up" has an appearance by #8 from Slipknot and is a fairly cool mosh song. "Son Song" is the most interesting song on the album partly due to the vocal contribution of Sean Lennon. The song carries a cool, non-metal vibe throughout and still manages to be heavy. Of course, the best song on the album is "Terrorist" due in no small part to his highness Tom Araya. The song absolutely destroys anything else on the album and should have been the basis for the rest of the songs. Sadly the rest of the album falls into the bounce/nu-metal category and really isn't worth hearing. Other than that, don't even get me started on the rap song "In Memory Of…" what bullshit. It's bad, even for a rap song.



I've already given this album more time than it deserves so I'm gonna quit by saying, please Max, stop with this trendy crap and move on and do some real metal!