Cavalera Conspiracy - Style, Lyrics and Reception

Style, Lyrics and Reception

Revolver's Jon Wiederhorn, pointed out that although the songs were arranged and recorded quickly, Inflikted sounds neither hastily executed nor incomplete. There's a connection between Max's riffing and Igor's drumming; a chemistry that comes only from musicians who learned to play together and honed their craft through years of studio sessions and live shows. Wiederhorn described Inflikted as an "explosive flashback to the remorseless thrash and primal groove-metal Sepultura created between 1991's Arise and 1993's Chaos A.D. The songs are raw and simple, yet graced with syncopated drum runs, experimental guitar flourishes, and sonic frills inspired by Max's love of reggae and Igor's fascination with DJ culture. The vocals are primal and savage, emboldened by a sense of urgency that's equal parts desperation, rage, and celebration."

On Inflikted, Max was the group's songwriter and lyricist. At the time of the album recording, he was watching the same four movies almost every day: Apocalypse Now, City of God, A Clockwork Orange, and La Haine. Max revealed to Revolver that he wanted to do something different, and it gave him a lot of ideas. He said, "What came out of this album was more than enough to fill the void of not working together for so long. It's pretty intense. From the first moment, it's war."

Allmusic's Eduardo Rivadavia, said that release of Inflikted "brings to fruition one of the most anticipated yet most improbable reunions in heavy metal history." Rivadavia expressed that Duplantier "generally just keeps a low sonic profile and his nose out of trouble, but Rizzo's contributions really can't be overstated. His otherworldly soloing and inventive melodic lines often serve as the creative catalysts responsible for the most inspired moments." Keith Carman of Exclaim! praised the group's musicianship on Inflikted, saying that "it wouldn't be a stretch to proclaim that Inflikted, with its detuned grunt, bombastic lyrics and hyperactive drumming, is the album that should have succeeded Sepultura's widely-acclaimed 1996 powerhouse Roots." Like the former, Adrien Begrand of PopMatters wrote enthusiastically for both Cavalera Conspiracy and Inflikted.

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. Rounded out by Soulfly lead guitarist Marc Rizzo and, most impressively, Gojira frontman Joe Duplantier on bass and rhythm guitar, 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.

Joel McIver of Record Collector wrote: "Inflikted is gobsmackingly violent. The 11 tracks combine hardcore punk (without the crappy production) and thrash metal (without the clichés) to produce an insanely fast record loaded with references to their best work: Sepultura’s Beneath the Remains and Arise. It’s too modern to sound close to those records, of course, but in terms of attitude and riff weight it matches them beat-for-beat and riff-for-riff. Those thousands praying for the Max-era Sepultura line-up to reform can get off their knees: the key reunion has happened."