So tonight, or rather, late this afternoon, I headed out to see Soulfly. I got to the venue pretty early on and had the joy of bumping into Tony Campos, and got to wish him a happy birthday. After getting into La Maroquinerie I was taken backstage to interview Max Cavalera for Hellfest, which was obviously an honor, later I met Gloria Cavalera who I must say is basically the coolest manager in the metal world. Afterwards I eventually made my way into the concert hall to prepare for the show. Let me just say, La Maroquinerie is a wonderful place to see a show and definitely one of my favorite mid sized Paris venues with great sound and an intimate vibe.
The thing is, Soulfly were the only band to play tonight (Asides from a brief and frankly dull DJ set) so there hour and a half long set was especially powerful. While the crowd may not have been warmed up at first Max Cavalera is one of those guys who can get a mosh pit going within seconds of just walking on stage. This man is a heavy metal legend and he knows how to use his status to give people a good time. As Soulfly blasted onto the stage I knew I was in for a good time, Max has an impressive roar and the band know how to really play. I especially dug Zyon Cavalera's (Max's son) playing, his raging beats kept the show going fast and furious.
As Max called for yet another circle pit I realized something magical about Soulfly. This is a band who have managed to unite a legacy that last almost thirty years and compact it into an hour and a half block. This is not the kind of band who can be taken lightly, Soulfly know how to put together a killer setlist. Going into this show I wasn't a huge Soulfly fan, but now I feel like I'm going to have to check out all of their albums, their was a lot of exciting stuff going down and the powerful sing a long choruses fit in nicely with ferocious thrash metal verses. Much more live violent than the albums would suggest, Soulfly get the pit going and keep bodies flying for the entire night.
As I made my way home from the gig I started to process what I had just seen. Soulfly had put on a show for the ages, showing that their unique and powerful brand of heavy metal music will never die. Bringing the rage and watching hardcore fans slam onto the stage I realized that Soulfly, and even Sepultura (As their were a LOT of Sepultura covers played tonight) are more than just bands, but indicative of a lifestyle. A band with a dreadlocked heavy master leading the charge, Soulfly are a simply magnificent live act, and this show captured the magic, and enduring glory of Brazilian heavy metal!
Find them on Facebook!
https://www.facebook.com/SoulflyOfficial
awesome review dude!
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