Soulfly/Havok

Following the release of their 9th album “Savages”, Soulfly hit the for a few weeks across North America. Local openers What the Hell and Sunlord started the night off right and got the crowd ready for some metal madness.

I've heard of Havok but have yet to actually hear them. Holy hell did they blow me away with songs like ‘Cradle to the grave’, ‘Give me Liberty... or give me Death’ and “I Am The State’. Their old school brand of thrash mixed with a modern twist gained a new fan. They commanded that stage like they were the headliners. Blasting through a seven song set they were flawless and during one of the tunes guitarist/vocalist David Sanchez and fellow axeman Reece Scruggs had a stare off during a dual solo. Bad ass things like that and their stage show made them my favorite new band of the year.

Soulfly opened with ‘Bloodshed’ from the new album and ‘Cannibal Holocaust’ before heading into ‘Back to the Primitive’. Max Cavalera (ex-Sepultura) is a great frontman to watch and the crowd just loves him. His son Zyon has been the drummer for the last year, he's a very solid and groovy player, and plays through the older songs like ‘Seek N Strike’, ‘No’, and ‘Plata o Plomo’ with ease. Bassist Tony Campos brings some serious low end and a killer death growl backs ups. His playing and voice got to shine on the ‘El Comegente’. Lead guitarist Marc Rizzo is hands down the most underrated player out there. He comes up with so many inventive solos and just fun to watch play. Hell, even Jose Mangin from Siruis XM came out and sang with them on the Sepultura classic ‘Refuse/Resist’. Besides a flurry of Sepultura songs they tossed in some much loved Nailbomb: ‘Wasting Away’. They ended the set with the Sept classic ‘Roots’ and topped it off with a snippet of Iron Maidens ‘The Trooper’.

With all those little surprises thought the night, the Savages tour was well worth it.